Ghana has attracted billions of dollars in foreign investment over the past three decades, but the bigger question now is how much of that money is translating into jobs, skills and opportunities for local businesses.
That question is becoming increasingly important as the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority (GIPA) seeks to make investment work harder for the domestic economy.
GIPA Chief Executive Officer, Simon Madjie, raised the issue when the Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism paid a working visit to the Authority in Accra to examine its operations, challenges and plans.
GIPA says it has registered more than 7,160 investment projects since 1994, representing cumulative foreign direct investment of more than US$62 billion.
But for an economy struggling to create enough decent jobs for its growing working population, the size of the investment alone does not tell the whole story.
What happens after the money arrives?
A foreign company setting up a factory in Ghana brings capital into the country. The bigger economic benefit comes when that factory also employs Ghanaians, buys from local suppliers, trains workers and introduces technology that local businesses can learn from.
This is the area where GIPA wants to see stronger results.
Mr Madjie called for regulations that would make technology transfer a more meaningful part of foreign investment, particularly where foreign companies work with Ghanaian partners.
The aim is to ensure that investment leaves behind more than buildings, equipment and financial capital.
For a young Ghanaian entering the workforce, the difference could be significant: an investment that provides training in modern production, engineering, digital systems or management can create skills that remain valuable long after a particular project is completed.
Taking investment beyond Accra
GIPA is also trying to spread investment opportunities beyond the capital.
Through its Investment Opportunity Mapping Project, regional investment roadshows and investment documentaries, the Authority is identifying opportunities in different parts of the country and taking them directly to potential investors.
The approach could give regions a better chance of attracting investment in areas where they already have an advantage, including agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and mining.
For communities outside Accra, that could mean more than attracting a new company. It could bring new suppliers, transport businesses, accommodation providers, artisans and other small businesses into the economic activity created by an investment.
GIPA is also expanding and refurbishing its regional offices to make it easier for investors to get support closer to where their projects are located.
Protecting space for Ghanaian businesses
The Authority is at the same time seeking stronger enforcement of activities reserved for Ghanaians.
Mr Madjie specifically mentioned concerns around informal retail trade, taxi services and small-scale pharmaceutical retail, where local business groups have complained about foreign participation.
The challenge for policymakers is to strike a balance between welcoming foreign capital and ensuring that investment does not crowd out Ghanaian entrepreneurs in areas where they are expected to have priority.
Ghanaian companies also need to go abroad
GIPA’s mandate is not limited to bringing foreign investors into Ghana.
Under the current investment framework, the Authority is also expected to support Ghanaian companies seeking opportunities outside the country, particularly within ECOWAS and the wider AfCFTA market.
That creates another opportunity for Ghana’s private sector.
Rather than seeing Ghana only as a destination for foreign investment, GIPA wants the country to become a base from which Ghanaian companies can expand into other African markets.
For local businesses that have outgrown the domestic market, access to the continental market could provide room to increase production, hire more workers and build larger companies.
Parliament backs GIPA
The Parliamentary Committee, led by Alexander Hottordze Roosevelt, acknowledged GIPA’s role in Ghana’s economic transformation and pledged support to help the Authority carry out its expanded responsibilities.
GIPA also asked the Committee to help advance work on the citizenship-by-investment provisions under the current investment law, being developed with the Ministry of the Interior.
The initiative is expected to target high-net-worth investors through structured residency and eventual citizenship arrangements.
The real measure of success
Ghana has already demonstrated that it can attract foreign capital. The next challenge is making that capital work more deeply within the economy.
If an investment creates Ghanaian jobs, develops local suppliers, transfers technology and gives workers skills they can use elsewhere, its impact goes well beyond the original amount of money invested.
That is ultimately the test facing GIPA: not simply how much investment Ghana can attract, but how much of that investment Ghanaians can feel in their pay packets, businesses and communities.
