A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC) and Invest for Jobs, an organization established by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development for a total amount of €762,300 aimed at financing and promotion of investments in Ghana.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GIPC, Mr Yofi Grant as well as Mr Gerald Guskowski, the Head of Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation at the GIZ, Ghana represented the parties signing the agreement on behalf of the aforementioned organisations for Ghanaian and German economy, respectively.
Giving further insights, the purpose for undertaking this financing agreement is to mobilize investments and promote job-creation for the growth of enterprises and it’s expected that in the short-medium term this cooperation between both parties will address existing unemployment and investment promotion challenges which has been reinforced by the coronavirus pandemic to help maintain and create new jobs in Ghana.
With a decline in foreign direct investments across the world, partly because of the Coronavirus pandemic, it has become imperative for governments to maximize developmental support to retain investment, encourage follow-on investment and achieve greater local economic impact. Investment promotion agencies in most countries are now focusing primarily on keeping investors in the country, strengthening their resilience and encouraging restructuring to preserve companies and safeguard jobs.
Commenting on the financing agreement, the Chief Executive of GIPC, Yofi Grant intimated that the agreement is pivotal to the digital agenda of the government.
“This joint effort comes at a crucial time for Ghana in the global context, where governments are designing more strategic and innovative ways to promote investment and boost economic growth,” he stated.
Ms. Dorothee Dinkeler, the Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy sharing her thoughts on the agreement enunciated that “I am delighted to be a part of this initiative, which is anchored in addressing private sector needs”.
“We look forward to the cooperation with GIPC opportunities in Ghana,” she remarked.
Detailing further the contents of the cooperation between the two parties, the MOU reveals that the intervention will also facilitate the design of a manufacturing platform to connect international investors to local businesses so that supporting potential investors who, due to the global pandemic, are unable to travel to Ghana to obtain relevant information can have access to such data hence enabling investors to obtain long-term perspective to create new jobs.
The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) is a Government agency, responsible under the GIPC Act, 2013 (Act 865): to encourage and promote investments in Ghana, to provide for the creation of an attractive incentive framework and a transparent, predictable and facilitating environment for investments in Ghana.
With regards to its role of investment facilitation, GIPC is responsible for the maintenance of liaison between investors and Ministries, Government departments and agencies, institutional lenders and other authorities concerned with investments.
Also, GIPC is in charge of the provision and dissemination of up-to-date information on incentives available to investors as well as assisting incoming and existing investors by providing support services including assistance to procure authorities and permits required for the establishment and operation of enterprises.
The GIZ implemented the special initiative on Training and Job Creation and it is the official name of invest for jobs.
