GIPC reforms to empower local businesses
The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) is shifting its attention from protecting indigenous entrepreneurs and businesses to empowering them to grow and compete with their foreign counterparts.
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The centre intends to achieve this through an aggressive review of its law, which will ensure that the capital limitations placed on prospective investors is removed and retail businesses reserved for locals is scrapped to help motivate indigenes to think big and achieve more.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GIPC, Mr Yofi Grant, explained that the reforms were intended to boost domestic and foreign investment inflows.
Speaking at the first business partner session of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Accra, Mr Grant said Dubai was growing because they had embraced knowledge, new thinking and gave businesses the opportunity to come in, hence the need for Ghanaians to also embrace reforms.
“We are looking at changing our laws and how business is done in Ghana to improve competitiveness. One of the first things, I hit on, is that we should remove capital limits.”
“For a lot of our people, they think it is a good thing because it protects Ghanaian. But I think we have got to a stage in our economic development, where we have to shed off the prejudices and be more aggressive,” he said.
The capital limitation in the current GIPC law is to ensure that foreign investors with small capital do not come in and displace locals in areas reserved for Ghanaians.
Retailing
The CEO explained that another reform in the law had to do with removing restricted areas for Ghanaian nationals.
He wondered why trades such as barbering, hairdressing, selling on table tops, selling in specific markets and taxi driving had been reserved for Ghanaians and explained such actions as demeaning.
“Why would they reserve those places for Ghanaians? I think it is psychologically demeaning.”
“Are we saying our people should not rise beyond driving taxis, barbering hair, among others? Should our people not be looking at high quality, high paying jobs?” he quizzed.
While others have defended the reservation as a way to protect locals, Mr Grant said “I say no.”
“We should incentivise them. We should strengthen businesses such that the guy who sells on the table now wants to own a shop, the guy who owns a shop now wants to manufacture,” he said.
Ghana has potential
The Director of International Relations of the Dubai Chamber, Mr Omar Khan said Ghana was blessed with enormous potential for investments, especially in the areas of manufacturing, fabrication, trading and retailing.
“Dubai has a very strong place when it comes to retail trade and with the reforms that the new government is bringing in, it feels quite re-energised to invest in Ghana,” he said.
Ghana Dubai trade
As of last year, non-oil trade between Dubai and Ghana reached $2.4billion, marking a 47 per cent increase from the 2014 close.The Head of Ghana International Office at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Cyril Darkwa, explained that trade between the two countries had also expanded beyond agricultural commodities to other areas such as manufacturing, chemical and plastic products.
The Head of Ghana International Office at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Cyril Darkwa, explained that trade between the two countries had also expanded beyond agricultural commodities to other areas such as manufacturing, chemical and plastic products.“Ghana stands out as a beacon of safe investment in sub-Saharan Africa, thanks to its political stability and friendly business environment. Rapid urbanisation throughout the country and a growing consumer market are creating plenty of exciting opportunities, especially within the agriculture, financial, tourism, manufacturing and infrastructure sectors,” he said.
“Ghana stands out as a beacon of safe investment in sub-Saharan Africa, thanks to its political stability and friendly business environment. Rapid urbanisation throughout the country and a growing consumer market are creating plenty of exciting opportunities, especially within the agriculture, financial, tourism, manufacturing and infrastructure sectors,” he said.The Dubai
The Dubai Chamber, he explained, would be committed to supporting Ghana’s ambitions by promoting economic cooperation and identifying the right partners that could help fill market gaps in the country.