Nana Kobina Nketsia V, President of the Western Regional House of Chiefs, has called for value addition to local raw materials to enhance economic growth and sustainable development.

According to him, the Western Region, the most resource-endowed region in Ghana, with its outstanding history of contributions to national revenue, exports, and industrial activities, continued to lag in the industrialisation needed to add value to its raw materials.

Nana Nketsia V, who is also the Omanhene of Essikado Traditional Area, said this when the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), under its Investment Opportunity Mapping Project, organised a Western Regional Investment Forum in Takoradi.

The forum was themed: “Driving Local Investments – Unlocking Regional Potential, Mapping Opportunities and Mobilising Growth in the Western Region.”

The forum, which formed part of the GIPC’s Regional Investment Roadshow, was to provide a platform for stakeholders to deliberate and discuss investment opportunities in the Western Region.

Nana Nketsia V stated that local investments were important and called on investors to make investments that promote culture and benefit people for shared prosperity.

Dr Akwasi Opong-Fosu, the Board Chairman of GIPC, noted that the investment opportunity mapping project was birthed to systematically identify and promote bankable investments and ready opportunities across all 16 regions of the country.

According to him, the roadshow initiative prioritised investments that promoted industrialisation, exports, jobs, skills transfer, and value addition to local raw materials.

Madam Rachel Fosua Sarpong, the Chief Director at the Western Regional Co-ordinating Council (WRCC), said the roadshow was a strategic turning point, a call to action, and a platform to translate promise into productivity.

She said the programme's theme was appropriate, as it emphasised the collective responsibility of stakeholders to transform the region’s rich natural resources into wealth.