The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) has outlined some key initiatives aimed at building capacity of local businesses and improve the investment regime in Ghana.

The CEO of the GIPC, Mr. Yofi Grant believes the plan should enhance the competitiveness of local businesses and eventually turnaround the economic fortunes of the country.

The NPP government has since assumption of office been keen on reforming some systemic challenges confronting the Ghanaian businessman.

The government aims to grow indigenous businesses and create employment to the teeming unemployed youth.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on the new model of the GIPC, its CEO, Yofi Grant maintained that policies such as the one factory per district should attract local investments.

“The one district one factory policy is an amazing engagement that can really tap indigenous capital for economic growth and whilst we look at incentivizing investments,” he stated.

Mr. Grant also disclosed plans of decentralizing the operations of the GIPC across the country to make investments relevant to the specific needs of regions.

“For example each region will have its own sort of mini GIPC that will focus on the potential on how to attract investment into that particular region.”

Already the Finance Minister in this year’s budget outlined some tax cuts and the scrapping of others which have since been implemented.

These are also expected to increase Ghana’s ranking in the World Bank’s ease of doing business report.

Although local business in the retail sector have raised concerns over a possible takeover by their foreign counterparts, Mr. Grant explains his outfit will continually engage such businesses and if possible, reconsider the legal framework guiding the operations of such businesses.

“…Maybe we should also look at whether there should be separate regimes for foreign or local investments….As we are reforming and modernizing the economy and competing against countries like Rwanda, Senegal, Kenya, etc., we need to find whether we are beneficial to our medium term growth,” he asserted.

The GIPC boss added, “We as a government believe that that is where economies should go…but we are looking at how to coalesce our thoughts and actions to create a vibrant business environment.”

Source: citifmonline.com

The CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) , Mr. Yofi Grant has described as unacceptable the increasing volume of imported food into the country.

According to him, Ghana imported about 2.2 billion dollars worth of agriculture food that could have easily been produced in the country.

He maintained that the issues possess a challenge to the country and its foreign earnings, since Ghana must rather be seen to export such agriculture produce and not import them.

Speaking at the 2017 edition of the Citi Business Festival, Mr. Grant assured that government and the GIPC are working to reverse the situation.

“Today we are importing approximately 2.2 billion dollars of food when we have more than 8 hectors land lying fallow in the SADA region that can be cultivated. Even if we use half of the 2.2 billion dollars to invest in food programs will have enough” CEO of The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Mr. Yofi Grant said at the launch of the Citi Business Festival.

He added that government  will continue to identify individuals interested in agriculture to give them support to increase their output.

“I believe we will go far but obviously we haven’t done it and there are other people who are looking to invest in it, we have been speaking to investors who are particularly interested in entering the agric space at the producer level but there are also people interested in in entering at the processing stage along the value chain and I think that if Africa is to play its part as a credible investment opportunity in the world then governments should make agriculture lead the way,” he suggested

 Source: citibusinessnews.com

Invest in Africa and the Trade and Industry Ministry, last Thursday, organised an event in London to engage investors on the prospect of investments in Ghana.

The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Robert Ahomka-Lindsay, highlighted some of government’s initiatives to attract investors to the country.

According to the Deputy Minister, priority industries include aluminium, garment & textiles, industrial salts (alkaline), pharmaceuticals and petrol-chemicals (gas and crude).

Mr. Ahomka-Lindsay further discussed how the government has begun a stimulus programme for companies with the greatest job creation potential by providing them with tax breaks and other monetary incentives to help them stay in business and create more jobs.

The Deputy Minister also called the country’s bureaucratic structures an obstacle to doing free and open business, stating that government already has plans in place to successfully de-bureaucratise the system.

He expressed his delight to be working with Invest in Africa to drive investment and create new opportunities with local SMEs and expressed confidence that the country’s best days are yet to come.

Invest in Africa’s online platform, the African Partner Pool (APP), connects SMEs to large companies helping SMEs access new tenders, training and finance.

Source: thebftonline.com 

As part of government’s desire to make the country the most business-friendly in Africa, a new initiative has been launched to make it possible for businesses to be registered within a day.

