By the time the morning began to give way to the afternoon at the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park, the exhibition grounds had already taken on the feel of a busy marketplace.
People moved from one stand to another, stopping to ask questions, examine products, taste some of the offerings and, in some cases, make purchases.
More than 300 businesses participated in the two-day This is Ghana Exhibition, displaying products and services across agriculture, agro-processing, fashion, fabrics, beauty, manufacturing, automobiles and other sectors.
The turnout gave local businesses direct access to consumers, with many exhibitors using the event to introduce their brands, build customer relationships and explore potential commercial partnerships.
That is the opportunity organisers, Citi FM and Channel One TV, sought to create through the exhibition, bringing local businesses closer to the market and giving them a platform to gain visibility beyond their usual customer base.
The exhibition also provided businesses with an opportunity to challenge long-standing perceptions about locally made products, particularly the belief among some consumers that imported goods are inherently of better quality.
Through direct interaction with consumers, businesses were able to put their products forward, explain how they are made and demonstrate the value they offer.
But for some exhibitors, conversations about reaching more customers soon turned to a more fundamental business constraint: securing the inputs needed to meet demand.
Several businesses in agriculture and agro-processing told The High Street Journal that sourcing sufficient raw materials locally remained a challenge.
Some said the agricultural products they require are either not produced in Ghana or are available in quantities too small to support their operations.
For such businesses, importing is often the only way to maintain production.
That comes at a cost.
Exhibitors raised concerns about import taxes and other charges associated with bringing raw materials into the country, saying these add to production costs and make it harder to compete on price.
The difficulty in sourcing locally also points to a weakness further down the supply chain.
Processors need farmers to produce consistently and in sufficient quantities, but farmers need a reliable market before expanding production. Where that link is weak, businesses are more likely to rely on imports to fill the shortfall.
For some local enterprises, therefore, the challenge is not finding a market for their products but building a dependable supply base behind them.
The issue is particularly relevant to businesses seeking to increase local value addition, where higher domestic production of raw materials could reduce import dependence and support expansion.
Sales at the exhibition also produced a mixed picture.
Some exhibitors shared with The High Street Journal that they had not achieved the level of sales they had anticipated during the event. They nevertheless considered the exhibition worthwhile because of the number of people who engaged with their products.
For smaller businesses, the opportunity to put a product directly before a large audience can be difficult to replicate through their normal marketing channels.
Some visitors asked for product information and contact details, while others expressed interest in buying at a later date. Businesses also had an opportunity to meet potential distributors and other commercial partners.
That gives the exhibition a value beyond immediate transactions.
The range of exhibitors reflected the breadth of Ghana’s small and growing business sector, with agricultural producers and processors operating alongside fashion brands, manufacturers, beauty businesses, consumer-product companies and vehicle dealers.
The event was supported by institutions including Ecobank, MTN, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and the Ghana Enterprises Agency.
For the organisers, connecting these businesses to consumers is part of a broader effort to strengthen the market for locally produced goods.
For the businesses, however, converting that exposure into sustained growth will depend on whether they can increase production at a competitive cost.
That becomes even more important as Ghanaian businesses look beyond the domestic market.
At the opening of the exhibition, Ghana Investment Promotion Authority Chief Executive Simon Madjie, representing Chief of Staff Julius Debrah, encouraged local businesses to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area and pursue regional and international markets.
He also urged businesses to improve quality and innovation to compete in those markets.
Madjie’s call brings the opportunities created by larger markets into sharper focus. Access to the AfCFTA market can create new demand for Ghanaian products, but businesses must first be able to produce consistently, meet quality requirements and compete on price.
That is where the supply challenges raised by exhibitors become critical.
A business may have a product that attracts consumers and a market beyond Ghana, but without reliable raw materials, affordable inputs, financing and efficient distribution networks, scaling production can remain difficult.
The exhibition demonstrated strong consumer interest in local businesses and gave hundreds of enterprises a platform to be seen.
The conversations with exhibitors, however, showed that for some of them, the next stage of growth will depend on solving problems that begin well before the product reaches the customer, particularly the availability and cost of the raw materials needed to produce it.
The opportunity for Ghanaian businesses may be growing, but turning that opportunity into sustained growth will require not only more customers, but also a stronger production and supply ecosystem behind the products.
