“Ghana is a prime, ripe destination for doing business. We are ranked as the most stable political environment in West Africa, and the best place to do business in the Region. We have established strong democratic institutions and systems to ensure good governance and the rule of law in our country. And we are blessed to have an entrepreneurial and dynamic youth population, who are very savvy with technology and innovation.”
These were the words of the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Tuesday, 15th June 2021, when he launched the Ghana Financing Roadmap for the realization of the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, in the presence of Global CEOs.
According to President Akufo-Addo, “Ghana’s commitment to the SDGs is borne out of a fundamental belief that the SDGs are at the heart of the development challenges that we face, and that they offer significant prospects for Ghana’s transformation and development.”
He told the gathering that the SDGs will continue to be the driving factors in the formulation of Ghana’s development policy, and of her overall resource allocation.
“One thing that is clear is that the pandemic has not only heightened our challenges, but it has also created new ones, and exacerbated the financing gap that we face in the implementation of the SDGs,” he said.
The President continued, “And, it is, further, abundantly clear to me that, if we are going to be successful in our endeavour, the key considerations will be the scope, scale and quality of partnerships that we establish with the private sector, and how smart and innovative we are in mobilizing financing and private investments to support implementation of the Goals”.
To this end, President Akufo-Addo reiterated his determination to enhance Government’s partnership with the private sector to unlock innovative and sustainable financing to bridge the SDGs financing gap, which has been identified in Ghana’s Financing Roadmap which he launched.
“Against the backdrop of the huge financing gap, perhaps more than ever, we need a stronger, mutually beneficial partnership with the private sector. This is because it is you, in the private sector, who generate the wealth, which provides the means for our economic and social investments,” he said.
With Ghana’s Financing Roadmap estimating a financing gap of some four hundred and fifty billion dollars (US$450 billion) over the next decade to 2030, the President stressed that this is a US$450 billion business and investment opportunity for the private sector.
He, thus, extended an invitation to the private sector, domestic and foreign, to take full advantage of the great SDGs-related business opportunities that presently exist in Ghana, in the areas of infrastructural development, agriculture, industry, energy, health, communication, education, and water and sanitation.
He indicated to the CEOs gathered that the Ministry of Finance is preparing a pipeline of bankable SDGs initiatives, which will form the basis for a catalogue of well-prepared, commercially attractive projects.
Work, he added, is also ongoing to develop an SDGs Investor Platform, that will provide market intelligence on investment opportunities in the country and related impact data, to identify and increase SDGs-aligned investments.
“We are determined to build a prosperous nation, and, as we seek to do so, we will not relent in our commitment to fiscal discipline, our pledge to dismantling any obstacles to private investment, our determination to ensuring a progressive investor-friendly business landscape, our resolve to enhancing social investments, and, critically, our vision of building a Ghana Beyond Aid, with the private sector at the fulcrum,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo reinforced the commitment of Government to join “hands with all of you to forge strong and beneficial partnerships, leveraging our relative strengths, and mobilizing the financing needed to address the critical development challenges that our country and, indeed, humanity and our planet face. And, in so doing, we shall ensure that we Leave No One Behind”.