Chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC), Lord Marland of Odstock, has extended a personal invitation to leaders of industry and business in Ghana to attend the Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF).

The CBF is organized biennially by the CWEIC and is held alongside the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

The Forum is set to take place in April 2018 in London, for the first time ever. The CBF is an invitation-only event and will convene 800 senior business leaders with approximately 30 Heads of Government at three iconic Central London venues.

Lord Marland met with President Nana Akufo-Addo during his visit to London last year and invited him both to the Forum, and to address it.

He praised the President’s achievements in promoting governance, trade and investment and cited Ghana as an example to the wider Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council works with business leaders from across the Commonwealth to facilitate trade and investment throughout the 53 states of the Commonwealth. It also supports private sector companies and governments to promote economic activity.

In 2011President Paul Kagame addressed the Forum

The Council works with member companies to expand their businesses and to help with new investments in any Commonwealth country.

CWEIC’s Strategic Partners include multinationals such as Standard Chartered, Rolls Royce, Burberry and African conglomerates such as Famfa Oil, PanAfrican Capital and FSD Africa.

With the Commonwealth’s cumulative population standing at 2.4 billion, the combined GDP of the nations is set to reach $14 trillion by 2020.

Intra-Commonwealth trade which was estimated to be worth $525 billion in 2015, is projected to surpass $1 trillion in 2020.

CWEIC’s ambition is to encourage and grow intra-Commonwealth trade and investment and assist member organizations in developing high-quality trade and investment opportunities.

It has recently opened hubs in Lagos, Nigeria and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and will be opening further hubs in 13 Commonwealth countries.

Lord Marland has also led business delegations to India, Malaysia/Singapore and Canada, and will be taking senior business leaders to the Gold Coast in Australia for the Commonwealth Games 2018.

In the weeks leading up to the Commonwealth Business Forum, the CWEIC is encouraging business and industry leaders to take a greater role in delivering economic growth and prosperity for their regions.