Former President, John Dramani Mahama, has disclosed that the power sector presents an opportunity for Korean Investments in Africa.
According to him, Korea has become a world-class model for leapfrogging in just a few decades, from underdevelopment to one of the top economies in the world with a strong foundation in innovation, science, and technology. This feat, he explained, has been achieved through visionary leadership, patriotism, perseverance, innovation, and a passionate drive to achieve excellence.
Mr Mahama noted that South Korea is reported to rank the 10th largest economy in the world and 4th largest in Asia, as it has a diversified economy heavy on industrialization and home to many global and prominent brands in the automobile, electronics, electrical, and technology sectors.
“The power sector presents an enormous opportunity for Korean investments in Africa. The continent has a huge demand for energy to drive its economic growth. Korea has the technology and know-how in the traditional energy sector and renewables. There is no better case for cooperation than this.”
John Dramani Mahama
Mr Mahama indicated that Korea can offer both Ghana and Africa a lot in terms of partnership. He revealed that in Africa, there is a unique problem, which is an asset at the same time, if managed well.
Furthermore, the former President stated that Africa is the youngest continent and has the largest population of young people and with a youthful population that is educated and eager to acquire new skills to enter the world of work.
Additionally, he highlighted that twelve million young Africans enter the labour market every year, but unfortunately, only three and four million jobs are created annually in Africa. Owing to this, he indicated that Africa needs to double its job creation capacity to keep up with the growing youth bulge, or it will turn into a ticking time bomb.
“To do this, we must accelerate the growth of African economies. We must diversify our economies from just the export of primary products. We must strive for value addition for our exports. We must promote African entrepreneurship and enterprise, but above all, we expand trade among ourselves.”
John Dramani Mahama
Forging partnership between Africa and Korea
Commenting on how Ghana can forge a partnership with Korea that allows young people to benefit from a transfer of knowledge and technology that harnesses their vast talents and creativity for growth, Mr Mahama stated that Ghana has had a history of Korean investments in Ghana.
Also, he emphasized that early investors like the well-known Bok Nam-Kim made significant investments in fisheries and agribusiness, while other investors who have come in have concentrated on the import of used autos and auto spare parts.
“With the recent opening of a KIA vehicle assembly plant, I can see new beginnings. Younger Koreans like my friend Kojo Choi have invested in the Fintech space. His PaySwitch payment and settlements platform is bringing in some of the latest Korean fintech experience, providing banking and credit solutions for Ghana. Digital finance and services (and App development) are other areas young Ghanaian fintech and technology talents will benefit significantly from in partnership with Korea. There is a huge demand for services in this area.
John Dramani Mahama
In the area of food production and Agri-business, Mr Mahama explained that these are sectors in which Africa has a comparative advantage. He revealed that there is a demand for technology solutions in Ghana’s agriculture value chain and agri-business.
“A viable partnership can be developed to provide digital solutions for producing animals and crops. Ghana has a significant endowment in natural resources. Ghana is blessed with gold, bauxite, manganese, oil, and, lately, lithium. A collaboration between Ghana and Korea to use Ghanaian lithium to build batteries for the EV revolution in the world would be a mutually beneficial venture.”
John Dramani Mahama
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