Global investors at the recently held Global Business Forum Africa 2021 in Dubai, have voted Ghana as the country ready to lead the continent towards industrial explosion in the future, Senior Presidential Advisor, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, has said.
A voting process at the forum, which was hosted by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry as part of the ongoing UAE Expo 2020, of the three African countries selected, Ghana polled 59 percent of the votes, whereas Senegal and Ethiopia at 13 and 28 percent respectively, thereby, positioning the country as the ideal investment destination by participants of the forum, Mr. Osafo-Maafo said.
“In a session focusing on industrialization on the African continent at the Expo, three African countries were selected and voted for, and the voting was to know which of the country will lead the continent’s industrial boom. There were a lot of investors and policymakers from Singapore, China, US and others. The three countries that were selected include Senegal, Ethiopia and Ghana.
Now at the end of the voting process, Ghana was selected as the country well-positioned to lead the continent’s industrial boom in the years ahead. This shows that investors have so much confidence in us and feel Ghana is the place to go on the continent.
Hosting the headquarters of AfCFTA is perhaps one of the key factors that affected the percentage, suggesting Ghana’s readiness to lead the continent in trade and industry,” Mr. Osafo-Maafo said when he was delivering the keynote address at the 10th Ghana Economic Forum organised by the B&FT.
Speaking on the theme, ‘Africa Energy Sector: Ensuring medium to long term sustainability of the West Africa sub-region’, Mr. Osafo-Maafo said government’s agenda of industrialisation can only be achieved with a sustainable energy provision to power industry.
The Senior Presidential Advisor underscored that energy sector is the backbone of every emerging economy including Ghana and that the successful industrialisation of an emerging economy is dependent on a robust energy sector.
To leverage the good will of global-investor confidence in Ghana, the government, he notes, embarked on a five-year Energy Sector Recovery Programme (ESRP) plan to improve the financial health of the sector and mitigate the accumulation of debts that hinder the growth of the sector.
According to him, the ESRP looks at five key areas being security of supply, competitive tariffs, and subsidies for consumers, strategic industrial growth and universal access to electricity and renewable energy.
“Initiatives such as One District, One Factory (1D1F) and the several governmental interventions are designed to propel Ghana into an industrial hub in the subregion and the continent as a whole,” he said.
