Ghana poised to be gateway to business in Africa

Will Foster, professor, Internet expert and venture capitalist, sees big opportunities in global business.

"The economy in China is growing by 10 percent, and the economy in Ghana is growing 20 to 30 percent," said Foster, an assistant professor in the School of Management at Arizona State University West.

There are risks, he noted, but also abundant opportunities for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

"Unlike a lot of the other West African countries that are going to hell in a handbasket, Ghana has a system that is stable and growing," he said.

The government is pro-business, and the tribes have agreed to embrace democracy, he said.

"Ghana is a good place to invest."

Foster predicted it will become the gateway to Africa, that businesses that succeed there could expand to the rest of the continent.

One key to success, he said, is finding Ghanian partners who have been educated and worked in the United States.

"Many are sons of chiefs in Africa; these people learned all the best things about Western technology but also understand how things work in Africa and can make very good business partners."

Foster sees potential in telecommunications, in start-ups in Ghana and especially in imports.

For example, a U.S. company may sell a table and four chairs manufactured in China for $2,000. "You can get the same table made in Ghana with the best mahogany for $300," and even with shipping costs, an American importer would make a decent profit, Foster said.

"The question is, why are we taking the wood and exporting it to China? Why are we not manufacturing the table in Ghana? It's because the Chinese are really good at doing business."

Another example: For years, much of the world's gold has come out of Ghana.

"Why isn't Ghana developing a jewelry production facility for producing gold jewelry? They've produced it for tribal chiefs, why not for the export market?" he said. "It's just that the best entrepreneurial talents have left Ghana to go abroad."

The Internet is more developed and widespread in Ghana than anywhere else in Africa, Foster said. The capital, Accra, is dotted with Internet cafes, and 300,000 people in Ghana use the Internet at least once a month. Commerce could be generated by tying American consumers to African craftsmen.

Americans could use three-dimensional modeling on the computer to custom design gold jewelry, furniture and tile, to be created by Ghanians. What's needed is someone to set up a Web site and people to build the businesses, he said.