The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) is set to host the maiden edition of Annual Assembly of African Investment Promotion Agencies in Accra.
The summit, which is under the theme: “The Role of IPAs in Facilitating Intra African Trade” will take place on Wednesday, 25th January, 2023.
There will be further discussions on the emerging opportunities AfCFTA continues to present and how various development actors can leverage them to facilitate trade on the continent and boost socio-economic development.
Key speakers at this year’s summit are; Mr Yofi Grant, CEO of the GIPC & Sub Sahara’s Director on the steering Committee of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies and Mr Ismail Ersahin, Executive Director for WAIPA.
Addressing the media at a news conference at the Ministry of Information in Accra yesterday, the Chief Executive Officer of GIPC, Mr. Yofi Grant said, “By 2050, Africa will be a quarter of the global population. What if by 2050 Africa is also the recipient of a quarter of global FDI flows?
“As we look inward on how we can promote intra-African trade through the AfCFTA, Africa needs to redefine how we look outward towards our investor partners. This redefinition is best created when we sit around the table and discuss where we are and where we want to go.
“This is why we are convening the first of many Annual Assembly of African Investment Promotion Agencies. Through this, we hope to deepen and continue engagement for the formation of an Association of African Investment Promotion Agencies.”
He added that the annual conference will serve as a springboard for group discussions on how development actors may target, direct and leverage foreign investment for win-win results.
He urged collaboration to increase intra-African investment, which is still quite low in comparison to other parts of the world.
There are currently 48 African Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) and the Annual Assembly of Investment Promotion Agencies will serve as the official gathering for African IPAs to discuss, exchange and share knowledge on policies, interventions, current FDI trends, best practices on investment promotion and the AfCFTA, among other topics.
On what to expect, he stated that the meeting is going to discuss how investment promotion Agencies can work together to optimise the opportunities available on the continent and also attract investors who strategically can enable Ghana to add value to its natural resources.
“There is going to be a lot of peers’ assessments, reviews and peer to peer sharing of information but also to highlight the opportunities that will alight from the continent out of the AFCFTA and the recognition that we are resourced rich, and we need to add value to those resources before export,” he emphasised.
