President John Dramani Mahama says the Northshore Apparel factory in northern Ghana could eventually employ 30,000 people, as his government seeks to use manufacturing, exports and infrastructure investment to reduce regional economic disparities.
Mahama made the remarks at the opening of the Northshore Apparel Hub in Savelugu, describing the facility as the first major tenant of what he said would become the North Shore Industrial Hub, under Ghana’s 24-Hour Economy initiative.
“North Shore is the alpha tenant. This is going to become an industrial hub,” Mahama said. “We believe that at full strength, this hub, which we have named the North Shore Industrial Hub, will be able to provide employment to at least 30,000 young people.”
The president said the hub is intended to attract additional manufacturers and create a major employment center for northern Ghana, helping reduce the migration of young people to the south in search of work.
Northshore has already created at least 2,000 jobs, according to Mahama, with about 80% of its workers being young women. The company plans to operate multiple shifts, supporting the government’s objective of increasing employment and accelerating exports through the 24-Hour Economy program.
Blended finance backs factory
The Northshore project is being supported by a combination of domestic and international financing. Mahama said Ghana Export-Import Bank provided almost $12 million in financing, alongside funding from private investors and support from Germany’s KfW Development Bank.
“We look for investment and not aid. We look for investment and not aid. And this is an example of investing together,” Mahama said.
The president said the financing model reflects the government’s intended use of Ghana Exim to support industrial projects that create jobs and generate exports.
He criticized the previous allocation of Ghana Exim financing, saying politically connected borrowers had received funds without repaying them. Mahama said his administration has shifted the institution’s focus toward projects with measurable economic impact.
The factory is registered under Ghana’s Free Zones regime and will benefit from associated incentives, while manufacturers operating in rural and northern areas are eligible for lower tax rates, according to Mahama.
Export infrastructure
Mahama said Northshore’s location in Savelugu is becoming more commercially viable as road, power, water and transport infrastructure improves.
He cited the Hastings Corridor as an existing route for moving goods and said ongoing work on the Nkwanta-to-Damanko section should shorten transport times.
The president also pointed to a planned alternative logistics route involving the Volta Lake. He said the IFC and a private investor are developing a new port on the lake and that a planned extension of the Tema-Akosombo rail line would allow containers to be moved by barge from the lake to the port and then by rail toward Tema.
The first phase is expected to be ready by the end of next year, Mahama said, giving Northshore another potential route for moving containers.
Manufacturing incentives
The government also plans to introduce policies designed to create stronger domestic markets for Ghanaian manufacturers.
Mahama said the government is amending the Public Procurement Act to include a list of licensed Ghanaian products compiled by the Ghana Standards Authority. Government agencies, schools and hospitals would be required to procure products on the list from Ghanaian manufacturers rather than imported alternatives, subject to the proposed framework.
The policy could provide a guaranteed domestic market for companies such as Northshore, particularly in the production of uniforms and protective equipment.
“I think that it is a thing whose time has come. We need to be firm and insist on it now,” Mahama said of producing uniforms locally.
He challenged Northshore to use its next phase of expansion to manufacture military, police, prisons and immigration uniforms, as well as protective equipment for industry.
“Our commanders and all will wear made in Ghana military uniforms,” he said.
Rebuilding northern industry
Mahama said northern Ghana previously had a more integrated industrial base, including rice processing, vegetable oil production, cotton processing and textile manufacturing, but that many of those industries collapsed because of unreliable electricity, weak value chains and poor transport links.
The government now wants to recreate those industrial linkages by combining manufacturing with agricultural production and improved infrastructure.
He said the region has advantages including available land, reliable electricity, solar potential, lower labor costs and improving road and air connectivity.
Mahama also said the government is working to expand water supply to Tamale, Savelugu and surrounding communities by an additional 40 million gallons, while plans are underway to allow industrial facilities with solar plants to sell excess electricity to the national grid through a proposed net-metering system.
The Northshore hub is therefore being positioned not simply as an apparel factory but as an anchor for a broader manufacturing cluster designed to link local production, exports, infrastructure and employment.
“This is the beginning of what the peer-review mechanism was talking about,” Mahama said, referring to recommendations to reduce the development gap between northern and southern Ghana by creating more economic opportunities in the north.
