Ghana to scrap minimum capital requirement for foreign investors
By Praisebell Rosemond Larbi
Ghana is set to abolish the minimum capital requirement for foreign investors as part of a sweeping review of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act, a move designed to enhance the country’s competitiveness and attract more global capital.
The reform, announced by President John Dramani Mahama at the Presidential Investment Forum in Japan, seeks to remove barriers to entry for foreign firms and position Ghana as one of Africa’s most open and investor-friendly markets.
“We are open for business and working to review the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Act. Some barriers were placed on foreign investment. You had to prove that you had brought in a certain amount of money to be classified as a foreign investor,” President Mahama said.
“In the reviewed Act, we are removing those minimum capital investments. This will enable any investor, however little money you have, to come in and set up a business in Ghana,” he added.
The move comes as Ghana pursues an aggressive agenda to expand private sector investment, accelerate industrialisation, and create sustainable jobs. By eliminating minimum thresholds, the government hopes to encourage a broader range of investors, from small-scale entrepreneurs to multinational corporations, to participate in the economy.
President Mahama also used the forum to pitch Ghana as a stable market with improving macroeconomic indicators.
He noted that the cedi has been the strongest-performing African currency in 2025, reflecting renewed investor confidence.
“We are re-establishing macro stability and the growth momentum of the economy. Inflation rose to a high of almost 23 percent in 2024 and is currently down to 13.7 percent. We expect that by the end of the year it will hit single digits. Our cedi has stabilised,” the President said.
He added that Ghana’s sovereign rating had been upgraded from junk status to B minus with a stable outlook, with further improvements expected in the next review.
President Mahama pointed to the presence of several Japanese firms already operating in Ghana as evidence of deepening investor confidence.
Accompanying the President, the Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, emphasised Ghana’s role as a gateway to West Africa and urged Japanese companies to leverage the country’s strategic location to access the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“Let us therefore move forward with determination, turning today’s dialogue into joint ventures, industrial clusters and supply chains that carry the stamp of both Ghanaian resilience and Japanese excellence,” she remarked.
The review of the GIPC Act is expected to be laid before Parliament later this year.
