Do you own an import-export company or are you starting a new business that deals with international trade? After all, starting a career abroad is not the only possible way to go international. Have you then ever thought about doing business with Ghana?For this West African country has more to offer than you might have thought!

With an economic growth of 8% in the past five years, further expected increases in GDP of over 7% a year, a stable democracy since 1992, ongoing infrastructure development as well as a rising demand for various goods, Ghana is a country worthwhile doing business with.

Import

Ghana has come far since gaining its independence as the first country in colonial Africa in 1957. Numerous ongoing reforms and policies focused on boosting the economy and spurring private sector-led development, a rapidly growing tourism sector as well as the country’s richness in various natural resources have done much to encourage economic growth in Ghana. This economic development also brings with it a rising demand for import goods, particularly high end technology and chemical products.

Imported machinery and transportation equipment, for example, are not only needed in mining, but also for public programs aiming to improve Ghana’s infrastructure. The Ghanaian road network, for example, has been expanded from 37,000km in 2000 to 68,000km in 2012, representing not only an important stepping stone for future economic growth but also improving the lives of many citizens.

Additionally, the 2007 discovery of the Jubilee oilfield off the coast of Ghana and the resulting exploration of oil and gas have further produced a growing need for special equipment and chemical products.

Furthermore, the Ghanaian government hopes to expand industries in regards to aluminum, petrochemicals and fertilizer production and has also shown much interest in building up the country’s energy sector, particularly in regards to gas and renewable energy resources.

However, not only the Ghanaian industry has a need for imported goods; with the growth of the economy, slowly but surely a small well-off middle class is forming. With a corresponding expected growth of more than 8% in consumption, this represents a further potential need for imported goods. Entertainment equipment, for example, as well as office appliances will surely grow in demand.

These rising needs for imported productsin the last few years arepredictably also reflected in Ghana’s current import statistics: From 2008 to 2012, importincreased by 13.2%.In 2012, more than 40% of imported goods were machinery and transportation equipment.

However, such a growing market also leads to a growing interest in Ghana worldwide. Chinese companies especially have shown great interest and are already heavily involved in, for example, the development of Ghana’s infrastructure.

South African, Turkish, Indian as well as Brazilian companies have also discovered this potential particularlywith regard to import, so if you are thinking about doing business with Ghana, you better be quick!

Export

Export, similar to import, has increased a lot in the last few years: a growth of 49% was registered in the years 2008 to 2012, with South Africa, India and the United Arab Emirates as the largest export markets in 2012.

While these rising numbers are partially due to the high world price of gold, the newly discovered oil reservoirs have also done their part for this major increase in export. Other typical export goods of Ghana are cocoa as well as exotic wood; in the case of cocoa, Ghana is even the second largest producer worldwide.

Ghana’s international presence

A number of trade agreements and the country’s membership in various international trade organizations or communities are not only important for Ghana’s economy, but for the whole country.Ghana is, for example, a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which allows free movement of people and goods across their 16 member nations’ borders. Steps towards an African Economic Community that is supposed to take effect in 2025 are also being taken, which will further increase Ghana’s access to other African markets.

Furthermore, Ghana is not only a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and an active member of both the United Nations and the African Union, and – as a former British colony – also part of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Ghana’s WTO membership in particular means that the country’s trade practices and policies are being periodically controlled to ensure that international rules of trade are being applied and enforced.

Lastly, while there might be no Economic Partnership Agreement between Ghana and the European Union yet, the EU is currently in negotiations regarding the potential of such a partnership.

Ghana’s Vision 2020

Last but not least, Ghana’s Vision 2020 may be a further incentive for you to think about doing business with this West African country. Not only does this program propose the ambitious goal of reaching a high-income economy status by 2020, but to be able to do so, Ghana has a number of measures planned.

These include, for example,the further nationalization of state-owned enterprises, the elimination of exchange rate controls andthe establishment of an interbank foreign exchange market. Plus, most importantly for all who want to do business with Ghana: The Vision 2020 plan includes a lift of virtually all restrictions on imports.

With such a positive economic outlook, a rising need for imported goods and the added benefit of English being the official language, it is no surprise that Ghanais considered an increasingly attractive country to do business with.