Ambassador Smith urges investors to create well-paying jobs to curb brain drain

The Embassy of Ghana in the United States, in collaboration with Region 17, has held a special business roundtable in Chicago, Illinois, bringing together investors, business leaders and other stakeholders to explore investment opportunities and strengthen economic ties between Ghana and the United States.

Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Victor Emmanuel Smith, underscored the importance of productive investment that creates sustainable, well-paying jobs for young people.

He called for a shift from investments focused primarily on resource extraction to partnerships that promote local manufacturing, skills development, technology transfer, and the growth of Ghanaian enterprises.

“I am not interested merely in investment that extracts resources and leaves little lasting value behind. I want investment that builds factories, investment that develops skills, investment that creates supply chains,” he stated.

As a practical outcome of the engagement, the Ambassador proposed the establishment of a Ghana–Chicago Strategic Business Investment Partnership to connect interested companies, investors, diaspora professionals and relevant institutions.

He identified agribusiness, advanced manufacturing, financial services, digital technology and aviation as five priority areas, proposing that within 90 days, stakeholders work towards identifying interested companies, developing an initial pipeline of investment opportunities and arranging follow-up engagements, including a possible business delegation to Ghana.

The Ambassador also encouraged investors to consider Ghana as a gateway to the wider African market of approximately 1.4 billion people, highlighting opportunities in agricultural processing, cocoa value addition, food production, manufacturing and logistics. He particularly called for partnerships that would strengthen local supply chains and create opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Speaking at the event, Illinois State Senator for the 16th District, William Preston, highlighted the strong historical and cultural connections between Chicago and Ghana, stressing the need to translate these ties into meaningful economic partnerships.

He identified opportunities in agriculture, manufacturing, technology, workforce development and education, and announced progress towards recruiting teachers from Ghana to help address teacher shortages in Illinois.

He also pointed to the potential for local businesses, including Chicago-based Brown Sugar Bakery, to establish stronger commercial links with Ghana.

Other participants shared experiences of successful diaspora-led investment initiatives, including a Chicago-based real estate entrepreneur who recounted bringing a delegation of 50 investors to Ghana for the organisation’s eighth annual conference, alongside local business owners and exhibitors.

The experience, she noted, demonstrated the importance of connecting diaspora investors with businesses and entrepreneurs on the ground in Ghana.

The roundtable reaffirmed the shared interest of Ghana and Illinois in building practical, mutually beneficial commercial relationships, with a focus on turning historical connections and investment discussions into lasting partnerships, business opportunities and jobs.