Industrial parks backed by African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) have attracted more than $1 billion in investment in Benin and Togo, providing a blueprint for Ghana as it prepares to develop a similar export-oriented manufacturing hub to accelerate industrialization and regional trade.
According to Afreximbank’s 2025 Annual Trade Development Effectiveness Report, the Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone (GDIZ) in Benin has attracted €762 million ($890 million) in investment and now accounts for about 24% of the country’s exports, while the Adétikopé Industrial Platform (PIA) in Togo has drawn more than $243 million in investment.
The projects form part of a broader strategy by Afreximbank and its development impact investment arm, the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), to expand manufacturing capacity and regional value chains under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), reducing Africa’s dependence on raw commodity exports.
Ghana is next in line to join the network through the proposed Tema Integrated Industrial Park (TIIP), a project being developed by Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC), TDC Development Company and Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms. The industrial park is expected to anchor Ghana’s integrated industry by supporting downstream processing, manufacturing and exports, while complementing the 24-hour economy agenda and broader industrial transformation strategy.
The Tema park is intended to strengthen local value addition to Ghana’s resources, attract private investment into manufacturing, create skilled jobs and position Ghana as a regional production and export hub serving West Africa through the AfCFTA.
The report says FEDA, through Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms, invested in four operational special economic zones covering 6,169 hectares in 2025, while another 10 zones spanning 12,765 hectares are under development across Africa. The investments, spread across seven least-developed countries and four other African economies, have created about 42,000 jobs.
The expansion of industrial parks is expected to prioritise local processing of minerals and agricultural products to capture more value domestically, diversify exports and create employment.
Afreximbank projects Africa’s manufacturing value-added growth will accelerate to 4% in 2026 from an estimated 3.2% this year, supported by rising investment in industrial production despite continued global economic uncertainty. Manufacturing value added grew 2.2% in 2024.
The lender says Africa possesses about 30% of the world’s mineral reserves, significant oil and gas resources and roughly 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, giving the continent a strong resource base to develop competitive manufacturing industries rather than exporting raw materials.
For Ghana, the planned Tema Industrial Park could bolster efforts to build integrated value chains, increase non-traditional exports and attract foreign manufacturers seeking access to the AfCFTA’s market of more than 1.4 billion people. It would also complement ongoing investments in transport infrastructure, logistics and industrial parks aimed at making the country a regional manufacturing and export hub.
