Ghana: Jobs and Economic Transformation (JET) and Automotive Investor Mission
5 – 8 December, Accra, Ghana
Supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Ghana JET is organising an automotive mission to Ghana in December. The programme includes business and Government meetings and tailored support us is offered to individual companies, with meetings offered according to your requirements.
For more information please contact Veronica Bolton Smith – veronica.boltonsmith@thepalladiumgroup.com
JET is FCDO’s flagship investment-led programme to support Ghana’s economic transformation. The 5-year programme seeks to spur £30mn of investment and create 7,000 jobs across three priority sectors in Ghana: Automotive, Pharmaceuticals and Textiles & Garments.
Ghana (one of the most stable democracies in Africa) has the ambition to become a fully integrated and competitive vehicle manufacturing hub in West Africa. Ghana has preferential access to the other 14 member ECOWAS countries with a population of 350 million, and 3.6% GDP growth. Under the African Continental Free Trade Area (headquartered in Accra), Ghana will have access to a 1.3 billion market with a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion. Ghana’s automotive industry is currently valued at $4bn (expected to reach $11bn by 2030) with 3.4mn vehicles on road. This makes the country well placed for UK auto investments.
In 2020, JET supported the formulation and implementation of Ghana’s Automotive Development Policy which rapidly attracted investment from 8 global OEMs (Volkswagen, Toyota, Suzuki, Nissan, Peugeot, KIA, Hyundai and Changan) – some in JVs with Ghanaian firms – to establish assembly plants within 3 years of implementation. The policy provides support for market access and a strong focus on Environment, Standards and Safety, and availability of Industrial Infrastructure. Policy provisions include:
- Corporate Tax holiday for 5-10 years
- 65% tariff differentiation for imported and local assembly
- 0% import duties for plant, machinery, and equipment
- Value-based rebate
Deepening the local value chains, a component manufacturing policy to incentivize localisation of automotive components is under approval by the Ghanaian government. Target components for manufacture include Lead Acid Batteries, Suspension, Filters, Brakes, Starter/Alternator, Windscreen Glass, Wheels & Tyres and Exhaust systems.
The ecosystem in Ghana is rapidly developing with several local ICE and EV assembly ongoing (for example, Kantanka and Solar Taxi) as well as component manufacturing by Springs and Bolts, all of whom seek JV partnership and investment opportunities.
In a roundtable organised by JET alongside the recent UK-Ghana Business Council meeting, keynote speaker, H.E. Mahamudu Bawumia (Vice President of Ghana) emphasised government’s proactive support to develop the automotive sector as part of its industrialisation strategy. The government welcomed strategic partnerships and investments from the advanced UK auto sector.
Accordingly, the JET team hosted an “Investing in Ghana’s Auto Sector” webinar on Thursday 14th September at 12pm UK time, followed by an Auto Investor Mission to Ghana in the week of 22nd January 2024. To find out more or to register your interest, please contact the team with the details provided below. The JET team is also available to co-ordinate information for potential UK investors with the Government of Ghana, namely the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, and to create a one-stop shop for investors interested in any of these three sectors, sharing information on policy and incentives.
For more information, please contact: veronica.boltonsmith@thepalladiumgroup.com
Written by The JET team
