Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, the Minister-designate for Trade, Agribusiness, and Industry, has proposed a 24-hour economy to solve the challenges affecting the One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative.

During her vetting by Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Wednesday, Mrs Ofosu-Adjare acknowledged the programme’s successes and outlined the hurdles it faced.

“Mr Chairman, 1D1F is a programme for Ghanaians set up by the government. It has its pluses and minuses. For the pluses, the programme set up factories where individuals could add value to our raw materials …but because of some challenges, they have not been able to do what was expected of them,” she stated.

Mrs Ofosu-Adjare highlighted raw material shortages and limited access to capital as significant issues for agro-processing factories.

Despite government support through subsidised loans and a capped interest rate of 20 per cent, market fluctuations raised interest rates to 55 per cent, leaving a 15 per cent funding gap for businesses.

To overcome those challenges, Mrs Ofosu-Adjare proposed transitioning to a 24-hour economy.

“Mr Chairman, now that we know the challenges, how are we going to solve them? I see the solution to the 1D1F in the 24-hour economy,” she told the Committee.

“… By maximising productivity through extended operational hours, factories could mitigate supply chain challenges and enhance output,” the minister-designate added.