Mr Kojo Dougan of Interpay (an online payment platform) and also the president of the Ghana – South-Africa Business Chamber, despite his busy schedule, still finds time to trade Forex online. He is actually an avid trader and has been trading for the past 18 months. This is an example of how Forex trade has caught the attention of some Ghanaians.
Dougan says he started online forex trading with only $100 US but now he does several transactions in a month.
Online Foreign Exchange (Forex) trade has become very popular in Ghana not only among the financial institutions or wealthy individuals but also average Ghanaians who are ready to grasp the huge financial opportunities it offers.
Increasingly, the number of individuals showing interest in the online forex trading business keeps increasing day by day in Ghana.
According to Forex Academy, an Accra based forex training institute, the sector, although new in the country is attracting a number of Ghanaians not only in the capital but across the length and breadth of the country.
The academy claims that the number of people it had trained in the last two years has been very encouraging though the actual figure was not given.
This trend, the academy says, is due to the fact that forex trading is very flexible – easy techniques, very little capital required, access to the global market (wide options) and an avenue to earn additional income from the comfort of one’s home or office.
This market involves buying and selling of currencies at determined prices and is said to be the most traded financial market in the world.
$5.5 US trillion is estimated as the average daily volumes on the forex market according to AITE Group’s (a research firm in USA) recent report titled “THE GLOBAL FX UPDATE”. This dwarfs the biggest stock exchange market in the world, New York stock market, with a daily turnover around $50 US billion.
Some traders in Ghana who are very active on the foreign exchange market have explained that the market is filled with benefits and it’s about time more Ghanaians embrace it to unleash the full benefits to the populace and the country as a whole.
Dougan’s story is one that resonates with several young enterprising Ghanaians today.
David Apinga, a media practitioner is one such person. He has been trading Forex as a part time activity for 2 years now.
“I got introduced to online Forex trading on campus in 2010. I came back to Accra, enrolled with Forex academy and started trading right away. “He said
David says he doesn’t spend much time on trading platforms but upon market trends or a piece of news on the market, he sits behind his laptop and does some transactions.
Even as a part-time trader, with a trading account of $100 US and trading size of $0.5 cents he sometimes earns between $40- $50 US per day.
“I am very happy to have discovered another means of earning additional income.” He expressed his joy.
Dougan sees the importance of forex trade far beyond personal gain but more as a means for economic benefits. He explained how Ghana can benefit economically if forex trading is encouraged in the country.
“It is an opportunity to the economy because in Forex trade we deal in foreign currencies so whoever gains, takes his winnings to his country. Just imagine 5000 Ghanaians gaining US $100 each and injecting this amount into the country economy,” he said.
Moreover, he believes it can be an alternative way to address the worrying unemployment situation in the country.
“It can create employment opportunities where a graduate can be self-employed. He can trade, get the experience and even open a firm to employ other people as well. We need to do more sensitization and encourage the youth. Government can even integrate Forex trading as a youth employment program,” Dougan says.
Though the current trends show how foreign exchange trade can impact positively, it however has its negative side.
Globally, statistics indicate that a significant number of all new forex traders lose their entire invested capital within 3 to 4 months from trading startup, only few traders actually made some fortune from Forex.
On that note, Dougan advised potential traders to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills in trading and also start with small capital to avoid huge losses.
Despite online Forex trading being a significant part of global business it remains highly unregulated in many countries. With Ghana gradually growing the sector, Forex traders are split on the issue of regulation. Some argue that regulation is necessary while others completely disagree. Whatever the case may be, Forex trading is certainly an area worth taking a critical look at.