Officer of the GIPC, Yofi Grant
Yofi Grant, CEO of Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, talks to The Africa Report about promising cross-border investments and regional integration amidst the Covid-19 pandemic
The Africa Report: Looking beyond the recent disputes between Nigeria and Ghana, what are some of the most promising cross-border investments?
Yofi Grant: We have Nigerians who have invested in real estate in Ghana we have Ghanaians who are also looking to invest in pharmaceuticals, real estate and industry in Nigeria.
Bear in mind that Nigeria is a big and juicy market for any country whose economy is going to be based on industry. And Ghana’s economic trajectory is to move away from the export of raw materials and resources into value addition and then into industry.
What for you have been the most progressive and important institutions at a continental level where conversations about this are happening?
I think the African Continental Free Trade Area, this is currently being hosted in Accra, is one such very important institution. But I’ll also tell you what, the business associations themselves, the private sector, have been the forerunners and leaders in all these regionalisation efforts.
If you look at a bank like Ecobank, it’s in the over 35 countries in Africa. So that in itself shows that there is a lot of regionalisation taking place. You take MTN, you take DStv. So these are all African companies that are spreading their footprint across the continent and not necessarily stuck to one country and therefore delivering in other countries.
This article is available as part of the print edition of The Africa Report magazine: ‘Africa in 2021 – Who will be the winners and losers of the post-Covid era?’
