Ghana Embassy Holds Investment Promotion Forum

A two-day Investment Promotion Forum organized by the Embassy of Ghana at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC, to showcase investment opportunities in the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Eastern and Western Regions ended last week.

The forum attended by over two hundred participants including high powered delegation from Ghana led by the Minister of Private Sector Development, Hon. Kwamena Bartels, and the Regional Ministers from the four regions, Hon. S.K Boafo, Hon Ernest A. Debra, Hon. Francis Osafo-Mensah and Hon. Joseph B. Aidoo.

In attendance were also District Chief Executives, the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Investment Promotion Center, Mr. Kwasi Abeasi and a group of reputable local investors and entrepreneurs. US Corporate bodies and institutions, US investors doing business in Ghana, representatives of African Americans, US businessmen and Ghanaians living in the US.

His Excellency, Alan Kyerematen, Ghana’s envoy to the US, in his welcome address said the aim of the forum was to expose Ghanaian public and private sectors to the business environment in the US and to seek joint-venture partners for implementation of projects in the regions.

He however, stressed the important role Foreign Direct Investment can play in the economic growth of African countries and was highly optimistic that the US has the resources to support American Businesses in Africa.

The US Deputy Trade Representative, Ambassador Jon Huntsman, praised Ghana’s efforts at diversifying its export base to take advantage of the opportunities being offered by AGOA.

He added that aside AGOA, Ghana could export to the US market duty-free under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and the most favored nation arrangement and said his outfit was working very hard with Ghana to maximize AGOA benefits.

The Minister of Private Sector Development and the Chief Executive of the Ghana Investment Promotion Center outlined Ghana’s Economic Environment, Trade and Investment Opportunities and the Incentive Framework for investment in Ghana.

The Ministers also urged US investors to take advantage of the conducive social and economic environment the Government of Ghana has created under its Golden Age of Business and invest in the country.

Corporate US bodies such as the Export-Import Bank (Exim bank), Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), African Development Foundation (ADF), Constituency for Africa (CFA), and Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) were on hand to brief the forum on sources of funding and program of assistance in the US for projects in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Both the American and the Ghanaian investors were advised to take advantage of the various initiatives and available funding facilities in the US to facilitate investment in Ghana.

US investors doing business in Ghana were on hand to give practical evidence of their success stories in Ghana. Some of the companies were E.C Tech USA, the African American Trading Company Inc., and Data Management International.

The Regional Ministers innovatively showcased the investment opportunities in their regions followed by identification of core projects. About 45 project profiles were also presented covering agro-processing, commercial agriculture, tourism, wood processing, poultry, food processing, storage and distribution, production of industrial starch, processing of cocoa, tomatoes and citrus.

Further practical meaning was given to the forum when the entire second day was devoted to networking and matchmaking.

Ambassador Kyerematen urged the regional Ministers to review the project profiles and submit them to the Embassy to serve as a database for potential investors, stressing the need for follow-ups on the projects.