At the end of the first UK-Ghana Investment Summit held in Accra, the UK has announced that over £1 billion will be pumped into Ghana’s economy to boost trade and create thousands of jobs through potential investment deals, in a statement released.
The event which was attended by over 50 UK investors and business leaders, discussed opportunities for investment in key job creating sectors and to celebrate the strength of the UK-Ghana relationship.
The launch of a UK-Ghana Business Council and UK-Ghana Investment Summit were key strategies to promote a deeper and more strategic economic development partnership between both countries.
Bilateral commitments
President Nana Akuffo-Addo highlighted his ambition of moving Ghana ‘Beyond Aid’ through industrialisation and infrastructure development creating thousands of jobs
Baroness Fairhead, the UK’s Minister for Trade and Export Promotion who spoke at the summit welcomed the vision and set out the UK Prime Minister’s ambition for the UK to engage more closely with Africa, and for it to become the G7’s largest source of FDI to the Continent in support of jobs and economic development.
Investment areas
These investments cover infrastructure projects from roads and bridges to water treatment plants and rail refurbishments as well as support for facilitating investment into industrial sectors.
Partnerships with the UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce, Ghana Investment Promotion center and the Ministry of Trade and Industry to help investors kick-start key investment projects discussed at the UK Ghana Investment Summit that have the potential to create 1000’s of jobs.
There are also plans to conclude agreements to support three major industrial parks in Ghana which will help attract anchor tenants and generate further investor interest in Ghana.
The statement added that the UK will provide further technical assistance to the Ministries of Rail and Trade and Industry to develop the necessary regulatory and institutional frameworks to guide and stimulate investment in the rail, automobile and other priority industrial sectors.
Previous UK investments in Ghana
These announcements build on substantial previous UK investment in Ghana’s development. Over the last two decades the UK has invested over £2 billion of development funding in Ghana and facilitated over £1 billion of private capital to support Ghanaian firms and infrastructure projects through its financing arms: the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), CDC (the UK’s Development Finance Institution) and UK Export Finance (UKEF).
About the UK-Ghana Investment Summit
The UK-Ghana Investment Summit is an event created by the UKGCC to promote Ghana as an investment destination for British companies and investors. The first event took place on July 22, 2017 in the UK and was attended by over 250 senior business professionals and leaders, followed by the second UK Ghana Investment Summit hosted on April 17, 2018 in London. This event brought together leading thinkers and decision-makers from different sectors and industries across both Ghana and the UK. The President of Ghana, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo gave the keynote address followed by in-depth interviews with several Ministers of State and business leaders.
Off the back of two successful summits, the UKGCC hosted its 3rd Investor focused summit in Accra, Ghana on October 15 – 16, 2018. This summit provided a platform to further merge new opportunities which have opened up both in Ghana and the UK for enhanced trade investments.
