The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) has been adjudged the Best Investment Promotion Agency (IPA) in West and Central Africa for 2015 at the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) Awards in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The Minister of Economy for the UAE presented the award to the Chief Executive Officer of GIPC, Mrs Mawuena Trebarh, on Monday at the forecourt of the Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Mrs Trebarh said the achievement represented a milestone for Ghana's vision of attracting quality foreign direct investment (FDI) projects and was a recognition of the team effort of all stakeholders involved in attracting and maintaining sustainable investments in the country.
The AIM Investment Awards, which is organised under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, and Ruler of Dubai, recognises Investment Promotion Agencies (IPA) for their outstanding work in successfully attracting sizeable and beneficial FDIs that contribute to the economic growth and development of their countries.
The winning feat
The GIPC, an agency under the Office of the President, won the award through the showcasing of its support and facilitation for the Wangkang Ghana Ceramic Limited project.
The project, which was registered by the centre in 2015, has a value of $93.6 million. Located in Sekondi-Takoradi, it is a ceramic manufacturing plant owned by Wangkang Ghana, a member of the Wangkang Holding Group of China.
IPAs are selected from nine global geographic zones for the award. These include Latin America, Middle East and North Africa, West and Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, Central Asia, South East Asia and Oceania, Eastern Europe and Turkey.
Methodology
Submissions were made by a number of West and Central African countries, outlining investment projects, investment size, trade balance effects, knowledge transfer, technology transfer and innovative processes, sustainability and local linkages.
Kenya emerged the best in East Africa; Mauritius for Southern Africa, and Morocco for Middle East and North Africa.
Officials of the GIPC, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ghana Free Zones Board and other trade promotion agencies are attending the AIM 2016, which opened in Dubai last Monday, April 11. The chief executive officer of the GIPC will also be part of a panel discussion on “New Incentive Packages to Attract New Forms of International Investment, Effectiveness and Impact."
The AIM is an initiative of the UAE Ministry of Economy and is the region's first Emerging Markets FDI-focused event to offer a perfect blend of trade fair and intellectual features.