President Akufo-Addo has commissioned the expanded GB Foods Factory in Tema with the pledge to continue unleashing the innovative, entrepreneurial instincts of the Ghanaian private sector to drive rapid growth and create jobs.
According to the President, it has always remained the avowed aim of his government to unlock the full potential of the private sector and the Ghanaian sense of enterprise to create jobs and prosperity for all Ghanaians, and to position Ghana as a preferred investment destination.
Whilst acknowledging the limited ability of government to create jobs on its own, President Akufo-Addo noted that it is for this reason that, when he assumed office in 2017, government put in place measures to reduce the cost of doing business and improve the business environment.
“The government I lead is a natural cheerleader for the private sector, and it is my sincere wish that GB Foods, and, indeed, the Ghanaian private sector will continue to invest further in Ghana. Cascading investments in our economy is the most effective way to expand and strengthen it in order to create the many jobs our young people so ardently want. It will happen, and soon.”
President Akufo-Addo
President Akufo-Addo explained that Ghana had been modestly successful in making the Ghanaian economy not only one of the most business-friendly economies in Africa, but also one of the fastest growing economies in the world between 2017 and 2020. He noted that the economy was averaging 7% GDP annual rates of growth, up from the 3.4% rate it inherited in 2016, which is the lowest in two decades.
“In spite of upheavals on the global economic terrain, our goal remains constant – and that is to unleash the innovative and entrepreneurial instincts of the Ghanaian private sector to drive rapid growth and job creation. I am confident that we will realise this important goal.”
President Akufo-Addo
Prospects of GB Foods in country’s economy
Subsequently, the President expressed excitement about the prospect the expansion of GB Foods will bring in influencing the company’s decisions, not only to source domestically its raw material base, but also to venture into the “establishment of two industrial farmlands for the processing of tomato concentrate”. With this, he hoped that “many more companies would commit to such a development”.
Commissioning the production line, Artur Carrula, President of Agrolimen, the parent company of GB Foods stated that GB Foods is committed to investing in Africa and Ghana for that matter, with the support of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Ministry of Trade and Industry.
“We are working to identify locations for two contiguous farmlands of 7,000 acres each on which we will construct two industrial farms each with an integrated factory to process tomatoes concentrate that we will use in Ghana and also export to other African countries, taking advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. We estimate that on completion of these two projects, GB Foods would have invested over $70 million of investments and create over 5,000 jobs, earn FX for Ghana”.
Artur Carrula
On his part, David Kofi Afflu, General Manager of GB Foods Ghana highlighted that apart from the tomatoes processing line, the state-of-the-art facility also has a curry processing line. With this, he expressed belief in Ghana to remain committed to driving investment to grow, emphasizing that the commissioning is equally a demonstration of the company’s deep level of commitment to this cause.
GB Foods, built at a total cost of $5 million, the state-of-the-art tomato canning factory is aimed at reducing the number of raw materials imported in the manufacturing of the company’s products, thereby offering more employment opportunities to Ghanaians.
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