Here is what Ghana’s laws say about foreigners trading in Ghana

On May 1, 2023, a trade fair organized by a Nigerian in Accra was disrupted after some members of the Makola Wig Sellers’ Association stormed the event grounds in a bid to stop the sales from going on.

According to the association, the sales by the Nigerian threatened their business as she was offering lower prices.

There have, however, been varying concerns on whether it was appropriate for the market women to have acted the way they did.

But here is what Ghana’s laws are concerning foreigners who would want to engage in retail businesses in the country.

The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Act, 2013 (Act 865) stipulates that a person who is not a citizen may engage in a trading enterprise if that person invests in the enterprise, not less than One Million United States Dollars in cash or goods and services relevant to the investments.

Section 28(3) of Act 865 further provides that “trading” includes the purchasing and selling of imported goods and services. A further condition imposed on foreign enterprises that intend to engage in trading by Section 28(4) is that such an enterprise must employ at least twenty (20) skilled Ghanaians.

Section 27(1) of Act 865 generally lays out activities that foreign investors are not permitted to invest or participate in. This list is not exclusive. Other laws have provisions on activities reserved for Ghanaians.

These activities include the sale of goods or provision of services in a market, petty trading, or hawking or selling of goods in a stall at any place. Other activities not permitted for non-citizens include:

• the operation of a taxi or car hire service in an enterprise that has a fleet of less than twenty-five vehicles

• the operation of a beauty salon or a barber shop

• the printing of recharge scratch cards for the use of subscribers of telecommunication services

• the production of exercise books and other basic stationery

• the retail of finished pharmaceutical products

• the production, and retail of sachet water

Meanwhile, a breach of these laws is punishable offenses.

Section 40 of Act 865 provides for a list of offenses. A person commits an offence under Act 865 if the person among others, lets out a stall or store in a market to a foreigner; or otherwise contravenes a provision of this Act.

The effect of this provision is that a person who is not a citizen of Ghana who engages in retail trade without meeting the minimum capital requirements set out in Section 28 of Act 865 commits an offence under Act 865. Ghanaians or non-Ghanaians who let out a stall or a store in a market to a foreigner also commit a breach of Act 865.

SSD/OGB