The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) is set to profile and market all defunct factories in the Upper East Region to attract investors to boost the local economy and propel development.

There are four defunct factories in the Region, the Pwalugu Tomato Processing factory, the Cotton Company in the Talensi District, the Zuarungu Meat Processing, and the Rice Mill Factories in the Bolgatanga East District.

Dr. George Asafo-Agyei, the Head of Monitoring and Evaluation Division at the GIPC, said apart from the defunct factories, mining, shea-butter processing, and tourism, among the others, there are investment opportunities the GIPC has identified in the Region.

“The GIPC would profile all defunct factories in the region and market them to attract investor interest to boost the economy of the region and country.”
Dr. George Asafo-Agyei

Registering your business attracts partners

The workshop, organized by the GIPC, is part of a nationwide sensitization tour to create awareness about the GIPC’s services and to enable the Centre to identify investment opportunities for promotion to boost development in the regions through the private sector.

Dr. Asafo-Agyei called on business owners in the Region to register their businesses as limited liability private companies so that persons who may want to partner with them would have the opportunity to understand their business structure and effectively partner with them.

“If you want to have a profit-making organization, then it depends on you to make sure that you register your business because anyone who wants to partner with you would want to know the business’s ownership structure.”
Dr. Asafo-Agyei

In a speech delivered on his behalf, Mr. Stephen Yakubu, the Upper East Regional Minister, disclosed that the Region had received some proposals from potential investors to revamp the defunct factories.

He assured the GIPC that the Region is ready to support any potential investor, saying, “We are ever ready to support initiatives which undoubtedly minimize, if not eradicate abject poverty through job creation.”

Mr. Yakubu said the region is endowed with human and natural resources such as gold, rocks, water bodies, and tourist sites, including the Paga Crocodile Pond and the Pikworo Slave Camp.

Voices of participants

A participant, Madam Sherry-Ann Kuuri-Naa, a Weaver, said that the workshop was timely, and the advice by Dr. Asafo-Agyei to register their businesses would help them effectively grow their businesses.

“Our businesses have not been registered; we did not have knowledge about any registration. We only produce the products, and the middlemen buy from us and sell, so mostly, we run at a loss. We now know the importance of registering our businesses and how to sell directly to the consumer without middlemen.”
Madam Sherry-Ann Kuuri-Naa

The Weaver said they have the skill without capital, and dealing directly with consumers could help their businesses grow.