The initiative dubbed: “Three-year Business Regulatory Strategy,” is aimed at modernising the quality of Ghana’s legal and regulatory systems to promote faster growth, job creation and economic prosperity.

Prior to this initiative, obtaining a certificate to commence business could take about two weeks.

A research by the Private Enterprise Federation (PEF) noted that there are at least 145 permits, certificates and licensing requirements across various sectors of the Ghanaian business landscape, adding that, out of the 145 permits and licenses required prior to the start of business operations in Ghana, six apply to all businesses regardless of their sector of operation.

However, the reforms introduced by the Registrar-General’s Department (RGD) has slashed it drastically to one day.

Commenting on the new initiative, Domtie Afua Sarpong, Assistant Registrar at the RGD, said deliberate steps have been taken by her outfit to ease processes to help facilitate registration of businesses.

“If all the documents are a complete, it will take a day to complete registering your business at the Registrar-General’s Department. At first, it could go up to two weeks before you could get it registered. Now we have made reforms that will make it possible to register your business in a day.

At first the company inspectors were not those who verified the documents. Some other people verified before it had to come back to the company inspectors to do the formal examination; but now the company directors do all straightforward,” she said.

She further stated that the department has outsourced some services in order to ease pressure on the limited staff and address the challenges with the online registration in order to hasten processes.

 “We want to declutter the system and give very good customer service. We launched the online registration in 2015 but we had challenges with the payment system, so it was not effective. But now we have looked for another service provider who has introduced a reliable payment system for us,” she added.

In addition to reducing the number of days it takes to register a business, there has been a reduction in the processing time for the conduct of title search at the Land’s Commission from 14 to 5 days.

Again, there have been a streamlining of transmission of application to the Electricity Company of Ghana for estimates from Regional Director to the Director of Engineering.

Furthermore, the government’s technical partner for the implementation of the Ghana National Single Window project –West Blue Consulting—is currently working with key stakeholders in both the private and public sectors to fast-track trade facilitation processes at the ports with a view to improving the turn-around time at the ports.

Also commenting on the initiative, Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan K. Kyerematen, said government is bent on making the private sector lead its ambitious industrialisation agenda, hence, the launch of the programme.

“Government has ambitious programme for industrialisation, and this is all targeted at making Ghana the most business friendly in Africa. For the private sector to participate in this programme, we need to make the business environment friendly. If the business environment is not supportive of businesses, we cannot achieve our objectives under this initiative.

If you take this exercise (Business Regulatory Reform), we have identified four areas of reform which we discussed today. They are starting a business, getting electricity, dealing with construction permits, and trading across borders. Reforms have already been initiated in these areas and actions are being taken,” he said.

 Source: thebftonline.com

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Mr. Yofi Grant, has disclosed that his vision is to promote the GIPC as a strategic partner in Ghana’s development drive.

Towards this effort, the agency will be rebranded as a one-stop-shop for investors.

He said his outfit is geared to promote the country’s competitive advantages as a world-class business investment destination and to encourage trade by assisting foreign companies to identify new markets for the establishment of their businesses.

Mr. Grant said this at the Ghana Trade and Investment Business Seminar organized by the Ghana South Africa Business Chamber (GSABC) and hosted by the Trade and Investment KwaZulu – Natal (TIKZN).

He said development of tools will be in line with the strategy of GIPC showcasing the country to potential investors. Adding that it will be in line with the government’s one district, one factory policy.

“Trade relations with our counterparts from South Africa has always been in the deficits with Ghana losing, but as the Centre repositions itself, we will work hard in addressing all these challenges such as the turnaround time of business registration among others”, Mr. Grant noted.

He said areas of key interest to the nation’s development include energy generation, Agric and Agro-processing, tourism among others.

Mr. Zamo Gwala, CEO, Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal (TKZN), said his outfit is a South African Trade and inward investment promotion agency, established to specifically promote the Province of KwaZulu-Natal as a premier investment destination and to facilitate trade by assisting locally based business enterprises to access international markets.

“The organization is dedicated to this objective and to creating an environment in the Province that is conducive to business development and attractive to investors”, he said.

