President John Dramani Mahama has urged chief executives, public institutions and investors to pay closer attention to Ghana’s emerging local enterprises, arguing that many of the solutions the country seeks from abroad are already being developed within its own borders.
The President made the appeal on Thursday during his address at the 10th Ghana CEO Summit, pointing to the products on display at the summit’s exhibition as evidence of the innovation, enterprise and productive capacity already present in Ghana’s private sector.
He told the gathering that larger corporations and public institutions must stop overlooking homegrown solutions in favour of foreign ones.
“In many cases, the solutions we seek abroad are already being developed here at home,” President Mahama said.
The call came as the President made a case for deepening the connection between what Ghana produces and what it processes, saying the country has spent too long exporting raw materials and paying higher prices for finished imports.
He said Ghana has the people, the enterprise and the opportunity to retain more value within its own economy, and that sectors such as cocoa, cashew, oil palm, rice, poultry, textiles and pharmaceuticals can become genuine sources of jobs, incomes and exports if agribusiness value chains are properly strengthened.
The President also told the summit that Made in Ghana must move beyond a patriotic slogan and become a recognised mark of quality, consistency and reliability in African and global markets.
He said Ghana’s hosting of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat gives the country a platform in Africa’s trade future, but that firms will need standard certification, reliable logistics, financing and dependable markets to truly compete.
The President launched the CEO Government Compact 2026 at the same event, a structured framework intended to move the relationship between government and business from dialogue to delivery, with both sides held to measurable outcomes in investments, exports, industrial growth and job creation.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
