Best Business Opportunities in Ghana
With a strong global presence on the trade scene, Ghana is a powerhouse in the making. The country is actively investing in various sectors to bolster it's economy. As of 2018, Ghana produced almost 40% of the world's Cocoa production. Here are a few more profitable business opportunities in Ghana.
Ghana business overview
Population: 28.3 million
National currency: Ghanaian cedi (GHS)
Economic freedom score: 57.5 (ranked 109th worldwide)
GDP (PPP): $133.7 billion
Growth (2018): +8.4%
Unemployment: 2.4%
Inflation: 12.4%
(source: https://www.heritage.org/index/country/ghana )
Ghana is ranked in 13th position among 47 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa region, with an economic freedom score of 57.5. Ghana’s GDP is heavily dependent on their presence in international trade: their combined exports and imports account for 90.6% of the country’s GDP.
Ghana's top 5 commodity exports
- Gems, precious metals: US$6.1 billion
- Mineral fuels including oil: $5.2 billion
- Cocoa: $3.2 billion
- Fruits, nuts: $595.3 million
- Ores, slag, ash: $346.5 million
Ghana's top 5 commodity imports
- Motor Vehicles & Parts: $1.9 billion
- Industrial Machinery: $1.5 billion
- Electrical Machinery: $732 million
- Cereals: $654 million
- Plastics: $584 million
Top 5 business opportunities in Ghana
1. Telecommunications
Earlier this year the mobile penetration rate in Ghana surpassed 100%. While this does not necessarily mean that every Ghanaian has a mobile phone, it does however mean that mobile users have doubled! Accounting for multiple sim cards or ownership of multiple mobile phones, telecom insiders estimate that mobile phone ownership is just approaching 16 million. Opportunity for growing the voice market is hard to ignore. But tower managers and telecom investors alike will see the greatest growth in data services.
2. Financial Services
The Banking Act in 2007 laid the foundation for change in the financial services industry. Since its passage, financial services in Ghana have improved tremendously. A thriving economy and growing incomes usually underline the potential of the financial sector. But Ghana has shown more promise than other countries in the region. Take Cameroon for example. It has a similar level of income, yet Ghana has more than double the number of ATMs per head of the adult population. Benin, also with a similar level of income, only has one-third of the banks per head of adult population compared to Ghana.
3. Real Estate
The story of rising real estate prices in thriving oil & gas markets gets old. But the returns never stop coming. The office and commercial sectors are plagued by poor management and lack of capacity. Downtown Accra and neighbouring suburbs are seeing a surge in construction as developers see a growing influx of cash from foreign investors. Improvements in consumer financing and mortgages in the banking sector will also add to the opportunity for residential and commercial real estate.
4. Industrial
Ghana is an industrial darling on the continent. It is more advanced than many other African countries. But it still nowhere near its full potential. Pipeline manufacturing for the oil & gas sector fails to meet the demand in timely fashion with quality. Sometimes you just want the basic things manufactured without hassle, says one industry insider, “but it is the small things that can slow up many projects.” Yet such lamenting should not deter foreign investors. Similar complaints have been thrown around about other industries. Every time a complaint surfaces, it encounters a group of anxious entrepreneurs waiting to solve it (a luxury of Ghana’s entrepreneurial makeup).
5. Services
It is the catchall category, but Ghana is still in need of services across the board. The country requires management-level education facilities (i.e., nursing, finance, etc) to meet the growing need in the country’s private sector. Medical services fail to provide high-quality care, leaving foreigners and some locals to travel outside the country for specialised medical care. Information and communications technology (ICT) services are inadequate to meet the growing various needs of private sector businesses from SME to oil & gas.
How to start a business in Ghana the easy way
Ghana has been constantly eyed by savvy investors over the past years. While the local government is committed to implementing business reforms to facilitate trade, it is however, not always easy to get up and running.
Africa HR Solutions offers a range of reliable business services that can help your
Organisation get started the easy way:
- Hire people in Ghana without a registered entity (Ghana Employer of Record)
- Complete payroll rundown and management (Ghana payroll)
- Central point of contact for all your queries
- Guaranteed compliance to local laws
- Professional indemnity and employer liability
