Comms and branding with Samuel OWUSU-ADUOMI: World Shea Expo 2025: GEA to propel local producers toward global markets

Tamale is once again set to become the focal point of the global shea industry as Ghana prepares to host the World Shea Expo 2025 from September 2 to 4 at the Modern City Hotel.

The event promises to attract scores of participants, including local producers, international buyers, investors, policy-makers and development partners.

This year, the spotlight falls on the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA), whose strategic partnership with the expo aims to provide critical support to the local shea industry.

With a focus on empowering small and medium-sized enterprises, women-led cooperatives and youth entrepreneurs, GEA’s involvement underscores the government’s commitment to transforming shea into a pillar of national economic growth.

For the GEA, the World Shea Expo is more than a trade fair; it is a catalyst for sustainable growth, innovation and empowerment. Through training, funding and strategic linkages, GEA is equipping local producers with the tools to compete globally and maximise the value of their products.

By uniting global stakeholders with local actors, the expo seeks to accelerate the growth of Ghana’s shea sector, turning the industry into a source of wealth, jobs and opportunity for communities across the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.

The role of GEA in accelerating shea industry growth

The Ghana Enterprise Agency has emerged as a pivotal force in driving the modernisation and expansion of the local shea sector. Tasked with supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, GEA provides critical guidance in business development, access to finance and market linkages—services that are especially vital for women-led cooperatives and youth entrepreneurs who dominate the shea value chain.

By partnering with the World Shea Expo 2025, GEA aims to bridge the gap between grassroots producers and international markets. The agency’s programmes focus on enhancing product quality, encouraging value addition and equipping businesses with the skills to compete on a global scale.

These interventions are designed not only to increase the profitability of local producers but also to ensure that the wealth generated by the shea industry remains within Ghana.

Through its initiatives, GEA is actively helping shea producers move beyond the export of raw materials to the production of refined and branded products that meet international standards.

By engaging directly with stakeholders at the expo, GEA is creating opportunities for strategic support, fostering partnerships and driving initiatives that accelerate growth and strengthen the shea industry across Ghana. This approach ensures that the value of shea is captured locally, empowering communities, boosting exports and positioning Ghana as a leading player in the global market.

GEA’s involvement is part of a broader strategy to strengthen the shea industry as a driver of economic transformation. By providing training, financial access and strategic networking opportunities, the agency plays a critical role in positioning Ghana as a competitive player in the US$2billion global shea market.

Supporting women and youth entrepreneurs

At the heart of the domestic shea industry are the women and young entrepreneurs who form its backbone. They account for nearly 90 percent of the workforce – from harvesting shea nuts to producing shea butter, yet they face persistent challenges, including limited access to finance, modern processing equipment and high-value markets.

The World Shea Expo 2025, with the active support of the Ghana Enterprise Agency, seeks to change this narrative. Through targeted workshops, mentorship sessions and business clinics, women-led cooperatives and youth-owned enterprises will gain practical tools to enhance productivity, improve product quality and scale their operations. These initiatives are tailored to meet the unique needs of small-scale producers while encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship within the sector.

Empowering women and youth is not just a moral imperative; it is an economic strategy.When these groups are equipped with the right skills, resources and market connections, the shea industry can thrive sustainably and the benefits will ripple through rural communities across northern Ghana.

By facilitating access to funding, technical expertise and global buyers, GEA ensures that these entrepreneurs are no longer marginalised actors in the supply chain but active participants in shaping the industry’s future.

The expo becomes more than a showcase; it is a launchpad for opportunity, enabling women and youth to transform their local enterprises into globally competitive ventures.

Driving value addition and market access

While Ghana exports over 70,000 tonnes of shea annually, a significant portion leaves the country in raw form, leaving much of the value for overseas processors and brands. Addressing this challenge is a central focus of the World Shea Expo 2025, and the Ghana Enterprise Agency is playing a pivotal role in creating pathways for local producers to capture more of the value chain.

