By Joshua AMLANU
President John Dramani Mahama has formally unveilled the 24-hour (24H) economy initiative, placing it as the crown jewel of his administration’s strategy to stimulate job creation, boost exports and transition the economy toward higher productivity and value addition.
Describing it as a “national productivity compact” that redefines the nation’s approach to industrialisation and employment, the president touted its potential to transform domestic productivity.
“This is not simply about working around the clock. It is about restructuring the economy to generate more value at home, create decent jobs and unlock Ghana’s productive potential through coordinated, private sector-led investment,” the president explained.
The initiative directly targets what President Mahama called an “extractive and unsustainable” economic model, which relies heavily on raw commodity exports while importing finished goods at high cost.
“We export cocoa, gold, timber and oil, only to buy them back as chocolate, furniture, jewellery and fuel at far higher prices,” he said.
“This model has failed to create jobs and industrial depth. It sustains foreign economies while leaving our own people idle,” he added.
The 24-Hour Plus Programme is structured around eight interconnected pillars: GROW24 (agriculture), MAKE24 (manufacturing), BUILD24 (infrastructure), SHOW24 (tourism and culture), CONNECT24 (logistics and digital infrastructure), ASPIRE24 (skills and values), FUND24 (financing) and GO24 (national mobilisation). Together, these pillars form the foundation of a long-term development strategy anchored in export-oriented growth and inclusive job creation.
A key feature of the initiative is the Volta Economic Corridor – a multi-sectoral development project centred on the Volta Lake. The corridor is designed to integrate irrigation, aquaculture, agro-processing, tourism and inland transport infrastructure to catalyse industrial growth inland.
“We are reviving Kwame Nkrumah’s original vision for the Volta project – not just as a power source, but also a national development platform. We will irrigate over two million hectares of farmland, establish agro-industrial parks and use the lake as a transport spine to reduce logistics cost and improve regional integration,” the president elaborated.
To finance the expansive programme, government is setting up FUND24 – a national financing platform aimed at mobilising more than US$4billion in long-term capital. The fund will leverage blended finance instruments, diaspora investment, pension funds and development finance institutions (DFIs) to support infrastructure, industrialisation and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
The financing framework includes three infrastructure special-purpose vehicles (SPVs) with US$300million in seed capital earmarked for industrial parks, inland water transport systems and logistics infrastructure. A value chain financing facility will provide over US$1billion in low-interest, long-tenor loans to cooperatives and SMEs, while an SME Equity Fund will offer non-debt financing to high-growth firms – particularly those led by young people and women.
“The real constraint for our entrepreneurs is access to affordable, long-term capital,” President Mahama said.
“FUND24 is our structured response. It will de-risk investment and scale enterprise development across Ghana’s priority value chains,” he added.
The growing pool of pension assets, expected to surpass GH¢100 billion this year, will be mobilised through these vehicles to provide funding. The programme also aims to attract diaspora and climate-related capital through instruments such as diaspora bonds, SDG-aligned private equity and green finance facilities.
An autonomous 24-Hour Plus Authority, reporting directly to the Office of the President, will be established to oversee implementation. Pres. Mahama emphasised that while government will provide catalytic support, the private sector will be the initiative’s primary driver.
“This is not a state-dominated programme. Government will facilitate, not crowd out. Our model ensures continuity, discipline and long-term accountability,” he said.
The agenda was developed over a six-month consultation process led by the Office of the Presidential Advisor on the 24-Hour Economy, involving organised labour, private sector associations, academia, religious and traditional leaders, youth groups and development partners.
“This is not about doing everything at once. We are targetting job-rich, export-competitive sectors where Ghana can build backward and forward linkages. This is a national productivity movement,” the President noted.
While acknowledging the challenge’s magnitude, President Mahama presented the programme as a decisive shift in Ghana’s economic direction.
“We are building a productive economy – driven by enterprise, enabled by the state and shared by all. This is a call to national action,” he noted.
