How much money passes through a person’s hands is only part of their financial story.
What they keep, how they use it and the decisions they make about the future shaped the conversation at the first Cedi Sense Conference, held at ESP Hotel in Accra on Saturday, 7 November 2026.
Organised by 3Xtra, a brand of MG Digital, under the theme “Building Wealth in the Digital Age”, the conference brought financial literacy out of the studio and into a room where participants could put their questions to investment professionals, financial educators and digital finance practitioners.
Stanbic Investment Management Services (SIMS) supported the conference as Partner, providing financial backing and helping bring expert voices into the programme. ESP Hotel served as Venue Partner.
SIMS’s contribution was reflected throughout the discussions, with Desmond Bredu, Wendyliza Kwarteng and Emily Baaba Dadzie sharing practical perspectives on saving and investing.
The programme explored wealth foundations, investment decisions and digital money, with Paul Kofi Mante, Managing Director of EDC Investments Limited, contributing a message about the difference between receiving money and building lasting wealth.
The habits behind financial progress
“Wealth is not built by how much money that passes through your hands,” Mante said. He urged participants to think carefully about the purpose of debt: “We borrow to do things that bring back money not for consumption.”
Desmond Bredu, Head of Client Coverage at SIMS, placed the discussion in the context of everyday life. “Money is a tool that we need to use to better ourselves,” he said.
He encouraged people to learn from setbacks as they build wealth, and to keep expectations close enough to their circumstances to avoid constant financial dissatisfaction.
Bredu also addressed the practical habits behind saving and running a business. He suggested keeping notes in a separate savings account rather than alongside coins in a susu box, where the temptation to spend could be harder to resist.
For business owners, he stressed separating finances, paying themselves sensibly, saving consistently and pricing products properly.
Financial literacy expert and content creator Priscilla Atta-Peters of 30seeds urged participants to protect their own financial priorities. “Saving is a stepping stone into investment,” she said, connecting the discipline of putting money aside with the ability to pursue longer-term opportunities.
Jerome Kuseh of CediTalk added that financial progress also depends on developing the capacity to earn. “Value education, learn to earn, and never limit yourself,” he said. The Wealth Foundations discussion was moderated by Beatrice Adu.
Understanding what you invest in
The Investment Mastery discussion, moderated by Martin Asiedu-Dartey, examined the work behind an investment decision. Mimi Anane-Appiah, co-founder of Investment Friend, warned that the prospect of gains on the stock exchange comes with the possibility of losses.
She called for discipline rather than emotional decisions and encouraged participants to build connections with knowledgeable industry professionals.
SIMS Senior Investment Advisor Emily Baaba Dadzie emphasised the need to understand a business before buying into it. “Before investing in a company’s stocks, take time to research and understand the business,” she said.
Wendyliza Kwarteng, also a Senior Investment Advisor at SIMS, encouraged people to begin with what they could afford and to be clear about their objectives.
Her broader point was that investment decisions should account for what money will be able to buy in the future. “The goal of investing is not just to grow your money, but to protect its purchasing power over time,” she said.
Together, the contributions connected saving habits with research, risk and personal goals. SIMS’s involvement gave participants access to practitioners who could explain those considerations in the context of ordinary financial decisions.
Digital money and everyday use
The Digital Money discussion, moderated by MG Digital’s Richard Sena Quashie, considered what financial technology should make possible beyond sending and receiving funds. Clinton Mbah, CEO and Co-Founder of Accrue, argued that cross-border payments should become easier and less costly for the people using them.
“Financial technology should make sending money across borders simpler, faster and more affordable,” Mbah said. He called for services that people could use without specialist knowledge of cryptocurrency and discussed virtual cards and payments through digital wallets.
He also explained over-collateralised borrowing, where borrowers provide assets worth more than the amount they borrow.
Ralph Gerbs, founder of CediRates, returned the discussion to informed decisions and patience.
He urged participants to avoid letting fear determine their investment choices, to assess opportunities carefully and to allow time for investments to develop. His comments on long-term investing covered both stocks and cryptocurrency.
Dawuda Iddrisu of SeevCash described the practical motivation behind a payment solution he had built: helping people make payments while travelling. His contribution brought the discussion back to the everyday situations that digital financial services are intended to address.
Continuing the conversation
TV3’s Manu Afful hosted the conference, which marked Cedi Sense’s first in-person conference after two years of developing the concept through videos and studio conversations with experts.
The event created a shared setting for questions that also appear in 3Xtra’s MySikasem diaries: how people earn, meet obligations and make room for their own financial goals.
Cedi Sense plans to continue that work through a weekly newsletter featuring MySikasem and practical money explainers, alongside the show and community discussions. Further activities, including webinars and campus engagement, are being developed, with details to be announced as arrangements are confirmed.
MG Digital acknowledged SIMS for its financial support and contribution of expertise, and ESP Hotel for supporting the conference as Venue Partner. The collaboration helped make the first gathering possible and gave the financial literacy discussions a direct connection to experienced practitioners.
Readers can view the conference photographs at cedisense.mgdm.co/gallery.
For Cedi Sense updates and to sign up for the newsletter, visit cedisense.mgdm.co.
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