The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has recommitted to working with the government on the reforms that are needed for the private sector to deliver and thrive.
Sergio Pimenta, IFC’s vice-president for the Middle East and Africa, expressed optimism about the relations between Ghana and the IFC in the years ahead.
He said the IFC would ensure that its programmes focused on bringing the support the Ghanaian economy needed.
At the closing of the two-day Ghana CARES “Obaatanpa” Strategy Retreat, in Accra, Pimenta described Ghana as very important for the IFC, being the second largest portfolio in Africa, which would continue to be so for a long time.
“Out of these two days we have come out with a much deeper understanding and knowledge of where Ghana is and where Ghana wants to go and where the CARES programme will take us,” he said.
He said the IFC would integrate Ghana’s vision for a post-COVID-19 era into its business development and implementation plans.
The meeting revealed lots of opportunities available to be explored in Ghana, which the IFC wanted to work on, together with the Government and the private sector, Pimenta said.
However, open discussions on both the opportunities and challenges the private sector faced in terms of accessing finance, cost of energy, and access to land were also held.
Going forward, Pimenta said a team from the IFC and Ghana would prepare a framework to guide the regular dialogue with the government for the next few years to ensure the Corporation delivered on the issues agreed on.
Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, said 30 years of relating with IFC was quite a long time and so the meeting helped in recalibrating those relations.
He said for Ghana, issues of youth employment were critical, while areas like the private sector, indigenous entrepreneurs, and how to build them in a macro stable environment for ease of doing business were important.
Also within the two days, various areas including digitisation, manufacturing, ownership, ICT, housing and mortgage financing, and agribusiness were analysed, hoping to tighten them further, to ensure they led to job creation and support national growth, he said.
Ofori-Atta said with the above on track, the country would be in a more entrepreneurial state, create the needed environment, infrastructure and direction, and give hope for the private sector and the youth.
Tax exemptions
Tax exemptions and other incentives would be assessed to ensure that the needed support was galvanized from both local and international sources for the Ghana CARES programme, he said.
He said Ghana and the IFC would commit to designing the framework within a month to create “this new ecosystem for us to move forward in tandem to ensure the success of the Obaatanpa programme.”
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