Mahama courts Singapore investors, touts 24-hour economy as gateway to $3.4 trillion AfCFTA market

President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday used the opening of the 8th Africa–Singapore Business Forum to pitch Ghana as a “reliable gateway” to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), calling Africa “investable” and urging deeper South–South partnerships amid a more fragmented global economy.

“We are here to learn, to partner, and to deliver,” President Mahama said at his first engagement on a three-day state visit to Singapore. “Africa is investable, and Ghana is your reliable gateway to the continent.”

Framing Africa and Asia as the world’s “two youngest, fastest‑urbanising regions,” Mahama said the pair are complementary in resources, markets and know‑how, and should be “champions of open markets, trusted rules and practical partnerships that deliver jobs, technology transfer and shared prosperity.”

President Mahama also warned that “the death knell of multilateralism is sounding” as tariffs proliferate and supply chains remain fragile, arguing that tighter global financial conditions demand new alliances.

He, however, insisted the fundamentals in Africa are compelling: a 1.4 billion‑strong population that is young and digitally connected; a $3.4 trillion single market under the AfCFTA; and leadership in mobile money and fintech adoption.

Trade ties are already deepening. Mahama noted Africa–Singapore trade climbed about 50% between 2020 and 2024 to nearly $14 billion, with West Africa accounting for more than half. Ghana–Singapore trade reached more than $215 million in 2024, while 69 Singaporean companies are registered in Ghana with cumulative investments exceeding $2 billion.

Positioning Ghana as a continental launchpad, Mahama pointed to Accra’s role as host of the AfCFTA Secretariat and to the country’s access to more than 400 million consumers through ECOWAS. “Ghana is, therefore, a trusted entry point to scale across the continent,” he said.

He also outlined a slate of domestic reforms and flagship projects intended to sharpen Ghana’s competitiveness and absorb more capital.

“Ghana is OPEN FOR BUSINESS 24 hours a day,” Mahama said, describing his national strategy to align infrastructure, incentives and skills so factories, farms, ports and service centres can run round‑the‑clock shifts safely and competitively.

He also touted his four integrated pillars — Grow24 (irrigating more than 2 million hectares for year-round farming), Make24 (agro-industrial parks for textiles, pharmaceuticals, and food processing), Show24 (tourism along Lake Volta), and Connect24 (turning Lake Volta into an inland transport spine to cut logistics costs).

Mahama said inflation is easing, the cedi has stabilised, and ratings outlooks are improving. The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre now offers sector‑specific, region‑by‑region opportunity maps to guide decisions with “credible data.”

He cast Singapore as a catalytic partner for Africa across finance, logistics and technology. “Your excellence in project preparation, blended finance, risk management, standards and dispute resolution is precisely what African projects need to move from pipeline to bankable to build,” he told the audience, which included Singapore’s Ministers, trade officials and corporate leaders.

The president also used the platform to press for reforms to the global financial architecture and to highlight Africa’s homegrown integration efforts.

As the African Union Champion on Financial Institutions, he cited an annual African financing gap of roughly $1.3 trillion, with infrastructure needs of $181–$221 billion per year through 2030 and a climate‑finance shortfall of about $213 billion annually.

Mahama summed up Ghana’s offer to investors as “a stable, reform‑minded country, connected to the AfCFTA, designed for scale,” with “a pipeline of investable projects in agribusiness, logistics, manufacturing, energy, digital and tourism” and “a partner that values integrity, predictability and long‑term relationships.”

SOURCE

THE PRESIDENCY