The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) is set to host the First Annual Assembly of African Investment Promotion Agencies on 25th January 2023 at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra.

The maiden summit will focus on “The Role of IPAs in Facilitating Intra African Trade”. Together, the heads and representatives of the invited African Investment Promotion Agencies along with colleagues from the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), economic and political leaders will explore the critical role Investment Promotion Agencies play in boosting intra-African trade.

There will be further discussions on the emerging opportunities the AfCFTA continues to present and how various development actors can leverage them to facilitate trade on the continent and boost socio-economic development.

Key speakers at this year’s summit are CEO of the GIPC & Sub Sahara’s Director on the steering Committee of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies, Yofi Grant, and Ismail Ersahin, Executive Director for World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA).

Speaking on the importance of the summit, Yofi Grant said, “By 2050, Africa will be a quarter of the global population. What if by 2050, Africa was also the recipient of a quarter of global FDI flows? As we look inward on how we can promote intra-African trade through the AfCFTA, Africa needs to redefine how we look outward towards our investor partners. This redefinition is best created when we sit around the table and discuss where we are and where we want to go.”

“This is why we are convening the first of many Annual Assembly of African Investment Promotion Agencies. Through this, we hope to deepen and continue engagement for the formation on an Association of African Investment Promotion Agencies,” he added. He further noted that the annual summit will set the tone for collective engagements on how development actors can target, channel and leverage foreign investment for mutually beneficial outcomes. He called for cooperation on increasing intra-African investment in Africa which is relatively low compared to other regions of the world.

There are currently about 48 African Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs), and the Annual Assembly of Investment Promotion Agencies will serve as the official gathering for African IPAs to engage in discussions, exchanges, and knowledge sharing on policies, interventions, current trends in FDI, best practices on investment promotion, the AfCFTA, among other topics.