GIPA takes investment hunt to districts to unlock opportunities for local firms

The Ghana Investment Promotion Authority (GIPA) is mapping investment opportunities across the country’s districts and regions to help local businesses identify new avenues for growth.

Its Chief Executive Officer, Simon Madjie, says regional investment roadshows back the initiative and encourage Ghanaian firms to explore opportunities beyond their existing markets.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express Business Edition, he said some domestic businesses were unaware of investment prospects within the country.

“We realise that there are some Ghanaian businesses who simply have no idea about opportunities in our regions.”

To address that gap, Mr Madjie said GIPA was identifying opportunities and taking businesses closer to them.

“So we've come up with what we call the investment opportunities mapping, where we are mapping opportunities in all the districts and the regions.”

The roadshows are intended to turn that information into opportunities businesses can assess directly.

“We are encouraging Ghanaian businesses to come along to the regions to see the opportunities that are in those regions, as well, so they can also take advantage of it.”

Madjie placed the initiative within a broader argument that domestic investors must remain central to Ghana’s economic development.

“No government will succeed by diminishing the influence of their local businesses or domestic investors. No government.”

He pointed to local content regulations and state-backed financing institutions as examples of efforts to strengthen Ghanaian enterprises.

However, he argued that sustainable growth required businesses to understand and develop their value chains. He cited Kasapreko as an example of a company that had built its business through that approach.

Madjie also questioned an approach in which businesses depend on government contracts without developing the foundations for lasting growth. He suggested such dependence risked producing political entrepreneurs rather than resilient businesses.

Beyond identifying opportunities at home, he said GIPA’s mandate now extended to supporting Ghanaian investment abroad.

According to Madjie, the new GIPA law allows the authority to help local firms export capital. The aim, he explained, is to support successful businesses to expand into other African countries and international markets, then bring profits home.

He linked that outward investment drive to competition within the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Together, the district mapping exercise, regional roadshows and support for overseas expansion reflect GIPA’s push to help Ghanaian businesses find room to grow both at home and abroad.