Vice President, Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, has commissioned a fourth production line at Softcare Manufacturing Ltd. in Accra, reinforcing government’s strategy to deepen local manufacturing, reduce import dependence and channel public spending toward domestic industry.
The commissioning comes as government allocates GH¢292.4 million in the 2026 budget to sustain the nationwide distribution of sanitary pads to girls in primary and senior high schools, with a new directive that all products under the programme be manufactured locally. The move is intended to strengthen domestic supply chains and support job creation.
Speaking at the event, Opoku-Agyemang said the administration is restoring fiscal discipline while easing the cost of doing business to attract private investment and expand productive capacity. “When we invest in the private sector, Ghana grows,” she said.
She urged African economies to move beyond the export of raw materials such as cocoa, oil, copper and gold, arguing that long-term growth will depend on processing and value addition. She praised Softcare’s management and workforce for demonstrating that Ghanaian manufacturing can compete internationally.
Trade, Agribusiness and Industry Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare said the ministry would continue to work closely with manufacturers to create decent jobs, particularly for young people. Receiving 50,000 packs of Softcare sanitary pads on behalf of the government, she described factory expansion as central to Ghana’s industrial agenda. “This is the Ghana we want, factories expanding and jobs being created,” she said.
Ofosu-Adjare also noted that African trade ministers recently agreed in Morocco to intensify efforts to remove non-tariff barriers in order to boost intra-African trade and investment.
China’s Ambassador to Ghana, Tong Defa, said the commissioning highlighted the strength of bilateral relations between the two countries and called for deeper cooperation.
Softcare Chairman Y.C. Shen welcomed government’s support and said the company would continue expanding its operations as part of Ghana’s broader economic development drive.
