Ghana is Back, Open for Business – President Mahama to Investment Community

President John Dramani Mahama has told the investment community that Ghana is back and open for business, assuring investors of government’s commitment to creating a faster, simpler and more predictable environment for businesses to operate and expand.

Addressing the investment community at the commissioning of Nestlé Ghana Limited’s expanded evaporated milk production line in Tema, President Mahama said Ghana was working again and government was ready to partner the private sector to drive economic growth.

“Ghana is back and Ghana is open for business. Ghana is working again. My government is your partner,” he stated.

President Mahama said government was reforming customs procedures, revising the tax incentive framework and digitising public services to make it easier for businesses to operate in the country.

“We are reforming our customs procedures to make them simpler. We are revising our tax incentive framework, and we are digitizing public services so that doing business in this country becomes faster, simpler, and more predictable,” he said.

He said the improving investment environment was reflected in the expansion being undertaken by Nestlé Ghana, which he described as a welcome sign of the company’s confidence in Ghana’s long-term prospects.

The new production line increases Nestlé Ghana’s annual evaporated milk production capacity from 12,960 tonnes to nearly 30,000 tonnes.

President Mahama said economic stability was an important factor in investment decisions, noting that foreign direct investment had risen from GH¢624 million in 2024 to $2.62 billion in 2025.

He also cited falling interest rates, with spreads between nine and 13 per cent, a reduction in inflation from 23.8 per cent to about 5.2 per cent and the improved performance of the cedi.

“I do not recite these figures for their own sake because stability is not a number in a report. It is a difference between a company that shelves an expansion and one that decides to go forward with investments,” President Mahama said.

He said improved economic conditions could give international companies greater confidence to commit capital to Ghana.

“It helps a boardroom in Switzerland to take decisions, to commit capital to Tema with greater confidence,” he stated.

The President, however, acknowledged that businesses still had to account for currency risk in their investment decisions.
He said the Nestlé expansion was evidence that the company was prepared to make a long-term commitment to Ghana despite such considerations.

“The line before us is a welcome sign of Nestlé’s confidence in Ghana’s long-term prospects, and it aligns with the industrial ambitions of our Reset Agenda,” he said.

President Mahama also appealed directly to Ghanaian entrepreneurs to take advantage of the opportunities emerging in food processing, agribusiness and light manufacturing.

“The opportunities in food processing, agribusiness and light manufacturing are vast. And they belong to Ghanaian capital as much as they belong to foreign capital,” he said.

He assured local businesses that government would continue to provide the enabling environment, financing and infrastructure needed for them to grow.

President Mahama said the government’s industrial agenda was being supported by the 24-hour economy initiative and the Big Push programme, which provides for investment in roads, railways, ports, energy and industrial infrastructure.

He said the combination of increased production and improved infrastructure would help businesses serve Ghanaian and regional markets more effectively.

The President further urged investors to view Ghana’s position as the headquarters of the African Continental Free Trade Area as an opportunity to produce in Ghana and access markets across the continent.

He said the confidence being rebuilt in the economy was not merely reflected in economic statistics but in actual investments being made by businesses.

“The confidence we are rebuilding today is not borrowed from anyone. It is earned factory by factory and production line by production line through the labour and dedication of Ghanaian workers,” President Mahama stated.

Richard Aniagyei, ISD