The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, has called for a bold shift in Ghana’s economic strategy, urging the nation to move beyond its dependence on raw commodity exports and embrace value addition and service-led growth as the pathway to sustainable prosperity.

Delivering the keynote address at the Graphic Business/Stanbic Bank Breakfast Meeting in Accra on Tuesday, 15th July, Dr Asiama argued that Ghana’s traditional export model is no longer sufficient for long-term development.

“In cocoa, as we all say and as we all know, it is time to scale up value-added processing, the branding and retail export chains,” he noted.

While acknowledging that commodity production will remain critical to the economy, Dr Asiama stressed the need for local processing, downstream development, and targeted investments in high-growth sectors.

“In gold, we must accelerate efforts towards in-country refining and bullion storage. Steps are already underway to push that agenda,” he revealed.

On the oil and gas front, he emphasised that Ghana can no longer afford to delay downstream industrialisation.

“Investment in the petrochemical industry is now a clear imperative,” Dr Asiama said.

Beyond the traditional sectors, he highlighted the vast potential of non-traditional exports and high-value services as growth drivers for Ghana’s future economy.

“Ghana has an untapped edge in information technology, in digital finance, in education services, in architecture, and in our creative industries,” he pointed out.

Dr Asiama warned that failing to develop these emerging sectors would mean missing out on both economic gains and employment opportunities.

“Loss of potential abounds. With the right regulatory support and market access framework, these sectors can generate stable forex, create high-quality jobs, and diversify our revenue streams,” he concluded.