The Ministry for Business Development has, consequently, initiated discussions with the Ministries of Trade and Industry, and Information, and the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) to develop the Brand Ghana initiative into a more viable vehicle for marketing the country abroad.

“We are presently developing the modalities of the Brand Ghana initiative but this will be in a different format with the view to attracting  investors on the global market,” the Minister for Business Development, Mr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal,  told the media after the launch of the Ghana Football Business Expo 2017 in Accra last Wednesday.

Football Business Expo 

The expo, a trade exhibition, will kick off two days before the international friendly matches between the national football teams of Ghana and the United States of America (USA).

It is aimed at promoting Ghanaian businesses on the international market by creating an opportunity for business partnerships between Ghana and the USA before and during the matches.

Launch

Mr Awal, who launched the expo, said the government intended to move beyond the fun aspect of football to using it as a channel to attract investors into the country.

He explained that the government considered the event as a big international platform for local companies to market the country as the preferred destination for investment in Africa, due to the great exposure the US media  would give before and during the international friendly matches.

“Ghana is a peaceful and stable country that can attract investments. Therefore, what we intend to do is to replicate the Ghana Football Business Expo in Germany and the United Kingdom,” he added.

Ghana an attractive platform

A project consultant of the expo, Mr Ebo Appiah, said the event was aimed at making Ghana attractive to the US business community.

“Although some Ghanaian businesses have made their way onto the international market, we believe the impact of the expo can be enormous,” he said. 

He observed that the expo would offer Ghanaian businesses an opportunity to also invest in the USA and establish international branches of their operations.

Touching on the modalities of the expo, Mr Appiah said any interested firm from Ghana that wanted to participate in the programme could contact the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham Ghana) or the World Trade Centre, Accra.

Sports as avenue for job creation

The Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Pius Enam Hadzide, stated that the government considered sports as an avenue for job creation and growth in the economy.

He urged the business community to take advantage of the Ghana Football Business Expo 2017 to penetrate the US market.