2022 Diaspora Investment Meeting Concludes at Ghana Embassy, Washington DC

The Diaspora Investment Meeting was under the theme “Connecting Ghana to the Diaspora: Harnessing Diaspora Direct Investments for Economic Development.” The last in the series of meetings was held at the Embassy of Ghana in Washington DC on Wednesday, 20th April, 2022.

The Ghana Investment Promotion Center in partnership with the Embassy of Ghana, American Chamber of Commerce-Ghana, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Information and Ghana Export Promotion Authority organized a series of meetings across various cities in the United States from 5th to 20th April, 2022 aimed at promoting trade and investments between the two countries as well as match diaspora and US Investors to local entrepreneurs in Ghana.

Notable speakers at the 2022 Washington DC Diaspora Investment Meeting were Her Excellency Alima Mahama (Hajia), Ambassador of Ghana to the United States, Mr. Yofi Grant – Chief Executive Officer of GIPC, Mr. Aly Kaba – Executive Director of Washington DC Mayor’s Office of African Affairs, Ms. Angela Franco – Chief Executive Officer of the DC Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Afua Asabea Asare – Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Export Promotion Authority, Mrs. Elizabeth Nyantakyi – Director of Diaspora Affairs Unit, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ms. Florence Torson-Hart -President of US –Ghana Chamber of Commerce-Philadelphia.

The event was attended by the business community, officials from the World Trade Center, the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), US Department of Commerce, the Washington Metro Area Business Community, African America Community group including the Constituency for Africa, members of the Ghana and American Chamber of Commerce, the Ghana diaspora group and potential investors among others.

Also, in attendance was a bi-partisan group of members of Ghana’s Parliament who were in Washington DC for the annual World Bank meeting. They were Hon, Kwaku Kwarteng- MP for Obuasi West, Hon Isaac Adongo, MP for Bolgatanga Central, Hon. Collins Adomako-Mensah. MP for Afigya Kwabre North,  Hon. John Abdulai Jinapor MP for  Yapei-Kusawgu constituency, Hon. Dr. Stephen Amoah member of parliament for the Nhyiaeso Constituency, Hon. Richard Acheampong  MP for Bia East Constituency.

In a keynote address, Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Her Excellency, Hajia Alima Mahama expressed her appreciation to the event organisers, the GIPC and all participants for a successful event. She indicated that “the diaspora of every nation was a vital resource for socio economic development.

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She observed that even under a lockdown due to the covid pandemic, remittances from the Ghanaian diaspora witnessed a 5% increment in 2021 as against 3.2% in 2020. She underscored the importance of the diaspora in the economic development of Ghana and assured all potential investors of expedited visa services by the Embassy.

In a speech, Mr. Yofi Grant, the CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre indicated that the vision of outfit was to make Ghana the first destination of choice for investing in Africa by providing seamless one-stop-shop high value added services. He took the audience through the various sectors of Ghana’s economy and the opportunities available for potential investors and partnerships from Las Vegas, San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, New York and Washington DC

He assured the gathering of the safety of their investments in Ghana as well as the profitability of their investments in an ever changing economic landscape. He also stressed that GIPC would ensure to make Ghana the preferred destination for investment within the sub-region.

A Director at the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, Mr. George Danquah Ameyaw, on behalf of the CEO of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, spoke about expanding Ghana’s export market for business partners in the diaspora. He indicated that there had been engagements with various companies and potential partners to ensure that the export trade would be boosted. 

In an earlier interview, Dr. Afua Asabea Asare, the CEO of Ghana Export Promotion Authority, said her outfit currently supports over 400 non-traditional products and their expectation from the trip was get as many people as possible to patronize made in Ghana products. Continuing, Dr. Asare intimated that in line with the President Akufo-Addo’s Ghana Beyond Aid Initiative, there was the need to add value to every Ghanaian produce; for example – process Cocoa beans into chocolate, process cassava to cassava chips.

Furthermore, the authority was taking advantage of the one district one factory initiative and currently supporting the initiative with the organization’s one district one exportable crop initiative. Dr.  Afua Asabea Asare urged the gathering to patronize made in Ghana products and to do business with Ghana as the opportunities were limitless. She reiterated that Ghana was open and ready for business.

The visiting GIPC and GEPA investment delegation outlined the various sectors of the Ghanaian economy looking for investors to include the following:

• Agriculture and Agro-Processing
• Energy and Renewable Energy.
• Information Communication Technology (ICT)
• Oil and gas
• Manufacturing
• Tourism
• Education
• Minerals and mineral Development
• Property Development (Real Estate)
• Health
• Financial Services
• Transport Infrastructure

The delegation has since returned home to Ghana.

Source: Ghana Embassy, DC