Madam Lulama Xingwana, South African High Commissioner to Ghana, during the programme, also lauded the efforts of South African businesses in identifying opportunities in Ghana.

She called for further collaboration with Ghanaian businesses as a way of promoting intra-Africa trade as envisaged by the founders of both countries.

Meanwhile, South Africa is one of the world’s most sophisticated emerging markets. The unique combination of a highly developed first world economic infrastructure and the huge emergent market economy has given rise to a strong entrepreneurial and dynamic investment environment.

KwaZulu-Natal is a major role-player in the manufacturing, agricultural, transport and logistics sectors in South Africa. The economic structure in this province is based on a large manufacturing sector, in which growth is driven by the paper products and ferro-alloys industries.

 Source: citifmonline.com

The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) says it is upbeat about making Ghana the preferred investment destination and facilitating the desired linkages between the Ghanaian private sector and that of South Africa (SA).

Chief Executive of the Centre, Mr. Reginald Yofi Grant, told the media at a business-to-business seminar held in Accra that his outfit was poised to promote the country’s competitive advantage and woo investors into the productive sectors of the Ghanaian economy.  The seminar was attended by the Premier of the Gauteng Province in that country, Mr. David Makhura, who led a delegation of senior government officials and captains of industry to Ghana.

Ghana, he indicated, would soon be a world-class business investment destination and “we want to encourage trade by assisting foreign companies to identify new markets for the establishment of their businesses here”.

Areas of interest for the both countries include manufacturing, energy, agriculture, agro-processing, rail and ports infrastructure and tourism among others. South African High Commissioner to Ghana, Madam Lulama Xingwana, said the purpose of the mission to Ghana was to enhance “the already existing bilateral relations between South Africa and Ghana and specifically the Gauteng Province and Greater Accra”.

The visit was also meant to promote intra-Africa trade and to explore trade and investment opportunities by engaging with relevant stakeholders at a forum such as the business seminar. The mission of the investors follows similar engagements between the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) and the GIPC.

The GGDA in February this year led a business delegation to Ghana during which mission the Agency and the GIPC signed a memorandum of understanding. Madam Xingwana noted that the warm and strong bind between the two countries was a demonstration of “our evolving economic partnership”. The South African Envoy encouraged South African businesses to seize upon opportunities that Ghana presents to South Africa for trade and investment.

According to her, “the net effect of any such trade and investment is economic development and poverty alleviation that fundamentally contribute towards realizing intra-Africa trade”.  She called on businesses to see the engagements as building blocks towards stronger partnerships, pointing out “there will be challenges as we go the along; the future of business and economic development in Africa lies in closer cooperation between our countries within the continent; let’s look within the resources we have as partner African countries because we are cut from the same cloth”.

Source: thefinderonline.com

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Mr. Yofi Grant, has said the upcoming US/Africa Business Summit scheduled for next month  will provide a “great opportunity” for Ghanaian businesses looking forward to trade and business dealings with players in the United States of America (USA) private sector.

According to him, this year’s summit which is being organised by Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), a trade association focused on strengthening commercial relationships between the US and the African continent,  will have “a Ghana-specific agenda through the Doing Business in Ghana seminar”, a special event that will be held to create the right platform for direct interaction and idea sharing.

The annual event comes off from June 10 to 22, 2017 in Washington DC, the capital of the USA

Mr. Grant, who has been instrumental in driving investment into the country to enable him to achieve the $5 billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows target into the country by the close of the year, said this in a phone interview on Wednesday, May 18.

He said Ghana was ready for the summit, noting that the Ghanaian delegation to the event would leverage every opportunity that availed itself during the period.

Mr. Grant who used the opportunity to brief the Daily Graphic about the courtesy call on him by the President and CEO of the CCA, Ms. Florizelle Liser, said the Washington body was looking forward to strengthening mutual business interest between the USA and Ghana.

“The CCA is looking forward to facilitate US private investments into Ghana, especially at the small, medium enterprise (SME) level”, she said.

Expectations

At the forum, there will be access to high-level African government representatives.

There will also be opportunities to meet key African heads of state, ministers and decision makers in one place, at one time.

