The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) has hosted a landmark business forum with a 54-member Japanese business delegation, building momentum from President John Dramani Mahama’s official visit to Japan in August 2025.

The event underscored Ghana's push to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) amid strengthening bilateral ties with Japan and provided participating companies with the opportunity to learn about Ghana’s business environment and investment climate.

Leading the Japanese delegation was the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Atano Kunimitsu, who emphasised opportunities for collaboration in manufacturing, technology, and infrastructure.

She highlighted efforts by the Japanese Government to encourage Japanese companies to expand into Africa and to promote bilateral economic relations through the dispatch of joint public-private missions.

“We believe that Ghana is a country that Japanese companies participating in this mission should take an even greater interest in and consider the possibility of investment”, she said.

Organised in partnership with Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Ghana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the forum drew high-level dignitaries, including the Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, His Excellency Hiroshi Yoshimoto, Ghana's Deputy Ambassador to Japan, Ambassador Francis Doe, the Deputy Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry (MOTAI), Sampson Ahi,  and Livramento Rui, Chief of Staff of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat.

Other dignitaries included the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Simon Madjie; the Deputy CEO in charge of Operations at the Ghana Free Zones Authority, Lateef Apau Wiredu; Director and Head of Innovation, Partnerships, and Markets at the 24-Hour Economy Secretariat; Dr Ishmael Nii Amanor Dodoo, and  the Director of International Cooperation at the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Emmanuel Quao.

In his keynote address, the Deputy Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry (MOTAI), Sampson Ahi, highlighted industrial platforms and export-oriented manufacturing; manufacturing value chains and industrial inputs; and logistics, trade facilitation, and standards as priority areas in which Ghana is ready to collaborate.

He further expressed the government’s commitment to strengthening the business environment through practical reforms.

“We will support predictable regulation, improve coordination for investor facilitation, and strengthen aftercare so that firms already operating in Ghana can expand with confidence. When issues arise, we want them raised early and resolved quickly because delays cost jobs and confidence”, he said.

In his presentation titled “Doing Business in Ghana”, the CEO of GIPC, Mr Simon Madjie, said the Centre recorded a total of 26 projects totalling US$152.1 million in FDI across multiple sectors.

He mentioned opportunities for investment in areas such as the construction of the Takoradi-Tema and Takoradi-Ivory Coast Pipeline projects, the Petroleum Hub Development project, the Mooring System, farm-in opportunities, onshore opportunities, and gas infrastructure, plant upgrades and capacity expansions, among others.

The Deputy CEO in charge of Operations at the GFZA, also presented on understanding the Ghana Free Zones Scheme, highlighting that investors have the flexibility to locate in a special economic zone or in a single factory, while the Director of International Cooperation at GEPA, touched on the mandate of the Authority and the export and import opportunities available.