The fifth edition of the Ghana Industrial Summit and Exhibition slated for August 16-18 will help leverage opportunities in the single African market for businesses.

Themed “Investing in Ghanaian industries to leverage opportunities in the single African market,” about 150 individuals and 40 companies have been billed to participate in the summit.

It is an initiative of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and supported by Volta River Authority (VRA), Fidelity Bank, Nuclear Power Ghana (NPG) and other partners.

Summit launch

Launching the annual summit and exhibition in Accra on July 28, the President of AGI, Dr Humphrey Ayim-Darke, said the event was designed to provide a supportive and competitive business climate, which will make businesses locally and internationally competitive.

He said this year’s edition, among others, aimed to create a global platform for industries to share ideas on innovation and technology to enhance industrialization.

He said it also seeks to establish and encourage networking between the industrialists and their international counterparts for knowledge and to engage key government agencies in a constructive dialogue in search of viable solutions to challenges facing industry.

He said the 2022 edition would create an ecosystem for equity investors to engage with businesses in the region to create the prospects for companies in the agribusiness and processing sectors and huge investments in these sectors.

The President said Ghana’s economy was struggling because of the heavy dependence on imports and, therefore, investments in the productive sectors to provide the country’s essential needs was imperative for the structural transformation of the economy.

He lauded the government’s effort to restore macroeconomic stability and called for more engagement on ways to bring relief to businesses.

EU partnership

The Head of Cooperation of the European Union (EU) Delegation, Mr Massimo Mina, said the EU was happy to partner with the AGI to contribute to the country’s economic transformation and industrialisation agenda.

He said the summit and exhibition would allow participants to discuss the opportunities and challenges related to aid and enabling the business environment and investment climate in the country.

He said a stable and predictable investment climate was crucial for investors to look favourably towards a destination and it was important for Ghana to see the great opportunities under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union.

“The European Union continues to be active in private sector development in Ghana and the summit and exhibition is a favourite illustration of this,” Mr Mina added.