Total exports value from the Ghana Free Zones since its inception in 1996 now stands at $30.9 billion and nearly 10% of that amount [$2.6 billion or 8.4%] realized only in 2016.
The GFZB currently has 201 licensed companies operating under the programme. They include 82 foreign-owned businesses, 63 joint ventures and 56 indigenous enterprises.
The claim was made by the Executive Secretary of the GFZB, Michael Okyere Baafi, in an encounter with the media on the sidelines of the 2017 ‘Investment Week’ in Accra.
Commending the efforts of all stakeholders in GFZ’s achievement, Mr. Baafi said; “We appreciate the many foreign direct investments into the countryâ€.
He further expressed the hope that, “many more Ghanaians [will] have the capacity and resources to venture into export-oriented business activitiesâ€.
He reiterated the commitment of the GFZ management in facilitating the operations of export oriented companies that are not yet part of the free zones scheme.
He added that their measures are also to complement the efforts of other key stakeholders in ensuring the realization of the ‘one-district-one-factory’ industrialization policy of President Akufo - led government, as well as promote the much-needed local participation.
“We want to engage Ghanaian businessmen and women by aggressively marketing the investment opportunities under the Free Zones programme locallyâ€, he said.
The Ghana Free Zones Programme was established by the Free Zone Act, 1995 (Act 504) with the core objective of promoting economic development through the attraction of local and foreign direct investments, promotion of export diversification and enhancing the country’s foreign exchange earnings.