Ghana: Africa’s Rising Star

By Paul Trustfull

Ghana is emerging as a leader on the African continent. Its economy is weathering the global financial crisis and continuing on its path toward growth. Trade in gold and cocoa is booming, largely due to Ghana’s stability, security and healthy banks.

Investors from countries such as India, China, Russia and Brazil are looking to put their money into Ghana’s petroleum refineries, as well as its aviation, transportation, infrastructure and energy sectors. Last year, foreign direct investment rose by $70 million in the second quarter, despite the financial crisis.

But why Ghana? Why all the interest and excitement in this country?

“Ghana is the gateway to West Africa,” says John Dramani Mahama, the country’s vice president. “The political climate is excellent. The country is safe, and there is a great respect for law and order.

“The process of setting up a company in Ghana is also simple: It takes about two weeks to get started because there’s little bureaucracy,” he adds.

The country is also improving its infrastructure and is ripe with opportunities, adds Nabil Moukarzel, chief executive officer of Finatrade Group. Finatrade is one of the fastest-growing commodity and distribution groups in the country, and it has a presence in seven West African nations.

“As long as the government acts in a fiscally responsible manner and encourages healthy dialogue with the private sector, Ghana has a wonderful future ahead of it,” says Moukarzel.

A Visit To Cherish

U.S. President Barack Obama’s recent visit to Ghana was a moment in history that Ghanaians will never forget. Obama, the son of an African immigrant, chose Ghana as the first sub-Saharan African country to visit after taking office in January 2009.

“It was an emotional, historic event,” Vice President Mahama says of the visit. “Ghana has had two U.S. Presidents visit before, but this was special.”

Mahama believes the visit put Ghana in the global spotlight: “Even if it was just for a moment, the country received worldwide attention,” he says. To reinforce this point, Bruce Potter—general manager of the Holiday Inn hotel in Accra, where Obama stayed during this visit—says Obama’s visit could boost the tourism sector. “Tourism has a lot of potential, especially since Obama’s visit to the country.”

The Holiday Inn is among the best four-star hotels in the country, and because it is near the airport, it is very accessible to visitors.

Exciting Prospects

The U.S. President’s visit to Ghana is not the only thing keeping its inhabitants abuzz and in high spirits.

In 2007, more than 600 million barrels of light oil and natural gas were discovered off Ghana’s shores, which could earn it as much as $20 billion by 2030. For a country in which nearly 80% of the inhabitants live on less than two dollars a day, finding oil is a promise of good things to come and an opportunity to transform the economy and Ghanaian lives. The excitement has spread to other countries as well, creating a number of new potential business partners for Ghana.

“The Ghanaian population, especially the poor, should profit from the oil business’s earnings,” says Quincy Sintim Aboagye, a petroleum engineer and CEO of Saltpond Offshore Producing Company Limited (SOPCL). “Ghanaian-owned companies should also benefit from the big contracts handed out by the government.”

Ghana’s Energy Minister, Dr. Oteng Adjei, says he is intent on seeing Ghanaians benefit from the resource: “Our oil is not going to be a curse. The wealth will be shared and well distributed. Ghana comes first.”

Adjei explains that “things will be open and transparent to ensure accountability.” He adds that Ghana also needs investors in still- and deepwater drilling, fertilizer manufacturing and oil-refinery construction. “But these investors must have Ghanaian partners and should be prepared to invest in social health and education,” he says.

However, Mr. Moukarzel of Finatrade has some advice for the country’s authorities and prospective investors: “Though everyone is focusing on the oil sector, they should not overlook the agro-processing sector, which holds lots of interesting opportunities.”