Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has linked Ghana’s recent economic stabilisation to renewed investor confidence, arguing that the experience demonstrates how trust can influence the flow of capital into an economy.
Speaking at the “Accra Reset: Full Circle – Making Global Development Work Again” event hosted by President John Dramani Mahama on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, Mr Dangote said Ghana’s recovery had not resulted from extraordinary measures but from implementing the right policies.
“President Mahama turned around the economy of Ghana in a very short time. This has actually shown that money follows trust. It wasn’t a very good case, but when he came in, he didn’t do any magic; he did the right things,” Mr Dangote said.
His comments come as Ghana’s macroeconomic indicators have improved significantly following the severe economic and debt pressures experienced in 2022.
Ghana’s economic conditions have improved significantly since the severe macroeconomic pressures of recent years, with inflation easing, economic growth strengthening and the country’s external position improving. The fiscal position has also recorded progress, reflecting efforts to restore macroeconomic stability and rebuild confidence in the economy.
For Mr Dangote, Ghana’s experience shows how restoring confidence in an economy can help attract investment, especially as African countries seek more private-sector capital to support development.
However, he also used the platform to challenge African governments to address one of the continent’s longstanding obstacles to investment: restrictions on the movement of people across borders.
Mr Dangote called for African countries to open their borders more freely to citizens from other African countries, arguing that cumbersome visa requirements and other restrictions make it harder for businesses and investors to operate across the continent.
“The issue of all these visas, free movement of people, goods, and services, we have been talking about it for a long time, and we’re really tired of talking. So we need to act now and make sure we allow the free movement of people,” he said.
He questioned why Africans can face greater difficulty travelling within their own continent than visitors from outside Africa, arguing that restrictions can discourage cross-border investment.
Dangote has consistently argued that restrictions on the movement of people across African borders can discourage investment, noting that businesses may be less willing to commit capital to markets where they face difficulties travelling and operating.
The call has implications for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, which seeks to deepen intra-African trade by creating a more integrated continental market. While trade agreements can reduce tariffs and other barriers to commerce, restrictions on the movement of people can still raise the cost and complexity of doing business across borders.
Mr Dangote has previously highlighted the cost of moving goods within Africa, including the difficulty of transporting products between major West African markets. He has argued that weak transport links, fragmented trade corridors and border restrictions continue to limit the continent’s ability to trade with itself.
At the Accra Reset event, he urged African governments to move from repeated discussions about integration to concrete action.
The Full Circle event, held at the New York Marriott Marquis on September 21, brought political leaders and development partners together to discuss practical approaches to global development, including skills, mobility, health governance and economic cooperation.
Mr Dangote’s remarks therefore placed Ghana’s economic recovery and Africa’s integration challenge within the same broader investment question: creating an environment where businesses have sufficient confidence, access and freedom to move capital, people and goods across markets.
