The Ghana Investment Promotion Center has hosted the Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade, Industry, and Tourism with the purpose of acquainting the committee with the GIPC’s activities.

Led by its Chairman, Carlos Ahenkorah, the committee engaged the Chief Executive Officer, Yofi Grant and management of the center, on a number of relevant topical issues especially on the activities and functions of GIPC over the past four years, as well as ways to improve the investment and business climate in Ghana.

Over the past four years, the GIPC has had a number of notable achievements, including being named the best Investment Promotion Agency in West and Central Africa for five years in a row, by the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) investment awards. Additionally, GIPC had been named two years in succession as the best Investment Promotion Agency in Africa by the prestigious and notable finance journal Cfi.co

Ghana ranked 3rd in FDIs in Africa in 2020

More impressively, the GIPC in 2020 recorded $2.65 billion dollars in Foreign Direct Investment despite the global economic challenges and downturn imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This figure placed Ghana behind Egypt ($5.5 billion) and Nigeria ($2.66 billion) in Africa, as the third largest recipient of FDI inflows in 2020.

Reflecting on the center's outstanding performance, Yofi Grant credited much of the center's success to the more dynamic and appealing approach employed to attract investors, in addition to government's ongoing efforts to improve Ghana's economic environment.

“In recent times, GIPC has adopted a more aggressive stance and we actively go seeking and engaging investors, which explains why we still recorded significant FDI inflow even during the pandemic” explained Mr. Grant.

Further to projecting brand Ghana, Mr. Grant also explained that image is very important in the market for capital which is very competitive. Every country, even those who we seek FDI from also go out looking for FDI. However, a positive image and clarity of development and growth plans have established Ghana as a good brand amongst its peers. GIPC’s strategy includes projecting the good image and

brand Ghana at every opportunity to establish the country as an attractive investment destination.

“I came into office and emphasized on selling brand Ghana at any given opportunity. Additionally, Ghana was doing the right things and gaining positive attention in the international markets and with global investors. Once you validate the information out there and also sell the vision and plan of transforming the economy for growth, people get excited and begin to enquire and show interest in the investment opportunities in Ghana. So, honestly telling our story, which is a great story, is key to elevate Ghana. Beyond that, also showing the opportunities and how it fits into the plan for the future gets investors excited " the CEO remarked.

He further reiterated that it is possible for Ghana to attract more FDIs than it is now and will be important to also elevate indigenous business through partnerships and linkages. Some of the notable developments in Ghana include the significant interest shown by auto mobile manufacturers (VW, Toyota, Nissan, SinoTruck, Suzuki and Honda) in Ghana.

Ghana is also fast establishing itself as a hub for technology in the region and accordingly is home to Google’s Ai Africa office as well as Twitter and there are efforts to bring in some of the other players like Amazon, Ali Baba, Uber and others.

The CEO reaffirmed the center's commitment to making Ghana the premier business and investment destination in Africa, being host of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) Secretariat.

He also explained that Ghana is in pole position to spearhead Africa’s industrialization as headquarters of the AfCFTA through the various Government policies and this also presents a very good business opportunity for the Ghanaian private sector to industrialize and grow

The familiarization visit came to a close with a tour of GIPC’s premises by the committee members in company with the CEO.

The Chairman of the Committee, Carlos Ahenkorah subsequently made the concluding remarks where he commended the GIPC for the excellent work done over the years and highlighted that Ghana have a great opportunity to showcase its investment agenda during the upcoming Expo 2020 and therefore urged GIPC to also work with the private sector in this endeavor.

He also emphasized that it is important for GIPC to set global standards and ensure that the intended reforms do not only make GIPC more efficient and Ghana more attractive but also inure to the benefit of our indigenous businesses.