Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is urging Black business owners in the United States to invest in Ghana.
The call was made during the 45th Annual Legislative Conference of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, in Atlanta, Georgia, on Dec. 1. According to Akufo-Addo, the county is facing several issues from the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, Ghana is doing the right thing by sending out the call to the global investor community, reported Ghana Web.
“Last year, 2020, Ghana recorded FDI of US$2.65 billion from 279 projects. For 2021 alone, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) recorded FDI of US$973.38 million, from 173 projects for the first three quarters of the year, with large ticket projects in the pipeline to boost FDI flows by the close of the year,” he said.
As Ghana Web reported, President Akufo-Addo stated that the West African country put together a medium-term response strategy to address the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and to outline an economic recovery, revitalization, and transformation plan to build back better and stronger.
“We have identified the relevant sectors of the economy requiring the needed investment that will help accelerate the rebound and growth of the economy, as was witnessed in the immediate years before the pandemic struck, which saw, between 2017 and 2020, our average annual GDP growth rate of 7% as one of the fastest in the world,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo said his administration is working to support commercial farming, and building Ghana’s light manufacturing sector, fast-tracking efforts at digitization.
“Ghana is also developing its housing and construction industry, establishing the country as a regional hub, and strengthening the enablers of growth of our economy.”
He also pointed out that the greatest benefit to those who invest in Ghana is the Ghanaian people.
“The welcome that you find in Ghana, with all due respect to you at this gathering, is unique, and like none anywhere else.”
For him, Ghana is a safe country, reiterating that the country is the safest in West Africa, saying that his government has instituted several fiscal incentives for investors depending on the nature of the activity or the location of the investment.
“Our police and security agencies work hard to keep Ghana an open and happy place, where we are not embarrassed to see ourselves as each other’s keeper. We have done the heavy lifting required to transition our economy into a growth economy, and are now establishing sustainability and irreversibility,” he said.
Over the past few years, Ghana has become one of the most popular destinations in Africa for the Black community in the United States. As we reported last year, the increase in popularity started after the successful promotional campaign by Ghana’s Ministry of Tourism to commemorate 400 years since the first slave ship reached the United States, known as ‘Year of Return’— which encouraged some Americans to stay for good.
