The CEO of Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), R. Yofi Grant has highlighted some of the opportunities in Africa, and Ghana in particular, for foreign investors, at the Africa Investment Rising Roadshow in New York City.
In an interview with Sherah Beckley, editor for Thomson Reuters Sustainability, Grant said Africa is rewriting the way it engages from the days of exploitation of its resources and is looking for partnerships and linkages for mutual benefit.
According to him, Ghana is a trailblazer in that regard, and the country has done all the things to right its economy and set a path for irreversible growth, and there are great opportunities that investors need to look at.
“Our president made his famous statement that Ghana’s economy is going to move from aid to trade, and he captures it as ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’. What that simply means is that we need to capture all of our resources and harness indigenous capital to mutual benefit of investors.”
Speaking of the opportunities prospects in Africa, the CEO said “First of all, this is a continent that has 30% of the world’s resources. So those resources are very important for the raw materials of the industrialisation of the world, not just Africa.”
“Additionally, there’s the fact of demographics, in a few years, Africa will be a quarter of the world’s population. Sixty percent of the continent is below the age of 35 so that’s a market waiting to happen. You can’t ignore and need to understand the consumer market and human capital opportunity.”
“Most countries in Africa are reforming and improving their economies. It’s estimated that six out of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world this year will be from Africa, so I think the Africa opportunity is one that cannot be ignored. It’s one just waiting for partnership.” He said.
On a final note, Grant revealed that Ghana is engaging in reforms and making sure that the investors that it attracts are not just investors, but the ones it can form a relationship with. “It’s a relationship for sustainability, for mutual benefit, and therefore we will engage. We’ve had great meetings with the USAID, the Secretary of Commerce, the MCC, and they were all very positive. We invite the US private sector to engage, especially the SMEs because that is where the greatest opportunities lie.”
