The Ghana Investment Promotion Authority (GIPA) has engaged the Chamber of Commerce and Industry France Ghana (CCI France Ghana) to explore opportunities for stronger investment cooperation between Ghana and French businesses.
The engagement, led by GIPA Chief Executive Officer Simon Madjie, brought together the leadership of CCI France Ghana, including Board President Guillaume Valence, Vice-President Adedamola Adelabu and Managing Director Maxine Reindorf-Partey.
The discussions focused on Ghana’s investment landscape, priority sectors, investor aftercare and policy engagement, with both sides considering measures to strengthen the country’s attractiveness as a destination for French investment.
Particular attention was given to opportunities in technology and artificial intelligence, commercial farming, agro-processing, smart agriculture, manufacturing and services, as Ghana seeks to attract more private capital into productive sectors of the economy.
The engagement also highlighted the importance of understanding the experiences of existing investors and using that feedback to address challenges that could affect investor confidence and the ease of doing business.
Mr Madjie stressed the importance of stronger collaboration between GIPA and business chambers in improving investor engagement, investment research and data, as well as promoting successful foreign businesses already operating in Ghana.
The discussions also come against the backdrop of an established French business presence in Ghana, with CCI France Ghana serving as a platform for French and Ghanaian companies to develop commercial partnerships, access market opportunities and engage policymakers on issues affecting the business environment.
The Chamber, which currently has a network of about 160 companies, has stepped up its business and policy engagements this year. In March, it partnered with Proparco, the private-sector arm of the French Development Agency, to convene French and Ghanaian business stakeholders on challenges surrounding access to financing for Ghana’s private sector.
In June, CCI France Ghana held its first Manufacturing and Agribusiness Outlook, bringing together public and private-sector stakeholders to examine opportunities and constraints in Ghana’s manufacturing and agricultural sectors. Discussions centred on the need to address financial and structural bottlenecks, improve the business environment and strengthen partnerships to support industrial and agricultural transformation.
The Chamber has also been expanding cooperation with other business associations in Ghana. In April, it engaged the American Chamber of Commerce Ghana on possible collaboration in business matchmaking, trade missions, investment facilitation and policy advocacy, with the two chambers seeking to improve access to investment and market opportunities for businesses operating along the Ghana-France and Ghana-US corridors.
The latest engagement with GIPA therefore comes at a time of increasing emphasis on translating Ghana’s diplomatic relations with France into stronger commercial outcomes.
At France’s National Day celebration in Accra in July, the French Ambassador to Ghana, Diarra Dimé-Labille, highlighted the scale of French private-sector involvement in the Ghanaian economy. She said more than 60 French companies operating in Ghana represented approximately €2.5 billion in investment and supported slightly under 70,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The figures underline the significance of the French business community to Ghana’s economy and the potential for further investment if existing commercial relationships are strengthened and the investment environment becomes more competitive.
The renewed engagement between GIPA and CCI France Ghana is also expected to feed into the upcoming Ambition Africa programme, which brings together African and French companies, investors, public institutions and development partners to identify trade and investment opportunities.
For Ghana, the focus is increasingly on moving beyond attracting investment to ensuring that existing investors remain competitive, expand their operations and contribute to job creation, technology transfer and local industrial development.
The GIPA-CCI France Ghana engagement therefore represents part of a broader effort to strengthen the commercial dimension of Ghana-France relations, with both sides seeking to create stronger links between French businesses and Ghana’s priority sectors while addressing the practical challenges that influence investment decisions.
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