Through strategic partnerships facilitated by GEA, shea producers and cooperatives will gain access to modern processing technologies, quality certification programmes and branding expertise. This support is critical for enabling small and medium-sized enterprises to produce refined shea products that meet international standards, from cosmetics and food ingredients to pharmaceuticals.

Market access remains another priority. The expo will provide a platform where local producers can connect directly with international buyers, investors and distributors. By fostering these relationships, GEA helps ensure that Ghana’s shea industry not only grows in volume but also becomes more competitive globally.

Supporting value addition is about more than technology; it is about positioning Ghanaian shea as a premium, trusted product in the global market,” explained a GEA official. Through the expo, GEA will help producers bridge the gap between raw production and finished goods, unlocking economic potential and creating sustainable livelihoods across the shea belt.

With these initiatives, the Ghana Enterprise Agency ensures that the expo serves not only as a trade and networking event but as a strategic engine for transforming Ghana’s shea industry into a high-value, globally recognised sector.

Policy support and public-private collaboration

The World Shea Expo 2025 is not only a marketplace but also a policy platform, bringing together government agencies, private sector stakeholders and international partners to chart the future of Ghana’s shea industry. Central to this effort is the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA), which serves as a bridge between policy-makers and local entrepreneurs, ensuring that regulatory frameworks and government programmes translate into tangible support for producers.

GEA’s involvement extends beyond coordination; the agency actively facilitates access to financing, technical assistance and market intelligence for shea cooperatives and youth-led enterprises. By linking government initiatives—such as the Presidential Initiatives in Agriculture and Agribusiness (PIAA) and Ghana EXIM Bank programmes—with grassroots producers, GEA ensures that national policies have a direct, measurable impact on the communities that drive the shea value chain.

Public-private collaboration will also be a highlight of the expo. Investors, processors, exporters and financial institutions will convene to discuss innovative business models, investment partnerships and strategies for sustainable growth. These dialogues are designed to create an enabling environment where local producers can thrive, foreign exchange earnings are maximised and women and youth—the backbone of the industry—are empowered to lead and innovate.

Through strategic policy support and collaboration, GEA is positioning the World Shea Expo as a transformative platform, turning high-level commitments into real opportunities for accelerated industry growth and sustainable economic development.

Innovation, training and capacity building

Beyond trade and policy dialogues, the World Shea Expo 2025 will serve as a hub for innovation, skill development and capacity building, equipping local actors to meet the growing demands of the global market. Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA) is at the forefront of this effort, organising workshops, mentorship programmes and technical sessions aimed at strengthening the operational and entrepreneurial capacities of women-led cooperatives and youth entrepreneurs.

Attendees can expect hands-on training in modern shea processing techniques, quality assurance standards, packaging innovations and branding strategies. These programmes are designed to ensure that Ghana’s shea products not only meet international quality standards but also achieve competitive differentiation in a US$2billion global industry. By empowering producers with these tools, the expo aims to elevate the sector from its traditional model of raw exports to one anchored in value addition and premium branding.

Moreover, GEA is facilitating linkages between local entrepreneurs and technology providers, introducing innovations that improve production efficiency, reduce post-harvest losses and foster sustainable practices. Youth participants, in particular, will benefit from mentorship sessions that combine business skills with agro-industrial knowledge, enabling them to become drivers of growth and innovation in the sector.

Through these initiatives, the expo promises not only immediate trade opportunities but also long-term capacity development, creating a foundation for sustained growth, economic empowerment and resilience across the shea-producing regions of Ghana.

Conclusion

As Ghana prepares to host the World Shea Expo 2025 in Tamale, the spotlight is firmly on the potential of the shea industry to drive economic growth, empower women and youth, and strengthen rural communities. The active participation of the Ghana Enterprise Agency ensures that this potential is not left untapped, providing the critical support, guidance and resources needed for local producers to compete globally.

The expo is more than a trade event—it is a catalyst for transformation, connecting grassroots entrepreneurs to international markets, investors and policy-makers. With coordinated efforts between government agencies, private stakeholders and industry players, Ghana is poised to elevate its shea sector, turning it into a model of sustainable industrial growth, innovation and inclusive prosperity.

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