The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Mr. Yofi Grant has told Ghanaians in the diaspora that the centre is ready to assist them to have access to investment opportunities in Ghana.

He explained that the GIPC serves as the intermediary between the private sector and the government, hence, their doors are always opened to them. He said this while speaking at a webinar organized for over 100 Ghanaians in the diaspora via Zoom on the topic “Ghana, An Ideal Destination for the Diaspora Investment” and organized by BANKOFBAFRICA GHANA (BOA) in collaboration with the Ghana Diaspora Monetary Fund on Friday, August 21, 2020.

Mr. Grant told the diasporans that the economy under the current government has seen remarkable improvement over the past three and a half years. He said from a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 3.6% in 2016, (lowest for over 20 years, and since first pouring of oil in 2011), 2017 recorded GDP growth of 8.1%.

In 2018 the country recorded 6.3% and 2019 as it was projected to be the fastest-growing economy in the world was pegged at 6.8%, he said. He also mentioned that inflation rate went down from 16.4% in 2016 to 7.8% in 2020 with a positive trade balance in 2017, after over 20 years of deficits.

Highlighting on the priority areas of the government as a way of assisting the diasporans make the investment decisions, Mr. Grant mentioned that the government is focused on the energy, infrastructure, agro-processing, tourism and manufacturing sectors.

He explained that Ghana is the largest gold producer in Africa, 2nd global producer of cocoa and 4th largest oil-producing country as of 2018. He said these statistics shows that Ghana is the right investment destination for them to pump their capital.

For his part, the Managing Director of BANK OF AFRICA GHANA (BOA), Mr. Kobby Andah explained that the purpose of the webinar was to throw more lights on the investment opportunities available in Ghana to assist the diasporans in their decision-making. “This is to give Ghanaians in the diaspora an idea of how the Ghanaian economy looks like so they will know where in the economy to invest,” he said. He added “our objective is to get you to invest in your homeland”.

He reiterated that the exercise by the central bank to clean-up the rot in the banking system has boosted its confidence and positioned the banks with strong muscles to offer any financial assistance. He highlighted that, the Ghana Deposit Protection Act provides the framework for the protection of depositors from loss of funds in the event of any eventuality.

The General Manager, Enterprise Risk at Bank of Africa (BOA), Akofa Dakwa, revealed that Ghana has witnessed a positive trade balance and improvement in the exchange rate. She explained that since 2017, the country has been exporting more than importing, a situation that has resulted in the improvement of the exchange rate.

“There has been an improvement in the exchange rate due to the positive trade balance. Meaning Ghana actually exports more than it imports,” she told the diasporans adding that this was due to a deliberate effort to reduce importation by government.

Mrs. Dakwa also revealed that the services sector grew by 7.6% in 2019, becoming the best growth performing sector of the economy for the first time since 2015, from the 2.7% registered in the previous year.

Subsectors with considerably strong performances, she said, were Information and Communication (ICT and Real Estate, with growth rates of 46.5% and 19.9% respectively in 2019 compared to 13% and - 6.5% respectively in 2018.

In the area of agriculture, she explained that the sector has contributed less to the Ghanaian economy largely because most Ghanaians are engage in subsistence farming. However, she said, the trend is changing with the implementation of government policies including Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) and the enhancement in mechanized farming. We are therefore expecting the agric sector to pick up in subsequent years,” she said.