President John Dramani Mahama has declared Ghana as the “reliable gateway” to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), urging businesses to seize Africa’s demographic and digital advantages in a fast-changing global economy.
Addressing the 8th Africa–Singapore Business Forum on Tuesday as part of his three-day state visit, Mahama said Ghana is positioning itself as a launchpad for investors seeking scale across Africa’s $3.4 trillion single market.
“Africa is investable, and Ghana is your reliable gateway to the continent,” he told an audience of Singaporean ministers, trade officials and corporate leaders.
The President warned that old trade systems are under strain as tariffs rise and multilateralism weakens, stressing that Africa and Asia must now forge “practical partnerships that deliver jobs, technology transfer and shared prosperity.”
Mahama painted Africa as an emerging growth pole: a population of 1.4 billion people, mostly young and digitally connected; world-leading fintech adoption; and integration efforts anchored by AfCFTA.
He noted Africa–Singapore trade surged nearly 50% between 2020 and 2024, hitting $14 billion, while Ghana–Singapore trade alone reached over \$215 million.
He pointed to Accra’s hosting of the AfCFTA Secretariat and ECOWAS membership as proof of Ghana’s regional leverage, saying:
“Ghana is, therefore, a trusted entry point to scale across the continent.”
To reinforce this, Mahama outlined his “24-hour Ghana” strategy — four integrated pillars designed to keep the economy running around the clock: Grow24 (year-round farming through 2 million hectares of irrigation), Make24 (industrial parks for food, textiles, and pharma), Show24 (tourism along Lake Volta), and Connect24 (transforming Lake Volta into a transport hub).
He said macroeconomic stability is improving, with easing inflation, a stronger cedi, and a brighter ratings outlook, while the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre is mapping sector-by-sector opportunities with “credible data” for investors.
The President also positioned Singapore as a model partner, citing its excellence in blended finance, logistics and dispute resolution as precisely the tools Africa needs to convert projects from “pipeline to bankable to build.”
As AU Champion on Financial Institutions, Mahama used the forum to call for reform of the global financial system, pointing to Africa’s $1.3 trillion annual financing gap and pressing needs in infrastructure and climate resilience.
Summing up Ghana’s offer, Mahama described the country as “a stable, reform-minded nation, connected to AfCFTA, designed for scale,” with a pipeline of investable opportunities across agribusiness, logistics, energy, manufacturing, tourism, and digital sectors.
