Ghanaian businesses cannot rely on government contracts for growth, Simon Madjie, CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority (GIPA), said on JoyNews’ PM Express Business Edition this week. He questioned whether dependence on state contracts offered a sustainable route to expansion.
“The understanding is that should the growth be organic when you become more stable, or should it just be one where the government gives them contracts, and then afterwards, what happens next?” Madjie asked. He warned that such reliance risks creating companies driven by political opportunities rather than commercial principles.
“So then they become like political entrepreneurs, and not necessarily business people who are following the principles that will allow their businesses to grow,” he added.
Madjie cited Kasapreko, the Ghanaian beverage company, as an example of a firm that had grown by developing its value chain and understanding its market. He said that building strong domestic businesses has long been part of state policy, pointing to local content regulations, Ghana Exim Bank, and agencies that provide capital to Ghanaian enterprises.
“It’s to build strong local businesses,” he said.
The ambition now extends beyond Ghana’s borders. The new GIPA law grants the authority power to support Ghanaian businesses investing abroad. Madjie said the goal is to help successful local companies enter other African markets and expand globally, bringing profits back home.
He warned Ghanaian companies to pursue opportunities beyond the domestic market as competition intensifies within the African Continental Free Trade Area. Locally, GIPA is mapping investment opportunities across districts and regions to help businesses identify prospects they might miss otherwise.
The authority is also organising regional investment roadshows and encouraging Ghanaian businesses to explore opportunities outside their existing markets. “We are encouraging Ghanaian businesses to come along to the regions to see the opportunities that are in those regions, as well, so they can also take advantage of them,” Madjie said.
Supporting domestic investors remains essential to government success, Madjie said. “No government will succeed by diminishing the influence of its local businesses or domestic investors. No government.”
According to Joy Online.
