President John Dramani Mahama on Monday underscored the need for deeper collaboration between the public and private sectors to drive Ghana’s economic recovery and long-term transformation.

Addressing the Ninth Ghana CEO Summit in Accra, Mr Mahama said Ghana’s path to sustainable growth required a renewed compact between government and business, based on mutual accountability, shared risk, and shared prosperity.

“The time has come for us to lift the gloom, to restore confidence, and to build again. Ghana is open for business again,” he said.

President Mahama said: “This summit marks the beginning of a new compact between the public and private sectors.”

He announced plans to institutionalise a national business consultative platform for regular engagements between government and industry leaders.

That, he said, would allow businesses to provide feedback on key policy reforms and co-create solutions for national development.

The summit, held on the theme: “Leading Ghana’s Economic Reset: Transforming Business and Governance for a Sustainable, Futuristic Economy,” brought together key actors from the public and private sectors, including Chief executive officers, investors, policymakers, and development experts.

Mr Mahama outlined a comprehensive economic reset strategy anchored on eight pillars, including fiscal discipline, debt sustainability, support for local industry, and infrastructure financing through public-private partnerships.

Restoring macroeconomic stability must not crowd out private sector financing, he said, and that “access to credit and capital markets will not crowd you out. We will borrow responsibly to ensure space for your businesses to grow.”

Mr Stephen Blewett, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, called for stronger collaboration between businesses and government to create an enabling environment for innovation, job creation, and digital transformation.

“There’s no reason the next big innovation shouldn’t come from Ghana…But we must create the environment for it and believe in our collective potential as business leaders,” he said.

Mr Blewett noted that MTN Ghana had invested over US$1 billion in digital infrastructure between 2021 and 2025, a move that reflected confidence in Ghana’s long-term potential.

He called on other private sector leaders to invest in innovation and skills development to harness the potential of the country’s youthful population.

Mr Moses Kwesi Baiden Jnr, the CEO of Margins Group, said Ghana’s journey toward a resilient and inclusive economy must be underpinned by a secure and efficient digital identity infrastructure.

He described the national ID system as the “foundation for effective governance, business efficiency, and economic empowerment.”

“In this digital age, data is the new currency, and trust is the foundation. Without a reliable and secure identity system, governments cannot run effectively, nor can businesses serve their markets efficiently.”

Mr Baiden said Ghana’s identity infrastructure – anchored by the Ghana Card – was among the most advanced globally, enabling both e-government and e-commerce systems to operate securely, efficiently, and at scale.

He called the system “the most successful public-private partnership between the Government and private sector to deliver the public good sustainably.”

Services such as healthcare, law enforcement, and financial transactions had seen improvements in transparency, speed, and fraud prevention because of the integration of digital identity systems, he noted.

“This is not just a card; it is an infrastructure of trust, the gateway to inclusion and the engine of economic transformation into the future,” he added.

The summit provided a platform for strategic dialogue on private sector leadership, policy direction, and new investment opportunities, particularly in technology, finance, and manufacturing.