Mr. Simon Madjie, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), has revealed plans to set an ‘AfCFTA Desk’ at GIPC to coordinate the Centre’s efforts in promoting and leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He said the Desk would provide a more structured approach to positioning Ghana for investments under the promising regional trade pact.
Mr Madjie said this when he met with management and staff on Friday, February 14, 2025, to familiarize himself with the team and share his vision for the organization.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), over the past few years has been lamenting on AfCFTA to harmonize retail and investment laws to abort trade tensions. The Association was concerned about possible trade tensions among respective signatories to the single continental trade market if existing laws on trade and investment from these respective economies are not harmonized.
GUTA said all 54 countries who have signed up to the single market, have their own individual trade and investment laws.
Ethiopia, for example, prohibited foreign investment in its financial sector which is seen as a potential breach of AfCFTA rules. Ghana also prohibits retail trade of foreigners in its local market, another likely breach of AfCFTA rules.
In the interim, the Ghana International Trade Commission (GITC) has called for patience even as the AfCFTA Secretariat completes negotiations on common tariffs, trade, and investment laws.
In line with this, the new CEO of GIPC promised to strengthen collaboration with key ministries and government agencies to create a more cohesive approach to attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country. By fostering stronger partnerships, he aims to streamline processes, align national development priorities with investor interests, and drive sustainable economic growth.
He also outlined plans to map investment opportunities in every district across the country to effectively market them to prospective investors during the Centre’s sensitization tours. As part of this strategy, he aims to have regional directors in all 16 regions to oversee the project.
“It is very important that in our investment promotion efforts, we speak about the country’s opportunities with specific data, not generic assertions,” he added.
He highlighted plans to continue and finalize the review of the GIPC Act, initiated under the previous leadership, while improving the Centre’s turnaround time for key registration processes, adding that some of GIPC’s activities would be realigned and repurposed to take full advantage of the government’s 24-hour economy policy.
