GEPA invites UAE businesses to invest in Ghana
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, Dr Afua Asabea Asare, has invited businesses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to invest in Ghana saying that they would benefit from a favourable environment.
In addition, she assured them of a politically stable country with a high level of skilled youth.
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Dr Asare was speaking as one of the panelists at a Ghana Business Forum at the Jafza One convention centre in Dubai Wednesday, (March 9, 2022) as a follow up to a previous forum held Tuesday at the Expo 2020.
The forum had the theme: “Ghana: Limitless Opportunities.”
It delved into viable business and investment opportunities in Ghana.
Participants included the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and industry.
Currently, more than 68 Emirati companies are registered in Ghana.
The discussions covered housing and construction, sanitation, trade and manufacturing, tourism, arts and culture.
A number of memorandum of agreement were signed to create an attractive environment for the UAE and Ghanaian companies to encourage the exchange of trade missions and facilitate information exchange between the two parties.
Dr Asare said businesses were secure because of adherence to the rule of law and the advantage of the strategic location of Ghana which made access to other markets in the world easy.
She said GEPA had made it easy for businessmen to register their businesses by providing a one- stop hub for registration with other required institutions such as the Food and Drugs Authority and Ghana Standard Authority required.
She explained that GEPA helped to provide all certification required to export, market, link to international markets, how to access markets and understand the business of exporting.
Another panelist, the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Mrs Cecilia Abena Dapaah, explained that the government was worried about the effects of illegal mining which had contaminated and polluted the country’s water bodies.
She said there were therefore business opportunities for investors to remove the heavy metals and pollutants in those water bodies using modern and cost effective techniques to make them safe.
The Deputy Minister of Works and Housing, Alhaji Abdulai Abanga, also a panelist, said there was a housing deficit of 1.8 million housing units in Ghana and invited investors in that sector.
He assured them of incentives such as tax holidays, easy repatriation of their profits and mortgage schemes provided by banks to ensure markets for the houses they would build.
Ghana’s Ambassador to the UAE, Alhaji Ahmed Ramadan, had earlier in his welcome address said that Ghana was in its quest to secure a brighter future for the economy was engaged in industrialisation.
The UAE Minister of State for Foreign and Trade and minister in charge of talent attraction and retention of the Ministry of Economy, Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi hoped for prosperous partnerships between the two countries.
The Chairman of the Federation of the UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry assured his colleague business men and women of good business in Ghana saying that he had businesses in the country and was therefore speaking from experience.
He added that Ghanaians were friendly and that facilitated business.
Other speakers were the CEOs of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Ghana Free Zones Authority, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and the Deputy Minister of Energy, Mr Andrew Egyapa Mercer.
