Ashanti Region records US$3.4bn in FDIs over 30 years – GIPC

By Elizabeth PUNSU, Kumasi

The Ashanti Region attracted about US$3.4billion in Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) over the past three decades despite its strong economic potential, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Simon Madjie, has disclosed.

The amount, Mr. Madjie said, is from FDIs across 410 projects registered with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC). He revealed this at a GIPC investment roadshow under its Investment Opportunity Mapping Project (IOMP) in Kumasi, and noted that while the figure is significant, it still falls short of the region’s vast economic potential.

“The Ashanti Region holds a strategic position in the national economy, serving as a major commercial and trade hub. Its central location links seven of the country’s 16 regions and connects northern and southern Ghana, while also providing a transit route to Sahelian markets such as Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Chad, making it a key gateway for regional trade.

“The region also boasts a strong manufacturing base, a vibrant small and medium enterprise ecosystem, a large consumer market and a dynamic entrepreneurial culture,” he said.

However, Mr. Madjie said the level of investment in the region has not matched these advantages.

“The challenge has not been a lack of opportunities. Instead, many promising projects have failed to attract investors because they have not been clearly identified, properly packaged and presented in ways that meet investor expectations,” he said.

To address this challenge, the GIPC last year launched the Investment Opportunity Mapping Project (IOMP), a nationwide initiative aimed at systematically identifying, profiling and packaging investment opportunities across all 261 districts in the country.

The project, among other things, seeks to decentralise the investment landscape to ensure that capital flows beyond the traditional concentration in the Greater Accra Region.

Greater Kumasi Industrial City

A major initiative highlighted during the roadshow is the Greater Kumasi Industrial City (GKIC), a strategic industrial development project designed to position the region as a major centre for industrial production and logistics.

Giving details of the GKIC, Mr. Madjie indicated that it will cover approximately 5,000 acres of contiguous land across Boankra, Abenase and Onwin; and will provide modern infrastructure and serviced land for both local and international industries.

A key component of the project is the development of a 500-acre inland port terminal at Boankra, which will serve as a logistics hub to support transit trade to Sahelian countries and provide warehousing and aggregation facilities for goods produced across several regions.

When completed, the project is expected to attract significant domestic and foreign investments, expand export capacity and reduce reliance on imports.

Furthermore, the development is also expected to promote value addition to raw materials, strengthen technical and vocational skills development and create employment opportunities along industrial supply chains while supporting environmentally responsible production.

Call for collaboration

Board Chairman of GIPC, Dr. Akwasi Opong-Fosu, in his welcome address, also emphasised that the success of the initiative would depend on strong collaboration among key stakeholders.

“Government institutions, private sector actors, development partners and community leaders must work together to transform these opportunities into viable businesses that will drive economic progress,” he said.

Dr. Opong-Fosu noted that the Ashanti Region presents a wide range of investment opportunities across sectors including agriculture and agro-processing, manufacturing, tourism, mining support services and logistics.

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