Chinese Firms Explore Opportunities Under Ghana’s 24- Hour Economy Programme

The Chinese Embassy in Ghana, in partnership with the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Secretariat, hosted a high-level China–Ghana Business Engagement in Accra.

The session brought together senior officials from Ghanaian institutions and major Chinese private sector players to explore strategic partnerships aligned with the 24H+ Programme the government’s flagship agenda to industrialize the economy, expand exports, and create decent jobs at scale.

The engagement focused on how the 24-Hour Economy is being implemented and the role of the private sector, and Chinese investors in particular, in delivering results.

The Secretariat presented a pipeline of projects spanning agriculture, logistics, manufacturing, health, and the creative economy.

These projects are advancing through feasibility and early-stage development. Investors were invited to work with Ghana to move these projects into execution and deliver real outcomes on the ground.

In his keynote address, Mr. Goosie Tanoh, Presidential Adviser on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development, emphasized that the focus of the engagement was not policy declarations, but delivery.

“We are building a portfolio of coordinated projects that will bring the Programme to life and deliver real value for Ghana. We have completed concept notes for our first 20priority projects and are now commencing feasibility studies that will make each one bankable and investment-ready” he said.

Mr. Tanoh also reaffirmed the depth of Ghana–China relations, noting that “the China-Ghana relationship is longstanding and multifaceted, dating back to our struggle for independence and the collaboration between Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou, and our late President Nkrumah.”

Mr. Tanoh acknowledged the bureaucratic and systemic challenges foreign investors often face and confirmed that the Secretariat, working with the Ministry of Finance and other agencies, is finalizing a simplified and transparent incentive and exemptions regime, embedded in a forthcoming consolidated incentives regime.

Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Tong Defa, underscored the alignment between the 24H+ vision and China’s development cooperation strategy in Africa.

“China remains Ghana’s largest trading partner and a major source of foreign investment. In 2024, bilateral trade reached an unprecedented high of 11.8 billion US Dollars, marking a year-on-year growth of 7.1%. Bilateral trade from January to May 2025 reached 5.28 billion US Dollars, an increase of 8.9% year-on-year. In 2024, China’s direct investment in Ghana amounted to 62.15 million US Dollars, spanning multiple sectors and wide-ranging fields, creating substantial employment opportunities locally and assisting Ghana in advancing its industrialization”.

He reaffirmed China’s readiness to support the sub-programmes of 24H+, particularly in agriculture, logistics, energy, and agro-industrial infrastructure.

Also speaking at the event, Mr. Alexander Kofi-Mensah Mould, Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), assured Chinese investors of MiDA’s role in ensuring the transparent and efficient execution of government-led projects.

“MiDA will oversee the end-to-end scoping and procurement of projects, ensuring we partner with the right service providers to deliver on time and within budget,” Mr. Mould said.

He highlighted investment-ready opportunities in agro-ecological parks, feeder roads, and Volta Lake transport systems, adding that the government was prepared to finance viability gaps where needed to ensure bankability.

The event also featured key Ghanaian institutions responsible for investment, finance, and infrastructure delivery. These included the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (led by the CEO, Mr. Simon Madjie), the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (led by Deputy CEO Mr. Bennett Akantoa on behalf of the CEO, Mr. Nana Dwemoh Benneh), the Ghana EXIM Bank (led by CEO Mr. Sylvester Mensah), and the Development Bank Ghana (led by CEO Dr. Randolph Nsor-Ambala). It also featured banker and lawyer Mr. David Addo-Ashong, Senior Partner at Ashong Benjamin & Associates.

The Chinese private sector was strongly represented, with over 50 business leaders in attendance from major firms and industry associations operating across Ghana.

Participants on both sides expressed satisfaction with the structured, data-driven approach of the Programme and the clarity of Ghana’s investment roadmap.

The meeting reaffirmed China’s role as a strategic partner in Ghana’s long-term transformation and confirmed investor appetite to participate in the delivery of priority projects under the 24-Hour Economy.