Amid the conversations around the most appropriate pathways to Ghana’s economic development, CDD-Ghana Fellow, Dr. Hene Aku, is making a strong case for Ghana to confront what he describes as a deep national fear or the mistrust of its own entrepreneurs.
According to him, this fear is not just cultural; it carries a high economic cost that is slowing down the country’s progress toward industrialization.
Dr. Kwapong argues that Ghana cannot build a modern economy while treating its local business leaders as a threat rather than a resource. He notes that no country has ever developed by sidelining its own builders.
Instead, countries like South Korea, Malaysia, and Chile turned their homegrown entrepreneurs into powerful engines of national transformation.
The Genesis of Fear & Mistrust for Domestic Capitalists
Dr. Aku Kwapong recounts that what he describes as Ghana’s trauma around domestic capitalists began with a long history of political instability, military takeovers, and inconsistent economic governance.
Unlike South Korea, which confronted its national weaknesses, built disciplined industries, and nurtured homegrown firms, Ghana’s environment was marked by secrecy and arbitrariness. For decades, contracts were awarded behind closed doors, tax exemptions were selectively granted, and state-owned enterprises were created to compete with private firms for political reasons. Businesses that lost political favour often faced sudden regulatory harassment.
These patterns, he says, taught citizens that success at home was not the result of competence or hard work, but the outcome of political connections.
As these practices persisted across governments, mistrust deepened. Ghanaians began to believe that domestic businesses grew through unfair privilege, while foreign firms were viewed as more credible because their achievements were earned elsewhere. This perception was reinforced by Ghana’s political trajectory.
To him, the country cannot rise into an economic powerhouse like Korea if the domestic capitalists are ignored. He therefore maintains that the trauma, fear, and mistrust deep seated in Ghanaians must be healed.
Dr. Kwapong offers a practical blueprint for how Ghana can finally break this cycle and build a healthier partnership between the state and domestic capital.
Build Clear and Transparent Rules for State–Business Partnerships
Dr. Kwapong believes the first step is to create a fair and open system that guides how the government works with local companies. He proposes a Ghana Industrial Partnership Act to ensure that large national projects, whether an airline, a steel plant, or a major manufacturing project, are awarded using clear criteria such as a company’s track record, financial strength, export potential, and expected national impact.
This will eliminate backdoor deals and allow the public to see how and why certain companies are chosen. This openness, he says, builds trust and ensures that national assignments are treated as strategic investments, not political favours.
“A Ghana Industrial Partnership Act could require that large-scale public assignments follow published criteria: track record, capital strength, export potential, technology acquisition, and measurable developmental impact. Winners should be announced publicly, with detailed performance contracts open to scrutiny,” he recommended.
Enforce Performance, Not Connections
Using South Korea’s transformation as an example, Dr. Kwapong stresses that supporting local firms is not about blind loyalty. He emphasizes that it’s about demanding results. He says Ghana should tie every state-backed project to measurable targets.
If a business is tasked with building a national airline, processing cocoa at scale, or assembling vehicles, it must meet strict timelines and output requirements. Companies that perform well should receive more support, and those that fall short should face penalties automatically.
This, he explains, would send a signal that in Ghana’s new system, performance wins, not connections.
He says, “If a firm receives a mandate to build a national airline, process cocoa, assemble vehicles, or develop steel capacity, it must also accept binding targets. Missed targets would trigger automatic penalties. Achieving targets would unlock more support. The public would see a government that rewards output, not connections.”
Protect Businesses from Sudden Political Interference
Dr. Kwapong further recounts that one of the biggest fears of Ghanaian businesses is unpredictability. Sudden taxes, abrupt changes in regulations, and shifting contract terms make long-term investment risky.
He argues that Ghana must build a stable commercial environment where contracts mean something, regulations are consistent, and businesses can plan across decades. Without this stability, even the most ambitious entrepreneur will hesitate to invest at scale.
Predictability, he says, is as important as capital, and Ghana must deliver both.
Rewrite the National Narrative Around Domestic Firms
The final step, according to Dr. Kwapong, is emotional and cultural. He says Ghana must change the way it talks about local businesses. Instead of treating successful firms as suspicious, the government and society should view them as national assets.
He suggests celebrating companies that meet their targets, publishing performance data openly, and showing Ghanaians that supporting local businesses is not charity, it is an investment in national strength.
Countries like South Korea turned their giants into symbols of national pride. Ghana, he says, can do the same.
“Government can change this tone by making performance data public, celebrating firms that hit their targets and demonstrating, through visible results, that support to local companies is not a gift but an investment in national capacity,” he added.
A Call for Courage
Dr. Kwapong insists that Ghana already has capable entrepreneurs, what he describes as “the raw material” for industrialization. The real work lies with the state to create a system that channels its potential into national development.
He warns that if Ghana fails to act, the country may one day rely on imported industrialists, while its own children work as subordinates on their own soil.
However, if Ghana builds a fair, disciplined, and transparent partnership system, he believes the country can finally do what other nations did decades ago: transform today’s imperfect entrepreneurs into the builders of a powerful modern economy.
