The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has pledged continuous support to Ghana to make the country the most preferred investment destination.
This will be done through the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Investor map, a digital tool that provides market intelligence on investment opportunities in Ghana and its related impact data to identify and increase SDG-aligned actionable investments.
The SDG map is ultimately aimed at ending poverty and inequality.
Mr Sukhrob Khoshmukhamedov, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, said, “I assure you of UNDP’s continued support towards making Ghana an investment destination of choice and our unwavering commitment to support the SDG Investor Map as a vehicle for strategic development investment.”
He added that the UNDP would also continue to work with government and other partners with a vision to transform food and agriculture to be more resilient, equitable, inclusive, and environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable.
Mr Khoshmukhamedov was speaking at an SDG investor map breakfast meeting on Tuesday in Accra, on the theme: “Identifying opportunities and accelerating investment into agriculture and manufacturing.”
He noted that the map had enormous potential and investment opportunity areas in agriculture and manufacturing sectors that would contribute to the recovery and resilience of the sectors.
Mr Khoshmukhamedov said, UNDP had been identifying specific investment opportunities at the local levels with six beneficiary Metropolitan, Municipal, District Assemblies (MMDAs).
They are: Kumasi Metropolitan, Ketu South, Sefwi Wiawso, Jomoro Municipal Assemblies, Sagnarigu and Kassena-Nankana District Assemblies.
Mr Yofi Grant, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) said the map would be an important tool for both domestic and external investors.
He said because “it (the SDG investor map) really gives you all the factors that you need to make an informed decision for investment. It gives you location, the type of industry, product and projected returns if you visit that area.”
A major concern that was raised during the breakfast meeting was the issue of infrastructure, which was noted to be a challenge to both farmers and investors in the agribusiness industry.
Commenting on this, Mr Grant said he was confident that “if we do it right, agriculture can once again spring back to be a major proportion of our economic growth.”
“The priority areas for government have been infrastructure. That is why we’re trying to put together 12 thousand kilometres of new railway lines and 11 thousand kilometres of roads,” he said.
He said the government was committed to ensuring that the country moved from farm based to market and to export and that farm produce reached the consumer wherever they may be.