Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council expands with over 155 businesses to create collective wealth for 56 member countries 

The Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council is growing in leaps and bounds and could now boast of over 155 business entities within its fold with more and more countries and businesses in Commonwealth countries expressing interest to join.

The Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council is the business arm of the Commonwealth which was created by the 56 Heads of Government to promote Trade and Investment across the Commonwealth for shared and collective wealth between the member countries.

Commonwealth member states already enjoy a quantitative trade advantage, termed the ‘Commonwealth Advantage’ with 21% lower bilateral trading costs for businesses which operate intra-Commonwealth.

Addressing a press conference in Accra on Tuesday after a two-day working visit to Ghana, Rosie Glazebrook who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council said the organisation intends to support businesses in Ghana and hopes Ghanaian local businesses will take advantage with the huge opportunities that come their way considering other advantages with regards to trade expertise that could be shared.

The Council, she said has twelve hubs stressing that Africa is a hugely important market for the organisation with the African Free Trade Continental Agreement (AFTCA) also in place.

She hoped that the Council could build partnership with the government of Ghana as they have done with Cameroun, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

She said there are varied opportunities to be garnered from Infrastructure and investment opportunities including the agro-sector with Zenith Bank, GP, Dangote all of who are part of their activities and support most initiatives.

The Commonwealth Trade and Investment Summit, she said, is due in London from November 27-28 followed by Commonwealth Summit in Malta and hoped that Ghana would be fully represented stressing that two other prime ministers have already expressed interest to partake in the investment Summit in London.

The Commonwealth, she said is a multilateral organisation and works with businesses all over.

That the Council intends to work with the Ghana government having built nine strategic partners in Ghana.

Gabby Otchere Darko, Chair of the Ghana Office of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council said Ghana was proud to be part of the organisation with 2.4 billion people across the 56 Commonwealth countries of a combined GDP of 15 trillion and a combined wealth of 150 trillion dollars, stressing that Ghana is happy to be part because Africa is getting together with the African Free Trade Continental Area and hoped Ghana could take advantage to tap from the prosperity for all the members.

John Obeng Apea who is Head of Mission for the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council and doubles as CEO of eTranzact Ghana also was happy for the visit by Rosie Glazebrook.

Rosie Glazebroook, a member of the British Royal Family has served in many capacities. Her previous roles include, Chairing the Publishers’ Licensing Services, the Copyright Licensing Agency, BSI Group’s Standards Policy and Strategy Committee.

She joined the Commonwealth after completing her 5yr term as First Civil Service Commissioner in May 2022, chairing senior appointments across UK government departments, and was previously on the boards of the Food Standards Agency and other national health and regulatory organisations. She was a Trustee and Chair of the Development Board for Book Aid International, which works with partners in 19 countries, and her earlier career was in media, publishing and health data organizations, working both in the UK and internationally.

The relationships between Ghana and the Commonwealth are not new. Ghana was the first fully sovereign African member of the Commonwealth, joining at independence in 1957.

The Commonwealth Secretariat was the brainchild of Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah, who envisioned a “central clearing house” which would give account to the wishes of all member states.

In the preceding decades, Ghana has continued its close bilateral ties with the UK, India, and the other original members of the Commonwealth, while the roster of African Commonwealth member states has continued to grow, with two new African members, Togo and Gabon admitted as recently as 2022.