Afua Tekimills, Head of Advertising and Communications on the Ghana Funding Promotion Middle (GIPC), known as for elevated business engagement between Ghana and Ethiopia to develop commerce, funding and industrial alternatives underneath the African Continental Free Commerce Space (AfCFTA).
He mentioned that though Ghana and Ethiopia occupy a strategic place in Africa’s financial integration agenda, bilateral commerce between the 2 international locations stays properly beneath its potential.
Ms Tekyi Mills spoke throughout a panel dialogue on the Ghana Enterprise and Cultural Expo held at Kuriftu Resort Africa Village in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The expo was organized to advertise commerce, funding, tourism and cultural cooperation between Ghana and Ethiopia and was held underneath the theme ‘Creating an enabling setting for cross-border funding’.
In the course of the dialogue, Tekimills mentioned Ghana, with its AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra, and Ethiopia, with its African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, are strategically positioned to facilitate intra-African commerce and funding.
“Whereas the political and continental foundations are already in place, business relationships haven’t but caught as much as their potential, so we imagine now’s the best time,” she mentioned.
He famous that commerce volumes between the 2 international locations stay modest, and mentioned this example doesn’t signify a weak point, however relatively untapped alternatives ready for firms from each international locations to discover.
“There are friendships, there’s a continental framework, there’s connectivity, however we now must translate these into enterprise, commerce, funding, logistics and partnerships,” she added.
Ms Tekyi Mills mentioned the expansion of Ghana’s non-traditional export sector and the restoration of investor confidence had made the nation a gorgeous vacation spot for East African firms searching for entry to West African markets.
In line with her, Ghana’s non-traditional exports will attain over US$5 billion in 2025, highlighting the expansion of the nation’s export base and the rising competitiveness of value-added Ghanaian merchandise. This robust export efficiency, coupled with continued investor curiosity throughout key sectors, strengthens Ghana’s place as a secure and enticing vacation spot for commerce and funding.
He additionally cited agriculture and agro-processing, manufacturing, textiles and clothes, tourism, hospitality, logistics and aviation providers as essentially the most promising sectors for Ethiopian firms keen on getting into the Ghanaian market.
Ms Tekyi-Mills defined that Ghana’s agricultural sector contributes considerably to gross home product, employs a good portion of the workforce and creates alternatives for funding in meals processing, chilly chain amenities, poultry manufacturing, rice milling and shea butter processing.
He additional highlighted alternatives within the textile and vogue sectors, saying each international locations have robust cultural identities and complementary strengths that may assist aggressive African manufacturers.
“Ghana has strengths in design, vogue, kente, batik and inventive branding, whereas Ethiopia has expertise in garment manufacturing and industrial parks. There’s scope for cooperation that may serve the broader African market,” she mentioned.
On funding incentives, Ms Tekyi-Mills mentioned Ghana provides a mixture of tax incentives, investor safety and market entry advantages aimed toward supporting each home and international buyers.
He added that buyers in strategic sectors can profit from tailor-made incentives and entry to broader regional and continental markets via ECOWAS and AfCFTA.
Ms Tekyi-Mills harassed that Ghana provides not solely tax incentives, but in addition a supportive funding framework, together with authorized safety in opposition to discrimination and expropriation, and ensures that buyers can switch dividends and income.
He inspired Ethiopian firms keen on getting into Ghana to interact with the GIPC early for steerage on funding alternatives, registration processes and sector-specific necessities.
He additional known as on firms from each international locations to discover sensible partnerships in agro-processing, textiles, logistics and specialty meals commerce to determine a stronger West Africa-East Africa enterprise hall.
“The subsequent step is to increase present efforts into structured partnerships that create jobs, enhance industrialization and deepen African commerce,” she mentioned.
Rex Owusu Marfo, Presidential Workers and Coordinator of the Black Star Expertise, additionally addressed expo attendees, describing Ghana Month as “greater than only a celebration”, emphasizing its position in reuniting Africans via tradition, enterprise and customary identification.
