The International Finance Corporation (IMF) says it will invest $450 million in Ghana’s private sector this year to boost productivity and create jobs.

Kyle Kelhofer, the Senior Manager for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, IFC, World Bank Group, said such support to businesses was part of efforts to reduce poverty and improve development around the world.

He said this in an interview on the sidelines of a field trip to some Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) companies in the country by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Agribusiness, Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, in Accra, over the weekend.

“Last year, we did over US$450m of investment here in Ghana, supporting the private sector. This year, we’re targeting a similar amount. So, we’re continuing to support companies on a commercial basis to create more and better jobs," Mr Kelhofer said.

He described the minister’s visit to the companies to ascertain their challenges and help solve them as a right step towards attracting and sustaining foreign businesses in the country to propel economic growth.

“The Government can continue these efforts to improve the investment climate, allow companies to expand and to grow and attract further companies like B5Plus to bring more and better jobs here in Ghana, and ensure more value addition here,” he said.

He was confident that more local production would help the country with a reduction in imports, and the cost for other industries’ development, and called for the creation of more avenues for the utilisation of local materials and human resources.

Mrs Ofosu-Adjare said the Government through the Ministry would work towards the challenges of land litigation, using Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and concerns of taxes to make companies thrive in the country.

She encouraged foreign companies to deal with their staff with dignity, saying, “Your workers are your lifeline – treat them well and pay them well and work happily together.”