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Ghana’s manufacturing sector has been increasing its contribution to the economy over the years. It is a thriving sector and set to contribute even further through the launch of new initiatives.
According to the Oxford Business Group (OBG) which is a global publishing, research and consultancy firm, which publishes economic intelligence on the markets of the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America, the feet is as a result of an improved business ecosystem and business environment, increase in electricity generation, economic transformation through the introduction of the Industrial Transformation Agenda in 2017 among other initiatives by the current government have created a thriving manufacturing sector.
On the performance of the sector for instance, the economic analysts report an increase over the years.
“Manufacturing contributed GHS28bn ($6.1bn) to GDP in 2017, up from GHS23.9bn ($5.2bn) in 2016 and GHS20.5bn ($4.4bn) in 2015, according to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). This was equivalent to 11.7% of GDP in 2017. Although manufacturing’s contribution to the economy has decreased slightly over the past decade, this was in large part due to the growth of the contribution of the oil sector to GDP. Indeed, the manufacturing sector grew by an impressive 9.5% in 2017, up from 7.9% in 2016 and 3.7% in 2015,” Oxford Business Group.
Government’s efforts at diversification, the creation of industrial zones, improvements in the automotive industry, processing of aluminum coupled with low inflation and low interest rates point to an even robust and strong manufacturing sector in the near future.
On the outlook of the sector, the Oxford Business Group concludes:
“Ghana’s investment landscape benefits not only from plentiful natural resources and a relatively skilled workforce, but also from political stability and internal security. In order to leverage these assets the government has set about building a competitive business environment; launching a far-reaching industrial development strategy and undertaking a range of reforms aimed at streamlining procedures and improving the country’s regulatory framework.
The state has also committed itself to fiscal consolidation and has successfully brought down inflation and cut interest rates, while still reducing energy tariffs, all changes that are expected to increase the competitiveness of the sector on a regional and international level. While further progress remains to be made in areas including tax.”
