As part of activities organized by the Ghanaian Canadian Association of Ontario (GCAO) to mark Ghana's 61st Independence Anniversary Celebration in Toronto this year, Honorable Mohamed Ibrahim Awal, the Minister of Business Development was invited from Ghana to share with Ghanaians in diaspora recent business progress made by the government of Ghana.

During a round table discussions moderated by Mr. Emmanuel Duodu, the President of GCAO on Sunday, March 11, 2018 at the premises of the Toronto Ghanaian Presbyterian Church, the Honourable Minister highlighted the areas for potential investments for Ghanaians and invited Ghanaians to take advantage of the opportunities being created as a result of the positive and friendly investment climate.

The areas he spoke about included the following:

1. Oil and Gas growth is creating ancillary services for that sector for business investment

2. Demand for Welders has increased exponentially in the Oil and Gas

3. Investment in energy areas – converting waste into energy and for agriculture

4. Tourism is growing – Real Estate in tourism areas

5. Investment in Agriculture is huge and has high potential rate of returns

6. Food processing – fresh fruits and other perishable produce

7. One District One Factory is an area to invest

8. Infrastructure development requires a lot of investment

He mentioned that as Business Development Minister his office and Diaspora Desk are setup to cut through the red tape to make is easier for Disporan to invest and encouraged Ghanaians to take advantage of the current business climate.

Earlier at an independence Anniversary Dinner and Dance held the previous night in Toronto the Minister used the occasion to provide an elevated off script economic situation about Ghana.

In an upbeat message he stated that, "it is projected that Ghana’s economic growth will be 8.5 percent. Inflation is tamed, investment growth has grown exponentially and opportunities abound for investment in Ghana."

There was a standing ovation for his upbeat message.

The Minister who came to Canada directly from an assignment in the United States during the week had to fly to Great Britain that very weekend for another assignment.