Ghana has reinforced its status as a strategic manufacturing and export hub for Japanese businesses seeking access to West Africa and the wider African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) market, as the Ghana-Japan Business Forum opened in Accra.
Deputy Minister for Trade, Agribusiness, and Industry, Sampson Ahi, said government is deliberately shifting its engagement with Japan away from raw material exports toward value-added manufacturing, logistics, and integrated industrial value chains that can serve both domestic and continental markets.
Speaking at the forum on Thursday, January 15, 2026, at the Ghana EXIM Bank, Mr. Ahi encouraged Japanese companies to leverage Ghana’s stable investment climate, expanding industrial parks, and Special Economic Zones to establish production bases capable of serving the AfCFTA market.
He reiterated Ghana’s ambition to become a gateway for export-oriented manufacturing into Africa, highlighting the country’s © political stability, entrepreneurial culture, and young, trainable workforce as strong incentives for long-term industrial investment.
“When Ghana’s stability and workforce are combined with Japan’s discipline, quality, and innovation, the outcome is not trade in raw materials but value addition, jobs, and globally competitive businesses,” he said.
Mr. Ahi outlined key priority areas for Ghana-Japan cooperation, including industrial platforms and export-oriented manufacturing, manufacturing value chains and industrial inputs, as well as logistics, trade facilitation, and standards. These sectors, he noted, present immediate opportunities for joint ventures that can create jobs and deepen skills transfer for Ghanaians.
Japan’s Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Hiroshi Yoshimoto, described Ghana as a reliable partner for Japanese investors, citing the country’s consistent economic reforms and strong democratic governance. He reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to supporting technology transfer, infrastructure development, and industrial capacity building.
Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Kunimistu Ayano, also underscored the importance of robust public-private collaboration in translating diplomatic relations into tangible economic outcomes, noting Japan’s interest in supporting industrial development, sustainable energy, and logistics infrastructure in Ghana.
Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Simon Madjie, assured investors of Ghana’s business-friendly regulatory environment and strong aftercare services. He added that government initiatives, including the 24-hour economy policy framework, further enhance Ghana’s competitiveness as an investment destination in the sub-region.
In a statement delivered on his behalf, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat encouraged Japanese businesses to view Ghana as a launchpad into the African market, noting that companies operating from Ghana can access a single market of more than 1.3 billion people under the AfCFTA.
The forum featured extensive business-to-business engagements, with discussions centred on sustainable agribusiness, manufacturing, energy solutions, transportation infrastructure, and digital communications. Several Japanese firms expressed interest in partnerships and joint ventures, signalling a growing pipeline of investments that could accelerate Ghana’s industrialisation agenda and deepen economic ties between the two countries.
This article was originally published on: CitiNewsRoom