The Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism has thrown its weight behind reforms being implemented by the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority (GIPA) to improve Ghana’s investment climate and attract more quality investments into the country.
The Committee also pledged to support efforts to adequately resource GIPA to enable it to discharge its expanded mandate under the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority Act, 2023 (Act 1173).
The commitments were disclosed at a press conference following a working engagement between the Committee and GIPA in Accra.
The engagement focused on GIPA’s operations, the implementation of the new investment law, challenges facing the Authority and measures to strengthen Ghana’s position as an investment destination.
At the meeting, GIPA’s Chief Executive Officer, Simon Madjie, outlined reforms introduced under Act 1173, including the removal of the blanket minimum capital requirements previously applicable to foreign investors.
Under the new regime, the US$200,000 minimum capital requirement for foreign joint ventures and the US$500,000 threshold for wholly foreign-owned enterprises have been removed, except in the trading sector.
Mr Madjie, however, stressed that the reform did not mean foreign investors could enter Ghana without adequate capital.
“The absence of a blanket minimum capital requirement does not mean investors can enter with no capital. It simply means we will assess capital adequacy by sector,” he said.
He explained that the new framework relied on local-content requirements, sector-specific financial regulations and activities reserved for Ghanaians to protect local businesses and promote Ghanaian participation.
Sectors such as mining, petroleum, power, insurance and fintech, he said, were subject to specific regulatory and local-content requirements that would provide stronger safeguards than a generic capital threshold.
According to Mr Madjie, the reforms were also consistent with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Protocol on Investment and were intended to enhance Ghana’s competitiveness in attracting investment.
$62bn Investment Portfolio
The GIPA CEO disclosed that the Authority had, since 1994, registered more than 7,160 investment projects with cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) exceeding US$62 billion.
He said GIPA was also intensifying its regional investment promotion efforts through investment roadshows, investment-opportunity mapping and documentaries highlighting opportunities across the country.
The Authority, he added, was expanding and refurbishing its regional offices to bring investment facilitation services closer to investors and project locations.
Mr Madjie further appealed for support to operationalise the citizenship-by-investment provisions under Act 1173, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior.
He said the initiative was expected to attract high-net-worth investors through structured residency and eventual citizenship programmes.
The Authority also wants regulations on technology transfer to be developed and enforced to ensure that investment projects deliver meaningful skills and knowledge transfer to Ghanaian businesses and partners.
Mr Madjie further called for stronger enforcement of economic activities reserved for Ghanaians, particularly informal retail trading, taxi services and small-scale pharmaceutical retailing.
Committee Pledges Support
Responding to the concerns, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism, Alexander Hottordze Roosevelt, acknowledged GIPA’s strategic role in Ghana’s economic transformation.
He stressed the importance of adequately resourcing the Authority to enable it to effectively perform its expanded promotional and regulatory responsibilities.
The Committee, he said, would support constructive engagement to help GIPA overcome challenges and implement the reforms under Act 1173.
Members of the Committee also commended GIPA for promoting Ghanaian investment opportunities locally and internationally and expressed support for initiatives aimed at strengthening investor confidence and attracting quality investments into the country.
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