Leveraging investment opportunities in Ghana, Kenya: Use AfCFTA to boost trade …African businesses told

Businesses in Ghana and Kenya have been urged to leverage invest­ment opportunities in both countries offered under the African Conti­nental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to boost economic trade.

According to speakers at the maiden Ghana-Kenya business forum, the AfCFTA and other structures, such as the establish­ment of a Ghana Trade House in Kenya, offered huge prospects for both countries.

Areas of possible collaboration proposed at the event included agriculture, manufacturing, tour­ism, Information Communication Technology and Telecom, banking, insurance and the energy sectors.

The speakers included Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Kwaku Am­pratwum-Sarpong, and the Princi­pal Secretary, State Department for Investment Promotion of Kenya, Abubakar Hassan Abubakar.

Others were the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Free Zones Authority, Michael Oquaye Jnr, CEO of Association of Ghana Industries, Seth Twum- Ak­waboah, and the Chair of Africa Health Business, Dr Amit Thakar.

Held in Accra yesterday, the forum, which brought together businesses from both countries, was on the theme “Driving invest­ment and intra-African trade: the Ghana-Kenya experience”.

It was part of Kenyan President, William Ruto’s state visit to Ghana, and a follow up to the bilateral exposition held under the AfCFTA framework in Kenya last year.

Opening the forum, Mr Am­pratwum-Sarpong said Ghana was ready to collaborate with Kenya in taking advantage of the mineral and marine resources available.

“These strategic anchor sectors are of significance to Ghana and it would be satisfactory to see partnerships forged in that area. A collaboration specifically in the green energy driven by technolog­ical advancements would likewise be of profound interest to Gha­na,” he said.

According to the Deputy Minister, economic diplomacy had become crucial in the conduct of international relations and the gov­ernment would explore avenues that encourage mutual growth and development.

He said Ghana’s experiences with economic development had emphasised the value of collabo­ration, cooperation and inclusivity towards development, and Kenya had demonstrated enthusiasm to strengthen economic ties.

“It is the desire of Ghana to seize the opportunity to share its experiences in its journey towards sustainable economic develop­ment, particularly in the context of the AfCFTA,” he said.

Mr Abubakar said Kenya was open, safe and ready for business and had therefore positioned itself well to collaborate with Ghanaian businesses that desired to spread their wings to the country.

From agriculture, man­ufacturing, construction to the digital space and their value chains, he said Kenya had enormous opportunities that must not pass Ghanaian business­es by.

He said the Kenyan govern­ment had put in place policies to increase volumes of production, especially along the agriculture value chain and incentivise stake­holders.

Mr Oquaye said despite the opportunities presented by the AfCFTA, issues such as free movement of goods and people, common currency and political unity needed to be addressed to maximise AfCFTA benefits.

For Dr Thakar, the two re­sources held by the two countries were enormous and a stronger collaboration would yield posi­tive immerse results for the two countries.

 BY JONATHAN DONKOR

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