By Next Decade If You Are Not in Ghana, You Are Not in Africa - Bawumia to Canadian Investors

Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has explained to a group of Canadian investors why Ghana is the best investment destination in Africa for both local and foreign investors.

According to Dr. Bawumia, not only do Ghana's political stability and security as well as benign legal and regulatory environment offer the best investment climate, the large domestic market and macroeconomic stability of Ghana puts it high as a favourable investment destination of choice in the African continent.

Addressing a group of investors at the Canada-Ghana Economic Summit organized by the Canada-Africa Strategic Investment Group Inc. in Vancouver, Canada on Monday 22nd July, 2019, Vice President Bawumia was optimistic that recent economic developments in Ghana present huge opportunities for diverse investment types, and called on the Canadian investors to double their steps in Ghana.

Touching on a supportive legal regulatory environment in Ghana, Dr. Bawumia stated that "ranked 48th (out of 126 countries) on the World Justice Project's 2019 Rule of Law Index, Ghana provides a safe haven under which investments are protected under a fair and 'commercially-aware' judicial system." In addition to this, other noteworthy global comparisons present positive judgements on the investment potentials in Ghana. For instance, Ghana has been ranked ahead of countries like South Africa in the 2019 A.T Kearney Global Services Location Index (GSLI), a measure of the attractiveness of a location for offshore services. Ghana has maintained a consistent position as the 2nd highest ranked country (out of 20) in the Absa/Barclays Africa Group Financial Markets Index for two years running. And Ghana is also being ranked as the 4th highest (out of 25) African Country in Ernst & Young Africa's Attractiveness Survey (2017), ahead of Cote d'Ivoire, Mauritius, Rwanda and Nigeria.

According to Dr. Bawumia, Ghana's large domestic market and the coming into force of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) suggests that the country's domestic market is no longer confined to West Africa alone. This makes Ghana the potential capital of Africa's commercial, trade and investment future. "Already, Ghana hosts the headquarters of several Multinational Companies (MNCs) serving the over 350 million-people in the ECOWAS Region. The multiplier effects of hosting AfCFTA provides an even greater opportunity for businesses to rapidly launch into the rest of Africa from Ghana", Dr. Bawumia noted.

Vice President Bawumia further noted that "successfully implemented AfCTFA will have a combined consumer and business spending of $6.7 trillion in 2030, boost manufacturing and industrial development in Africa and raise intra-African trade by 15 to 25 percent, or $50 billion to $70 billion, by 2040, compared to an Africa without the AfCFTA, all of which will be coordinated and directed from institutions, personnel, and resources based out of Ghana".

Dr. Bawumia stated among others that with a committed focus on economic transformation through digitization, "the development of all the soft infrastructure platforms - the national identification system, digital address system, and paperless port system, e-justice system, interoperability of the payment system, and so on, which have been driven strongly by government but implemented fully by the private sector, provide ample opportunities for FinTech companies.

The CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Center, Mr. Yoofi Grant, as well as the Minister for Business Development, Dr. Mohammed Awal took turns to market Ghana to the investors. According to Mr. Yoofi grant, Ghana has made significant economic strides and assumed a sustained path of marco-economic stability that should be of interest to all investors. He indicated the various tax cuts such as the over 17 taxes abolished or reduced by government, a cumulative reduction in electricity prices of 11%, and suspension of Import Value Added Tax of 15% on 64 Commodity Groups, each of which is made up of several hundreds of individual products are all direct policy interventions by government to spur investment growth.

Other speakers at the summit were Dr. Edward Akuffo, Chief Executive Officer of Canada-Africa Strategic Investment Group Inc., Councillor Sara Kirby-Yung, Acting Mayor - City of Vancouver, and the Ghana High Commissioner to Ghana, H.E Ayikoi Otoo.

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