President John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday highlighted Ghana’s investment opportunities to Japanese investors.

Speaking at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Yokohama, Japan, President Mahama mentioned energy, tourism, infrastructure development and ports and harbours as some of the key areas for investment for their mutual benefits.

He said Ghana was strategically located as the centre of the world and that it was one of the leading destinations in Africa for international direct investments.

He said Ghana was the host country for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which was the landmark protocol that was signed by African countries.

He noted that so far, almost 50 African countries had signed on to the AfCFTA protocol that allowed them to export duty-free, tariff-free into each other’s markets.

He said Ghana was a land of opportunity and that many nationals from all over the world were investing in Ghana.

The President said because of the discipline, quality standards, and industrial wisdom that Japanese businessmen had, the Government of Ghana was encouraging Japanese businessmen to look towards Ghana.

“Africa is the next frontier for investment. Most parts of the world are saturated when it comes to investment. Africa is opening up, is growing, and is a place that Japan should be looking at,” he said.

“And so let us marry Japanese precision with Ghanaian potential and create a win-win situation for ourselves.”

The President said aside from the numerous economic opportunities, Ghana was a stable, democratic, business-friendly gateway to West Africa and the African continent.

“We have a growing consumer market with improving macroeconomic fundamentals, clear reforms to lower the cost of doing business, and abundant opportunities for technology transfer,” he said.

The President said the government was re-establishing macro stability and the growth momentum of the economy.

“Inflation rose to a high of almost 23 per cent in 2024 and is currently down to 13.7 per cent. And we expect that by the end of the year to hit a single digit,” he said.

“And it’s also, our cedi has stabilized. For those of you who know the history of the Ghanaian cedi, it’s been one of the most volatile currencies in Africa.

“And a few years back, we were said to be the worst performing currency. I’m happy to announce that this year Ghana’s cedi has been the best performing currency in the world.”

Touching on infrastructural development, President Mahama said the Government’s $10 billion Big Push Policy was a programme aimed to improve the infrastructure of the country, especially in the road sector, in the industrial sector and agro-processing space.

The President said the Government was investing $2 billion a year towards Ghana’s infrastructure development.

Concerning the 24-Hour Economy Programme, President Mahama said under the Policy the Government would give incentives to businesses that were prepared to invest and to run more than the eight hour working cycle.