CDC express interest in partnering GIIF to invest in Ghana

THE Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) and the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) following meetings in London have expressed their interest to co-invest in developmental projects in Ghana.

Projects such as railway infrastructure, power projects (generation and distribution), general infrastructure needs among others were under discussion for the investment.

This agreement was made when the Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Marfo, and other Government of Ghana officials visited the offices of the CDC in the United Kingdom.

CDC revealed that they had several investments in Ghana which included Cal Bank, SG-SSB Ltd., Ghana Leasing Company, Ltd., Tropical Glass Company, Ltd., as well as supported several private equity firms, who had, in turn, invested in several other projects to promote development in Ghana.

Speaking on the agreement to co-invest, Solomon Asamoah, CEO of GIIF said, "I’ve known and worked with the CDC for a very long time in my previous roles at the African Development Bank, the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and IFC. It is very refreshing to hear the CDCs interest in Ghana”.

He added that “As the CEO of GIIF, my role and goal is not to simply invest the $250m anchor money the GOG have provided for GIIF, but to also grow those funds. “Investing or co-investing with the CDC is the kind of package or plan that I believe will allow us to achieve this.”

He further appealed to the CDC to support Ghana through the infrastructure expansion phase that the country is about to undertake.

The Director and Head of Infrastructure Team at CDC, Sameh Shenouda, expressed CDC’s intense interest in Ghana’s development. “CDC has a focus on the energy and utilities sectors of Ghana and will be happy to support investments into these sectors,” he said.

According to him, a partnership with GIIF gave CDC the assurance and risk mitigation required to make some of the investments. “We look forward to working with the GIIF and the rest of the team in Ghana to pursue investment projects that interests Ghana,” he added.

The Senior Minister, Osafo Marfo, explained that the current government’s private sector focused approach to development expected to create more jobs through the private sector.

He encouraged the CDC to engage with the government of Ghana and Ghanaian businesses to enable them align their investment interests with that of the country.

He also called on businesses to invest in the different sectors of the Ghanaian economy, agribusiness, railways, mining, energy, among others.

The other officials included the Minister for Railways, Joe Ghartey, the Deputy Minister for Energy, Hon. Joseph Cudjoe and the CEO of GIPC, Mr. Yofi Grant.

The visit was part of activities organised by the UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce (UKGCC) with a big conference where over 250 British investors interested in Ghana met and deliberated on business opportunities in Ghana.