Ghana government launches initiative to decentralise investment opportunities 

Mr. Julius Debrah, Chief of Staff, has launched the Investment Opportunity Mapping Project (IOMP), an initiative designed to decentralise economic development and unlock investment potential in all 261 districts.

He said the government had observed the imbalance in current foreign direct investment inflows, with approximately 70 per cent continuing to be centralised in Greater Accra.

The Chief of Staff disclosed the investment imbalance and the government’s plans for that sector at the launch of the IOMP, an initiative spearheaded by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC).

In collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry and the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), the project seeks to systematically identify, assess, and document viable investment opportunities across the nation.

The event was held on the theme: “Unlocking Regional Investment Potential in Ghana for Economic Growth and Prosperity,” underscoring the need for decentralising investments to the local level.

The Chief of Staff reiterated that Ghana’s investment was heavily centred in urban centres, highlighting the urgency to fundamentally shift the approach to impact every district in the country.

He noted that the concentration of investment in urban centres had led to uneven development, unemployment in rural areas, and underutilised local potential in most regions.

Mr Debrah said that due to the imbalance in investment inflows, the IOMP directly responded to this challenge by offering a data-driven, district-by-district roadmap on investment opportunities in Ghana. 

The roadmap, according to him, would guide both local and international investors to where the opportunities were and where they were most needed.

Mr. Simon Madjie, CEO of GIPC, stressed the challenges foreign investors face in accessing data on investment opportunities in the country. 

He said many local and foreign investors, as well as Ghana’s diplomatic missions abroad and foreign embassies in the country, had expressed concern over the lack of reliable data needed to make informed investment decisions and to promote direct investment.

He said that without available and accessible data on specific viable projects, investment would still linger in urban centres.

Mr. Madjie noted that the IOMP project would scale up local direct investment as much as foreign direct investment.

Source: GNA

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