ACCRA, Sept 16 – The World Bank Group’s private-sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is preparing to deepen its investment in Ghana, with a potential pipeline of about $1.2 billion across key sectors as the country seeks to mobilize more private capital.
IFC Managing Director Makhtar Diop disclosed the pipeline following a meeting with Ghana’s Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson in Accra on Wednesday, where the two discussed the country’s recent macroeconomic progress and opportunities to expand private-sector investment.
Diop credited the government with making progress in addressing inflation and public debt, arguing that the improvements could help strengthen investor confidence and create conditions for additional domestic and international capital.
“In the last few years, Ghana has turned the tide. They have been able to do a solid adjustment, but also to put in place measures that will structurally, hopefully, help Ghana not to go back in a situation where the debt is a problem and inflation is affecting the economy,” Diop said.
The IFC currently has a portfolio of about $500 million in Ghana, while its prospective investment pipeline stands at approximately $1.2 billion.
“We have now a portfolio of 500 million dollars, and we have a pipeline of 1.2 billion. But we will do more,” Diop said.
Energy, Infrastructure and Agriculture in Focus
Forson outlined sectors where the Ghanaian government wants the IFC to expand its involvement, with energy, infrastructure and agriculture identified among the priority areas.
The potential investments would come as Accra seeks to consolidate its macroeconomic stabilization efforts while increasing productive investment and expanding the role of the private sector in economic development.
The government has also identified commercial agriculture, value addition and job creation as priorities for the next phase of its economic transformation strategy.
IFC Seeks to Build African Champions
Diop also highlighted the IFC’s Local Champion initiative, which is designed to support African investors and businesses seeking to expand within markets across the continent.
The initiative forms part of a broader effort to strengthen domestic and regional businesses rather than relying solely on foreign capital for private-sector development.
Diop also called for greater local production to reduce African economies’ exposure to external disruptions, particularly as geopolitical tensions and global supply-chain risks remain elevated.
“What I’m seeing right now is to see more and more how we can [take] things that were imported and can be produced in the continent at a competitive cost, produced locally,” he said.
He pointed to Ghana’s poultry industry as an example, noting that the country continues to import substantial quantities of poultry despite opportunities to expand domestic production.
Local Production Seen as Resilience Strategy
According to Diop, expanding domestic production can simultaneously support employment, reduce import dependence and strengthen the economy’s ability to absorb external shocks.
“One of the things that we have been doing is to be able to indigenise the production in certain sectors, which will be helping not only for job creation but to create a much more resilient economy and be able to be better prepared when shocks are happening.”
He identified pharmaceuticals, energy and other strategic industries as potential areas where increased domestic production could improve economic resilience.
The IFC’s prospective investment pipeline therefore comes at a point when Ghana is attempting to translate recent macroeconomic stabilization into stronger private investment, productive capacity and employment.
For the government, attracting long-term private capital while expanding local production and value addition is central to shifting the economy toward higher domestic productivity and greater resilience to external shocks.
