Why Africa is ignored by foreign investment ...

Why Africa is ignored by foreign investment- What can Ghanaian intellects in western world do help?

The potential for highly profitable foreign investment in Africa is enormous, but many investors remain unaware of the past record and current opportunities. Although external investment in Africa has been increasing in recent years, it still lags far behind the flows to other developing regions, in part because of the generally negative image of the continent portrayed in the international media which in part is due to lack of transparency in some of our governments

On 12 July 1999, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said in Algeria at the annual summit meeting of the OAU that Africa's profitability is one of the best kept secrets in today's world economy. Specifically citing the UNCTAD report, he noted that Africa also has experienced impressive economic growth rates in recent years, despite the effects of ongoing conflicts, the Asian crises and depressed commodity prices.

Nevertheless, he said, ?most chief executives of multinational companies never look in detail at the prospect of any African country. They know Africa only from a few headlines or the odd minute of television news, which shows a continent disfigured by conflict.?

The fact is that in recent years record shows that many African countries have significantly improved their policy environment, bringing both greater economic stability and growth and much more liberal conditions for foreign investors. There is no doubt that Ghana is a pivot when it comes to this. The present Ghana investment policy is now similar to those in some western countries. In addition, the Ghana Investment Promotion Council has been set up to publicize Ghana's economic opportunities and facilitate investment.

The publicity aspect is where we as a nation fall short. There is the need on the part of the government to join hands with our various embassies and consulates to facilitate the educated Ghanaians and students in various countries to enable them attend business forums, meetings and investment programs to make these opportunities known to the international business community.

As Ghana celebrates its Golden jubilee of independence, there is evidence to prove that this West African state has a bright future. The country has actually achieved peace and stability, alongside an improved and working democratic process. Nonetheless, there are many challenges militating against our economic development both internal and external. The tasks are still numerous and obviously require closer collaboration with stakeholders, the civil society and the international business community.