A wealth of business opportunities in Ghana – in both traditional and modern sectors of the economy
Ghana is an established and politically stable democracy. Its economy has grown consistently in recent years. As a result, many Ghanaians have returned to their home country to set up their own business.
Stronger economy, higher incomes
Ghana’s economic upswing is due in no small part to the oil deposits discovered off the coast. In recent years, the country’s government has also introduced a series of business-friendly reforms. It wants to reduce Ghana’s dependency on raw materials such as gold, cocoa, tropical hardwoods and oil, and thus its exposure to the associated fluctuations in global commodity markets, by encouraging greater processing of these materials within the country.
The population as a whole has benefited from the country’s economic growth. The number of Ghanaians living below the poverty threshold as defined by the United Nations has halved since the 1990s. Since 2010, Ghana has been classed as a ‘lower-middle-income country’.
Huge willingness to return home
In 2019, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) estimated that roughly one million Ghanaians live outside their country of origin. In Germany, Ghanaians are the largest migrant group from sub-Saharan Africa. In the last few years, Ghanaians have been much more willing to return to their home country. One person who made this choice was Isaac Asubonteng. His story shows that entrepreneurial drive can bring rewards even in Ghana’s traditional farming sector.
Enormous potential in many different sectors
This is all good news – especially for start-up entrepreneurs with innovative ideas. The services sector in particular offers tremendous potential, for example in IT, financial services and retail sectors. Business opportunities can also be found in more traditional, labour-intensive sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing, where output has remained stagnant for decades. ‘Business Ideas for Development’ supports Ghanaians living in Germany who want to make use of this wide range of opportunities by creating their own business and, at the same time, contribute to Ghana’s further development.
Real-life examples
When Isaac Asubonteng arrived in Italy in 2008 to go to university, he quickly realised that he would need to earn a living. He had always been passionate about animals since his childhood days in Ghana, so he decided to try his luck at a pig farm in Vicenza and ended up staying there for five years.