The forum will provide an unparalleled networking with business professionals. This is crucial because networking is the number one reason the summit participants attend each year. In this case, the platform will be created to connect with more than 1000 business decision makers from C-suite to business development.

Attendees will also take part in dynamic sessions on Business in Africa and hear from leading US and African industry experts on best practices for business, trade and investment.

At the forum, it is expected that businesspeople will leverage the platform to amplify their brand.

Rationale

There have been frantic efforts by the US to increase its stake in Africa, hence a call for greater economic engagement. The move has become even more relevant since the African market is changing.

For instance, in the last five years, a combination of factors including fluctuating commodity prices, government policy and unprecedented political events have presented businesses and investors in Africa with significant new challenges, as well as new opportunities.

Meanwhile, simultaneously, US policy towards the continent is shifting under a new administration.

CCA Brief

CCA is a non-profit, membership-based organisation established in 1993 to promote business and investment between the US and the nations of Africa.

It  is the premier American organisation devoted to US-Africa business relations and includes as members more than 180 companies which represent nearly 85 per cent of total US private sector investments in Africa. CCA’s members range from America’s smallest to largest corporations. They represent a diverse pool of industries from more than 20 key sectors, including agribusiness, energy, infrastructure, security, power, health care, telecommunications and finance.

The CCA is a leading source of the most up-to-date information on business across Africa. CCA works closely with governments, multilateral groups and businesses to improve the continent’s trade and investment climate, and to raise Africa’s profile in the US business community.

Most importantly, CCA works with member companies to help them increase their investment in and trade with the nations of Africa. CCA accomplishes these goals through several sector- and country-specific working groups, initiatives, research areas, forums, conferences and advocacy programmes.

Source: graphic.com.gh

The CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Yofi Grant, has said that incentives are what local businesses need and not a protectionist regime to shield them from foreign competition.

Speaking at the launch of the Ghana-Gulf Chamber of Commerce in Accra, on Wednesday, the GIPC boss said globally there are several opportunities that local businesses can take advantage of if they are given the right incentives.

The country, he argued, possesses some of the fundamental requirements needed to move the economy from its present status to a more prosperous and industrious one, like those created in the middle east region such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the rest.

“I have been to Dubai a couple of times and, anytime I return, I am more convinced that whatever happened in Dubai can happen in Ghana –a real transformation of a country that is poised for change. The political will is there… the wherewithal and energy are also present,” he said.

“We should move away from being protectionist to being incentivist. We should incentivise our own people to grow and take advantage of opportunities that emerge globally.”

In the aftermath of Brexit and the emergence of economic nationalism in the US, he said, there is the need for Ghana to form new relationships that will allow it to realise its economic potential.

The Ghana Gulf Chamber, he said, is one of the means by which the country could seek such new partnerships that will help promote economic growth. Apart from engineering such business relationships, Mr. Grant stated that the GIPC is also pushing for reforms that will see the country emerge as one of the great places of doing business.

Such reforms, he explained, are tailored to reduce bottlenecks in routine business processes, which would improve the ease of doing business in the country.

In a speech read on his behalf, President of the Ghana Gulf Chamber of Commerce, Joseph Siaw Agyapong, said the Chamber will seek to put local businesses in contact with each other and with businesses in the gulf region.

Mr. Agyapong said the Chamber has the ambition of becoming the most influential among the various chambers of commerce in the country and would seek to do this by providing strong leadership as well as attracting valuable investments.

“This Chamber will facilitate business relationships between Ghana and the Gulf. The success of this endeavor will be assured by our stellar record and the record that we wish to accomplish, moving forward, by organising events, services, as well as collaborative memberships.”

The Chamber, which is located at the World Trade Center in Accra, comprises of businesses from Ghana, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman and Qatar.

Its leadership includes Joseph Siaw Agyapong, President; Albert Ankrah, Executive Director; Kojo Dougan, Vice President; Prince Kofi Hanson, Communications Director; Juliana Kplorfia, Director, Protocol and Strategic Affairs; and Albert Afful, Treasurer.

Source: thebftonline.com