Africa: Opportunities and challenges of investing in Ghana and Ethiopia

Ghana has several opportunities for investors including abundant raw materials including gold, cocoa, and oil/gas It however faces several challenges that hinder foreign direct investment, among them costly and difficult financial services and lack of government transparency Low-cost labour, a national airline with well over 100 passenger connections and growing consumer markets are key elements attracting foreign investment into Ethiopia Companies often face long lead-times importing goods and dispatching exports due to logistical bottlenecks, corruption, high land-transportation costs, and bureaucratic delays Ghana remains a favourable investment destination in Africa in 2022, despite the impact of the challenges the economy faces including the COVID-19 pandemic.  Data by the US Department of State indicates that the economy has continued to rebound from the negative impact of the virus, and has made attracting foreign direct investment a priority.  The economy has expanded at an average of 7 per cent since 2017 to 2020, but reduced progress amid the pandemic to only register 0.9 per cent.  In 2021, the IMF said the country’s growth would rebound to 4.6 per cent in 2021 from the shocks of COVID-19, as a result of improved port activity, construction, imports, manufacturing, and credit to the private sector.  “In