GIPC holds business investment sensitisation exercise for businesses in Damongo

A business investment sensitisation forum has been held in Damongo for businesses in the Savannah Region by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC).

The exercise which brought business owners from across all the seven administrative Districts and Municipalities in the Savannah Region together, was held at the conference hall of the Savannah Regional Coordinating Council.

The purpose of the business forum was to enlighten and sensitize business owners in the region on the importance of processing and profiling their businesses to attract investment partners and support from financial institutions.

The Savannah Regional Minister, Saeed Muhazu Jibril in his welcome address read on his behalf, said the region is endowed with immense potential ranging from arable land, minerals and a host of others.

"Therefore, harnessing the natural resources of the region, particularly in agriculture, will not only reduce poverty but also create employment to arrest the urban drift of young men and women to other areas of the country".

He added, "The region also has the potential of becoming a hub for Agro based industries not only in the Northern part of the country but Ghana as a whole. The region has the highest concentration of shea/butter nut trees not only in Northern Ghana but also probably the country as a whole. The potential area of investment is the establishment of a Value Chain System in the production, processing and marketing of these crops. This would bring about good returns to the investors as well as facilitate the engagement of the surplus labour-force".

He commended the GIPC for extending the nationwide forum to the Savannah Region and pleaded with business owners in the region to take advantage of the program to further expand their businesses.

Addressing media men on the sidelines of the program, the Director of Investor Services Division for GIPC, Mr. Ashong-Lartey Edward said the visit to the region was to get first hand information on the local content requirements of potential business investments in the region in collaboration with the various assemblies.

According to him, the forum will provide an ideal platform for the identification and compilation of domestic data on various projects and identified investment opportunities in the region for onward presentation to potential business investors.

He stated that the mandate of the urgency is to promote, coordinate, encourage and facilitate investment in the Ghanaian economy and this he said, applies to both Ghanaian and foreign based enterprises.

He explained further that, the identified investment opportunities will be profiled and marketed to potential investors and also put on the agency's website to showcase to the world what the region is endowed with.

He said the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) is committed and interested in working with local businesses to attract assistance from viable financial institutions.

The nationwide exercise is the GIPC's initiative aimed at augmenting other undertakings to encourage investors to "Grow in Ghana" and "Grow with Ghana".