Ghana needs more factories to create jobs for youth – Veep urges Chinese investors

Vice-President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang has urged Chinese investors to establish more factories in Ghana to create jobs for the country’s growing youthful population.

Speaking at an engagement with the Chinese business community in Shanghai on Sunday, October 18, 2026, she said Ghana needed more industries to process its raw materials locally and provide employment opportunities for young people.

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She warned that training young people without creating enough jobs for them could worsen unemployment and fuel frustration.

“If it’s the same thing they’ve been doing, then training so many people simply means that you are training them towards unemployment,” she said.

Professor Opoku-Agyemang explained that Ghana had technical schools and universities training young people for the future, but stressed that their skills needed to be matched with industries where they could work and contribute to the economy.

“What would lift us from the export of only raw materials to developing them is the human resource we have developed that will make that possible,” she stated.

The Vice-President identified shea butter and cocoa processing as key areas Chinese investors could explore, urging them to consider the range of products that could be developed from Ghana’s raw materials.

She highlighted opportunities across the shea value chain, from collecting the nuts to processing them into various products for export.

“From the collection of the nuts to all the ways of processing them to exports,” she said, describing the shea industry as an area where investors could establish businesses.

She also encouraged Chinese investors to look beyond chocolate production and explore other cocoa-based products, including cocoa wine.

“When we get to cocoa, we have always focused on the chocolate, which is very important. Please do more of the chocolate,” she said.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said Ghana needed to change its approach to raw material exports, arguing that the existing model had not created enough jobs or sufficiently diversified the job market.

“That has created some jobs, but never enough, and that has also not diversified the job market,” she noted.

She further called for stronger knowledge-sharing between Ghana and China, saying greater cooperation could help Ghana develop its industries and make better use of the skills of its people.

The Vice-President also acknowledged China’s progress in reducing poverty and hunger, adding that Ghana was working to stabilise its economy and improve economic conditions.

She maintained that Ghana remained open to business and expressed hope that increased investment and cooperation would help create more jobs and enable the country to process more of its natural resources locally.

ANAS/MA

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