The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) and Invest for Jobs, an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), on Thursday signed an agreement worth €762,300 to mobilise investments and promote job-creating growth of enterprises.

The cooperation between the two parties will address investment promotion challenges reinforced by the coronavirus pandemic to help maintain and create new jobs in Ghana.

The Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation, the official title of Invest for Jobs, is implemented, among others, by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

With a decline in foreign direct investment around the world, partly because of the coronavirus pandemic, it has become imperative for governments to maximise developmental support to retain investment, encourage follow-on investment and achieve greater local economic impact. Investment promotion agencies in most countries are now focusing primarily on keeping investors in the country, strengthening their resilience, and encouraging restructuring to preserve companies and safeguard jobs.

“ I am delighted to be a part of this initiative, which is anchored in addressing private sector needs,” noted the Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy, Ms. Dorothee Dinkelaker. We look forward to the cooperation with GIPC to help build a more enabling environment for investors and raise awareness on investment opportunities in Ghana,” added Ms. Dinkelaker.

“This joint effort comes at a crucial time for Ghana in the global context, where governments are designing more strategic and innovative ways to promote investment and boost economic growth,” highlighted the Chief Executive Officer of GIPC Mr. Yofi Grant.

“The pandemic has made aftercare of investors particularly important and therefore the cooperation between the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) and the German Cooperation through Invest for Jobs will facilitate the provision of information to investors, and support to relevant companies to address investment barriers,” added Mr. Grant.

A further focus of the cooperation between the two parties includes supporting potential investors who, due to COVID-19 restrictions are unable to travel to Ghana to obtain relevant information.

The intervention will also facilitate the design of a matchmaking platform to connect international investors to local businesses. Thus, investors can again obtain long-term perspectives to create new jobs.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Head of the Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation at GIZ Ghana, Geraid Guskowski, and Yofi Grant, on behalf of GIPC.