The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have encouraged the private sector to use insights from the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Investor Map to invest in Ghana’s agriculture and manufacturing sectors for good returns.
The call was made during the second edition of the SDG Investor Map Breakfast Meeting, held in Accra. The event rallied together relevant stakeholders to discuss and take advantage of the enormous investment opportunity areas in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors of Ghana, to contribute to the recovery and resilience of these sectors. This follows the first meeting, which discussed Investment Opportunity Areas (IOAs) in the SDG Investor Map for the ICT and Health sectors.
Speaking at the meeting, the Chief Executive Officer of GIPC, Yofi Grant noted that, as Ghana continually recovers from the global pandemic, it has become more prudent to adopt a development strategy, that is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He stated that to augment governments’ efforts in accelerating SDG-aligned investments, GIPC has partnered with UNDP, and other relevant stakeholders, to guide investors seeking to venture into priority sectors, as captured in the SDG Investor Map.
He said, “the SDG Investor Map shows exactly where the opportunities are for investors to leverage as this has become a very important source of information for persons seeking to invest in Ghana”.
Highlighting the important role of the agriculture sector in Ghana’s economic growth, the Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP in Ghana, Sukhrob Khoshmukhamedov, pledged UNDP’s commitment to supporting Ghana’s efforts to make the country a preferred investment destination.
“Agriculture plays a pivotal role in Ghana’s economy, employing about 60% of the country’s total labour force but only contributing about 20% to the country’s GDP. UNDP will continue to work with the Government and other partners to transform food and agriculture to be more resilient, equitable, inclusive, and environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable”.
He added that UNDP will continue to support the Government’s efforts towards making Ghana an investment destination of choice, using the SDG Investor Map as a vehicle for strategic development investment.
The event also created a platform for stakeholders to examine the policy framework put in place by the government to support and drive investments in Ghana’s agriculture and manufacturing sectors. Addressing the audience, 2018 National Best Farmer, James Boateng, highlighted viable business opportunities in the agricultural sector that potential investors can leverage.
According to him “there are opportunities in the plantation of oil palm, coconut, cashew and maize. Snail farming also presents exciting business prospects”.
A second iteration of the SDG Investor Map is currently identifying specific investment opportunities at the local levels, starting with six Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs). The pilot MMDAs are Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Ketu South Municipal Assembly, Sefwi Wiawso Municipal Assembly, Jomoro Municipal Assembly, Sagnarigu District Assembly and Kassena–Nankana West District Assembly.
