Ghana Launches SEZ Roadmap to Position Itself as West Africa’s Manufacturing Hub

Ghana has set out a new roadmap for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to attract investment, expand exports, and create thousands of jobs, in what officials say is a decisive step to strengthen the country’s industrial base.

Trade, Agribusiness and Industry Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare said the plan directly addresses longstanding constraints facing manufacturers, including high operational costs, low technology adoption, and limited access to finance.

“We are working closely with the Ministry of Finance on a Cabinet Memorandum to deliver a pro-investor SEZ framework,” she noted, adding that policies for textiles, automotive components, and pharmaceuticals are near Cabinet approval.

The reforms include revisions to the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Act to modernise the investment regime and make it more competitive within the subregion.

A key plank of the strategy is skills development. The Ghana Skills for Jobs Initiative will train 15,000 young people annually to fill positions in the zones, supporting the government’s 24-Hour Economy Programme. The initiative is designed to ensure that factories, logistics hubs, and related services can run seamlessly around the clock.

International partners have already signalled support. The European Union and GIZ pledged to back Ghana’s industrial transformation efforts, reinforcing investor confidence in the initiative.

Minister Ofosu-Adjare urged both local and foreign investors to take advantage of the emerging framework, positioning Ghana as a gateway for manufacturing in West Africa.

In an earlier conversation with The High Street Journal, Louis Yaw Afful, Executive Director of the AfCFTA Policy Network Group, stressed that Ghana must urgently modernise its SEZ law and streamline SME support policies to fully harness the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

According to him, “special economic zone laws should be given the immediate attention when Parliament convenes because it will fit into the expansion of the 24-hour economy, where the government wants to look at Industrial Parks. All these are just by-products of a good special economic zone methodology.”

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