Trade between Ghana and the United Kingdom (UK) has crossed £1.6 billion, but officials and business leaders say there is still room to grow the relationship and create more jobs and investment.
Alastair Long, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Africa, said Ghana and the UK could do more to increase the flow of goods, services and investment between the two countries.
Speaking to the media at the UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce (UKGCC) Trade and Investment Summit 2026, he said the existing trade relationship provides a strong base for deeper economic cooperation.
He said the UK was interested in expanding trade across a number of sectors, but stressed that the real benefit should be seen in the jobs, businesses and livelihoods created from that increased economic activity.
Ghanaian agricultural products are already finding their way into the UK market, with Long pointing to products such as mangoes and bananas as examples.
He said there was an opportunity to increase Ghanaian exports to the UK while also attracting more British businesses to invest and expand in Ghana.
The relationship, he said, would increasingly cover areas such as technology, services, agriculture and investment, in addition to traditional trade.
For Long, however, the success of the partnership should not be judged by the value of trade alone.
“What matters is what sits behind those numbers,” he said, pointing to the businesses, investment and jobs that stronger trade links can create.
Ghana positions itself for more UK investment
Deputy Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Sampson Ahi, said Ghana’s recent economic performance should give investors greater confidence in the country.
Speaking on behalf of Vice President Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang at the summit, he noted that Ghana’s economy grew by 6 per cent in 2025 and expanded by another 6.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2026.
“These numbers tell every investor in this room that Ghana is predictable, Ghana is stable, and Ghana is ready,” he said.
Ahi said the UK was already an important investor in Ghana, with UK foreign direct investment reaching £1.8 billion.
The investment has supported more than 670 projects and created over 44,000 jobs across the economy, he said.
He also pointed to the UK-Ghana Growth Partnership for 2026-2028, signed recently, as an opportunity to turn the two countries’ long-standing relationship into more investments and industrial growth.
He identified manufacturing, logistics, agro-processing, healthcare and the digital economy as areas where there was room for greater cooperation.
Ghana’s location in West Africa and its access to the wider African market through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), he said, also gave UK businesses a strong reason to consider the country as a base for expansion.
Ahi urged investors to bring technology, capital and higher standards while Ghana provides what he described as a stable policy environment and a growing pool of talent.
High Commissioner wants more value from trade ties
Ghana’s High Commissioner to the UK and Republic of Ireland, Sabah Zita Benson, said the next phase of the relationship should focus more on what the two countries can build together.
She called for greater investment in industrialisation, value addition, technology transfer, skills development and job creation.
Benson said the UKGCC’s 10 years of work should provide a foundation for stronger links between businesses in both countries.
She also highlighted Ghana’s position as a regional business hub and host of the AfCFTA Secretariat as an opportunity for UK companies looking to reach other African markets.
Beyond large investments, she called for stronger business-to-business links and more support for small and medium-sized enterprises.
She also encouraged Ghanaians living in the UK to use their skills, networks and investment capacity to support businesses and development in Ghana.
She said the next decade should be judged not simply by how much Ghana and the UK trade, but by the businesses created, jobs generated, skills developed and technology transferred between the two countries.
UKGCC seeks bigger opportunities for Ghanaian businesses
The UKGCC is marking its 10th anniversary, with Executive Director Adjoba Kyiamah saying the organisation has spent the past decade creating platforms to strengthen trade and business links between Ghana and the UK.
The Trade and Investment Summit, now in its second year, is one of those platforms.
Kyiamah said the three-day summit is aimed at turning the UK-Ghana Growth Partnership into actual private-sector investment that can make a difference to Ghana’s economy.
She also wants more Ghanaian businesses to see the UK not only as a market but as a gateway to international capital, expertise and new markets.
“The UK-Ghana trade partnership works both ways. We want to see more Ghanaian businesses using the UK to access capital, expertise, markets, and global networks as they scale beyond Ghana,” she said.
She said the UKGCC was well placed to help Ghanaian businesses make that transition and build companies capable of competing internationally.
The three-day summit is being supported by GCB Bank PLC, PwC Ghana Ltd., the UK Government-funded Ghana Jobs for Economic Transformation (JET), Fidelity Bank Ghana Ltd., Ecobank Ghana PLC, Vivo Energy Ghana Ltd., Quao Realty, DMA Invest, Aqua Africa, Guinness Ghana Breweries PLC, UniChem Ghana Ltd. and Kasapreko PLC. The Business Year is the media partner.
