Without an Incentivized Raw Material Base, “Make24” Under 24-Hour Economy is at Risk IMANI Warns

As Ghana rolls out its ambitious 24-Hour Economy agenda, policy think tank IMANI Africa has issued a sharp warning that without prioritizing local value addition and protecting raw materials for domestic use, the policy risks running on empty factories and idle promises.

In an analysis, IMANI emphasized that while the political will for industrialization and manufacturing, captured in the policy as Make24, exists, Ghana’s current incentive structures still favour the export of raw materials like cocoa, cashew, and shea over local processing.

This, the policy think tank says, undermines the very foundations of the 24-hour industrial growth model.

IMANI maintains that if exporting raw cocoa, cashew, or shea stays more attractive than processing them locally, Ghana will continue to export its raw potential, only to import it back transformed and at a premium.

The think tank says Ghana remains one of the world’s top producers of cocoa, cashew, and other agricultural resources, yet much of this wealth is shipped abroad in raw form, only to be reimported as chocolate, cosmetics, or processed snacks.

This export-import loop, IMANI warns, drains the country of industrial value and jobs.

“If exporting raw cocoa, cashew, or shea stays more attractive than processing them locally, Ghana will continue to export its raw potential, only to import it back, transformed, and pay a premium for it. The political will to industrialize is here,” IMANI indicated.  

The heart of the 24-Hour Economy policy is built on industrial activity around the clock, factories running three shifts, maximizing productivity, and boosting exports.

But this model, IMANI argues, cannot thrive if local factories are starved of raw materials, forced to import what Ghana already produces in abundance.

For the 24-Hour Economy to succeed, IMANI recommends that processors must be prioritized, not just in rhetoric, but in policy. The think tank recommends that there should be dedicated raw material pipelines for local processors.

Moreover, the initiative must ensure incentives for domestic value addition over raw exports, reliable energy supply for industrial zones, and access to working capital and market linkages

These recommendations from IMANI stem from a systemic flaw where factories are being built, but inputs are being exported. This creates an industrial loop where Ghana is investing in infrastructure but not protecting the raw materials that fuel it.

Without reform, the country risks building a 24-hour economy powered by imported inputs, rather than harnessing its own vast resource base.

“Ghana will not manufacture at scale until it stops incentivizing raw material exports over domestic value addition. We need a system where processors come first, where policy backs local factories with raw material access, energy reliability, and working capital, and where adding value in Ghana is more profitable than shipping it out raw,” IMANI noted.

It continued that, “If we don’t fix this, we’ll be running factories on imported inputs, not because we lack the resources, but because we refused to protect them.”

As the government gears up to implement the 24-Hour Economy policy nationwide, IMANI is urging that Ghana match the ambition with bold reforms that create a more domestically integrated industrial economy.

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