The Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) has applauded the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as one of its strongest and longest-standing partners, highlighting its pivotal role in advancing Ghana’s export growth over the past three decades.
Speaking on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer at the Nimdie Series workshop, GEPA’s Director for International Relations, Emmanuel Kwao, recounted the significant contributions UNDP has made since Ghana implemented its first export development programme between 1988 and 1990. He noted that the programme attracted considerable donor support, laying the foundation for subsequent collaborations aimed at expanding the country’s export capacity.
““But it is very good to be here. Personally, I have known the UNDP back in the day with respect to the collaboration efforts with the GBA. Immediately after the Ghana Export Promotion Authority executed its first ever development program, 1988 to 1990, then support started flowing from donor bodies,” he said.
Mr. Kwao credited UNDP as the originator of what has now become the Ghana Export School, an initiative that trains potential and established exporters in export marketing, management, and international trade. The School currently offers certificates, workshops, and even a one-year online diploma in International Trade. He explained that the institution evolved from an early UNDP technical support programme known as 004 UNDP, which laid the foundation for what exists today.
“And we recall vividly that UNDP has been a strong partner. I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to UNDP. Indeed, we have a current programme, the Ghana Export School, that continues to run, and UNDP started it. We are thankful,” he added.
Mr. Kwao also expressed GEPA’s solidarity with UNDP’s dialogue on Technology and Artificial Intelligence in Business, describing the conversation as both timely and strategic. He emphasised that technology and AI are no longer futuristic ideas but present-day drivers of competitiveness, efficiency, and resilience in global trade.
He noted that technology and AI offer immense opportunities for Ghanaian exporters and SMEs, from unlocking new markets and improving service delivery to meeting international standards with greater precision. Sectors such as ICT, business process outsourcing (BPO), human capital exports, creative industries, and various professional services, he said, are now fundamentally built on technology and AI applications.
“We see immense potential for Ghanaian service providers to leverage AI for processing, automation, and efficiency in BPO and shared services, data-driven insights for market entry and customer engagement, as well as enhanced creativity in digital content and design,” he stated, adding that GEPA has long championed the growth of Ghana’s service export sector.
Mr. Kwao further reiterated GEPA’s mandate to diversify Ghana’s export landscape beyond traditional goods, aligning with the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which seeks to remove trade barriers and transform intra-African commerce.
“At GEPA, the bedrock of our mandate is to diversify Ghana’s export space, not only through traditional goods, but increasingly through trading in services, a critical growth area under AfCFTA and global trade frameworks,” he affirmed.
He also has revealed that as far back as 2003, GEPA and the Private Enterprise Foundation conducted a national survey to assess how well the business community understood the concept of exporting services. The findings, he noted, were striking, many businesses that operated purely as service providers did not recognise that their work qualified as service exports.
He explained that although the export of services has long existed in Ghana, the challenge has been the limited awareness and appreciation of its economic value. Since then, GEPA has been working closely with the International Trade Centre to expand the country’s service export sector and is pushing for greater cooperation from industry players to disclose their performance data for proper reporting. He added that GEPA, in collaboration with the Bank of Ghana, is working to broaden data collection to capture the true contribution of service exports, emphasising that accurate data is essential for effective economic planning.
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