The President and Chief Executive Officer of B5 Plus Limited, Mukesh Thakwani, has called on Ghana to urgently shift from exporting raw materials to producing and exporting finished goods, describing it as essential for the country’s next phase of industrial growth.

Speaking at the 10th Ghana CEO Summit 2026 on the theme “From Potential to Production – Ghana’s Industrial Decade,” Thakwani urged policymakers and business leaders to transform Ghana’s resource base into competitive industrial output.

“For too long, Africa has exported opportunity and imported value. Ghana must stop exporting potential and start exporting finished value,” he said, addressing a gathering that included President John Dramani Mahama, ministers, diplomats, CEOs, investors, and policymakers.

He described the government’s 24-Hour Economy programme as a major opportunity to accelerate industrialisation and position Ghana as a production hub in West Africa.

Thakwani also outlined what he called five strategic shifts needed to drive Ghana’s industrial future. The first is a move from import dependence to production-led growth, which he said would create jobs, innovation, and wider economic ecosystems.

He pointed to B5 Plus’ recent commissioning of three steel plants under the 24-Hour Economy initiative as evidence of Ghana’s industrial potential.

The second shift, he said, is turning local content policy into a practical supply chain system rather than a political slogan.

“Local content is not a slogan; it is a supply chain,” he stated.

The third focuses on fully implementing a 24-Hour Economy model where factories, logistics systems, ports, and farms operate continuously to maximise productivity.

“The 24-Hour Economy is not only about longer hours; it is about fuller use of national capacity,” he said.

On agriculture, Thakwani called for full value-chain development, arguing that Ghana must invest in processing, storage, packaging, logistics, and export systems to maximise returns for farmers.

He said B5 Plus is ready to support this through investments in steel structures, irrigation systems, greenhouses, silos, warehouses, agro-processing facilities, and logistics infrastructure.

“Our direction is clear: where Ghana grows, Ghana must process; where Ghana processes, Ghana must package; where Ghana packages, Ghana must export,” he said.

He also urged Ghanaian industries to adopt circular economy practices, including recycling and waste-to-value systems, while highlighting investments in renewable energy and automation.

Thakwani disclosed that B5 Plus is expanding its renewable energy capacity, including a 20-megawatt rooftop solar installation, which he said would be among the largest private-sector industrial solar projects in Africa once completed.

He further called for policy reforms, including tax exemptions on industrial machinery, stronger local content enforcement, protection against unfair imports, and improved industrial infrastructure.

He also identified congestion along the Tema Motorway and industrial corridors in Tema and Kpone as a major challenge affecting productivity.

Thakwani also urged business leaders to take a more active role in industrial transformation.

“We must move from trading to making, from short-term profit to long-term capacity, from isolated companies to value chains, and from complaints to bankable proposals,” he said.

He called on CEOs to develop what he described as a “24-Hour Readiness Plan” focused on expanding production, building local supply chains, increasing exports, training workers, and converting waste into usable inputs.

Concluding his address, the B5 Plus CEO reaffirmed his company’s support for Ghana’s industrialisation agenda and the Government’s 24-Hour Economy vision.

“Let us build a Ghana where every hour creates value, every raw material moves up the chain, every factory creates dignity, and every CEO becomes a builder of national transformation,” he said.