Tamale must seize its shea breakthrough

Tamale, the beating heart of Ghana’s Northern Region, has long been recognised for its rich cultural heritage and agricultural abundance. From traditional festivals and music to its role as a hub for shea production, the city embodies both history and economic potential. With the hosting of the World Shea Expo 2025, Tamale has stepped onto the global stage not as a passive venue, but as a leading force in the transformation of Ghana’s shea industry.

This is not just another trade fair. It is a strategic turning point. With over 8,000 participants from across the shea value chain converging in Tamale, the Expo has catalysed investment, policy reform and international partnerships that could redefine the economic trajectory of the region.

For a city often overlooked in national development conversations, this is a moment of reckoning and of promise.

Tamale’s surrounding savannahs are home to millions of wild shea trees. More than one million women across Northern Ghana rely on shea for their livelihoods, yet for decades, they have remained on the margins of global profits.

The Expo’s focus on empowering women and youth-led SMEs is not just symbolic. It is essential. The distribution of 20,000 PPE kits to women collectors and the revival of the Buipe Shea Processing Factory, expected to create up to 40,000 jobs, are tangible steps toward inclusive growth.

For Tamale’s dwellers, the benefits are immediate and long-term. Hotels, transport operators, food vendors and artisans have all seen a surge in demand.

But beyond the short-term economic boost, the Expo has positioned Tamale as a centre for agro-industrial innovation. Youth-led enterprises showcased shea-based cosmetics and packaged foods, signalling a generational shift from subsistence to value-added production.

Ghana’s shea exports already contribute significantly to foreign exchange, with butter and kernel exports valued at over USD110 million in recent years.

But the country still exports mostly raw kernels. The Expo’s call to move up the value chain through refining, branding and packaging is a call to economic maturity.

Tamale must not let this momentum slip. Government, private sector and development partners must now anchor the gains with infrastructure, financing and market access.

The shea tree may be native to the north, but its potential is global. Tamale’s rise as a shea hub is not just good for the region. It is good for Ghana.