Ghana has begun a fresh review of its regulatory framework for trade in services as the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, working with the GIZ Trade Hub, convened a capacity-building workshop in Accra to validate the country’s Regulatory Audit Report and assess its implications for upcoming negotiations under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The session brought together stakeholders from business, financial and allied services to identify regulatory gaps and prepare Ghana for the next phase of services liberalisation expected under AfCFTA’s implementation.
Opening the workshop, Stella A. Ansah, Director of Multilateral, Regional and Bilateral Trade, said the services sector remains central to Ghana’s economic performance, contributing 46.8 percent of GDP in the first quarter of 2025, driven largely by IT, financial and insurance services. With AfCFTA member states required to progressively open their services markets, she said the country must determine which sectors to liberalise and to what extent.
Ansah thanked GIZ for its ongoing technical support and said stakeholder input will shape Ghana’s final negotiating position. “At the end of the day, you will see me knocking at your doors for your inputs to help Ghana take a good decision in submitting our commitments,” she said.
GIZ’s Sophea Kamarudeen told participants that although AfCFTA discussions initially focused on trade in goods, attention has now shifted to services, particularly business and financial services, which formed the basis of the day’s work. She said the workshop aimed to validate the findings of a Regulatory Audit Report first completed in 2021 and assess whether its recommendations remain relevant.
Kamarudeen added that AfCFTA member states are expected to show progressive improvement in their commitments during each negotiation round, and insights from the session would help refine Ghana’s position. She noted that the European Union had provided additional financing to strengthen support for services negotiations under the protocol.
Participants engaged with presentations by Professor Paul Kuruk of the Institute for African Development, who facilitated technical sessions on service classification, modes of supply, barriers to trade in services and the draft audit report. Stakeholders reviewed the document, validated key areas and proposed recommendations for addressing regulatory constraints.
The workshop ended with agreement on next steps and a renewed commitment to ensure that Ghana’s services-sector commitments under AfCFTA reflect national priorities as well as emerging opportunities for growth and competitiveness.
