Accra, June 2017

Dominika Bzduchova

The 2017 Ghana Investment Summit is to take place in the end of August in Ghana’s capital of Accra. The Summit is a major event for investors, business leaders and corporate representatives organized in partnership with Ghana's Ministry of Finance, Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC) and various global investment banking partners.

The two-day gathering will entail of sessions discussing investment opportunities in Ghana, primarily in the segments of financial services, energy, agribusiness, and technology.

The Summit's key aim is to present Ghana as Africa's premier investment hub, an objective closely linked to President Akufo-Addo's mandate of laying foundations to the most business-friendly and people-friendly economy in Africa. Ghana's Finance Ministry therefore praises the summit and its significance for Ghana.

Accra also hosted the World Bank Group's Third Development Finance Forum that took place on May 31st and June 1st. The Forum's participants included more than 300 private and public sector figures from Ghana and beyond, and their aim was to explore how to attract more private finance sources. It is clear that the financing of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will have to come from the hands of the private sector, which has become the engine of job growth for African youth (and not only African). Job generation is now pressing the shoulders of all actors; governments, multilateral agencies, and, most importantly, the private sector.

Top investment opportunities in Ghana

The long-standing vision of GIPC, Ghana's one-stop-shop for investors, is to transform Ghana into the first destination of choice for investing in Africa. “Ghana's wealth of resources, democratic political system and dynamic economy, makes it undoubtedly one of Africa's leading lights. Gaining the world's confidence with a peaceful political transition and a grounded and firm commitment to democracy has helped in expediting Ghana's growth in foreign direct investment (FDI) in recent years,” notes the GIPC website. Meanwhile, international investors continue to relentlessly eye Ghana, including the French dairy producer Danone who, in cooperation with Abraaj Group, made a recent investment of $25 million in Fan Milk's Ghana business. On the other hand, Netherlands is looking into investment and business opportunities in Ghanaian horticulture sector.

According to GIPC, the following areas offer the top investment opportunities in Ghana:

• Agriculture & Agro-Processing
• Textiles & Garments
• Food Processing
• Healthcare
• Mineral Processing
• Oil & Gas
• Tourism
• Utilities (Water, Electricity)

Overall, the Center's efforts are paying off since, according to the 2017 Ease of Doing Business Report, Ghana is the best place for doing business in West Africa, surpassing countries such as Nigeria and Ivory Coast. Ghana moved up three ranks in comparison with the 2016 Report. The key indicators are (a) access to electricity (122th place in 2016, 120th place in 2017); (b) resolving insolvency (158th in 2016, 155th in 2017); and (c) cross-border trade (167th in 2016, 154th in 2017).

In addition, GIPC was awarded the Best Investment Promotion Agency (IPA) in West and Central Africa for the second time at the 2017 Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) Awards in Dubai, UAE.

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