Ghana is ready for Czech investors and suppliers

13.11.2023 / 16:00 | Aktualizováno: 04.12.2023 / 16:53

Ghana is one of the sub-Saharan African countries that offers many business opportunities for the Czech Republic. A country needs modernization of agriculture, technology and machinery for processing a number of agricultural crops, and has a number of minerals interesting for Czech industry. At the same time, he is interested in technology transfer in a number of areas, especially energy, water management, defense and cyber security, geological services. He is also interested in medical technology, infrastructure development and vocational training in a number of sectors. The visit of the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic together with the business delegation only confirmed the interest in deepening business cooperation with Ghana.

As a result of the interest indicated by the Ghanaian side in Czech products and technologies, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Mr. Petr Fiala, visited Accra on 8-9 November 2023, accompanied by representatives of the Union of Industry and Transport of the Czech Republic, the Association of Manufacturers and Suppliers of Medical Devices, EGAP, and Czech companies Šeda Africa Group, LINET, MDP Geo, IQS Group, Compelson, Resilient, Czechoslovak Ocean Shipping, Knights, Juta, Aero Vodochody, Colt CZ Group, PBS Velká Bíteš, Defcon and Excalibur International. It was the first official visit at this level in the last 60 years (!). The trip took place in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine, and the negotiations reflected the current needs of the Czech Republic's raw materials policy as well as the partners' long-term interest in diversifying the economy and modernizing the infrastructure.

During a series of meetings with the vice president and ministers of finance, defense, roads and highways, and representatives of chambers of commerce, the Ghanaian side repeatedly indicated an interest in cooperation with Czech investors and potential suppliers of products and technologies in the above sectors.

The modernization of agriculture and the processing industry remain priorities for Ghana - the supply of agricultural machinery and technologies for soil maintenance and cultivation, machinery and technology for the processing of fruits and vegetables, packaging technologies and the transportation of products from them, The further areas of main interest are the development of infrastructure, especially the transport network - the construction of roads and bridges; water treatment and waste management – technology and machinery.

Healthcare is also an area in which cooperation has already begun to develop following the successful Health Forum Africa, which took place in May 2022 in Prague with the participation of representatives of the Ghanaian Ministry of Health. The possibilities of continuing the construction of Czech-Ghanaian hospitals and the provision of hospital equipment with supplies from Czech companies were discussed.

Czech-Ghanaian business seminar

The seminar was held in cooperation with the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Ghana, the Agency of Ghana Industries, the Ghana Investment Promotion Center and the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industries. The main business partners of the seminar were the Confederation of Czech Industry of the Czech Republic and the Agency of Ghana Industries. During the seminar, the presidents of both business entities, Mr. Jan Rafaj for the Czech side and Mr. Humphrey Ayim-Darke for Ghana, solemnly signed a Memorandum of Understanding on mutual cooperation, which is a formal stepping stone for the development of cooperation between the two entities.

The main sectors that the seminar focused on were agriculture and processing, healthcare, security technology and geological services.

After the official opening words of the Czech Ambassador to Ghana, Mr. Füry, the presidents of both chambers, the Ghanaian Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr. Kwasi Amoako-Attah, and the Prime Minister, Petr Fiala, the Czech Industry and Transport Association and the Association of Manufacturers and Suppliers of Medical Devices presented their activities. Czech companies Šeda Africa Group, LINET, MDP Geo, IQS Group, Compelson, Resilient, Czechoslovak Ocean Shipping, EGAP continued with their product presentations. This was followed by B2B negotiations with numerous representatives of Ghanaian companies and associations, whose rich participation confirmed the potential for the development of bilateral business relations.

Representatives of the defense and security sector presented their products at the General Staff of Ghana. This sector continues to be the main pillar of the Czech-Ghanaian trade exchange, and its scope still has a lot to offer Ghanaian partners.

The visit, which took place in a friendly spirit, was another successful materialization of Czech efforts to deepen relations with one of the very promising countries in the region of sub-Saharan Africa, not only in terms of raw materials, with which it will be worth maintaining good relations.

Author: Mgr. Beata Matusiková, MBA, economic diplomat, Embassy of the Czech Republic in Ghana

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