Is THIS Africa's next Export Powerhouse?

Welcome everyone to the Sound of Accra podcast, um Adrian here.

2

00:00:09,538 --> 00:00:11,168

Hope you guys are doing well.

3

00:00:11,168 --> 00:00:24,382

Now on today's episode, what I want to talk about is Ghana going from being a nation that

is so used to importing foods and material products to becoming a nation that's now

4

00:00:24,382 --> 00:00:30,153

producing and taking ownership of producing its own food, of producing of its own material

products.

5

00:00:30,153 --> 00:00:32,654

So I want to go straight into it.

6

00:00:33,054 --> 00:00:36,247

If you're watching on YouTube, listening on the podcast platforms,

7

00:00:36,247 --> 00:00:40,128

drop us a like, leave us a comment whilst you're here and let's go straight into it.

8

00:00:40,128 --> 00:00:49,091

Now I wanna base this episode on this main article and it says Africa's pasta capital bans

import to protect its first domestic factory.

9

00:00:49,091 --> 00:01:01,904

So that's from Business Insider Africa and it reads here, if you read the main bit of the

article, says Ghana's banned the import of pasta by land to curb smuggling just days after

10

00:01:01,904 --> 00:01:04,407

opening its first domestic pasta processing plant.

11

00:01:04,407 --> 00:01:15,412

The country's finance ministry also announced restrictions on the importation of cooking

oil, rice, sugar, textiles and frozen foods according to a post from Exxon Monday.

12

00:01:15,412 --> 00:01:21,575

The measures are aimed at protecting government tax revenues and shielding local

industries from cheaper smuggled goods.

13

00:01:21,575 --> 00:01:30,723

President John Mohamed touched on the policy during the inauguration of a new pasta

facility operated by Olam Agri, Bloomberg.

14

00:01:30,723 --> 00:01:42,203

So that's the main bit of the article and also says here that between 2021 and 2024 Ghana

imported about 140 million dollars worth of pasta making it the second largest importer of

15

00:01:42,203 --> 00:01:44,703

the product in Africa after Nibiru and Togo.

16

00:01:44,703 --> 00:01:46,323

We love pasta.

17

00:01:46,603 --> 00:01:48,943

What I'm going to say is one word, Wache.

18

00:01:48,943 --> 00:01:50,103

That's probably why.

19

00:01:50,103 --> 00:01:52,903

All right, so let's talk about this one, all right?

20

00:01:52,903 --> 00:01:55,163

So let's start with the big picture, okay?

21

00:01:55,243 --> 00:02:00,583

Now for years, Ghana has been known as a consumer economy more than a producer economy.

22

00:02:00,771 --> 00:02:09,324

And because of this, okay, we import tin tomatoes, rice, sugar, pasta, towels, glass, you

name it.

23

00:02:09,324 --> 00:02:16,682

You walk through Makala, Canais, you any major market and you see shelves full of imported

brands from Europe, Asia and other parts of Africa.

24

00:02:16,682 --> 00:02:19,824

That model is always going to come with a cost.

25

00:02:19,824 --> 00:02:24,808

It puts pressure on the city because we need foreign currency to pay for all those

imports.

26

00:02:24,808 --> 00:02:30,211

Meanwhile, it exports jobs out of Ghana, which is, you know, not a great thing.

27

00:02:30,211 --> 00:02:34,034

because the factories and the value addition is always going to happen elsewhere.

28

00:02:34,034 --> 00:02:39,419

So something needed to change and I'm glad the Mohama's administration is doing something

about this.

29

00:02:39,459 --> 00:02:46,505

And it always leaves us vulnerable to external shocks, whether it's global price spikes or

even border closures as well.

30

00:02:46,526 --> 00:02:51,670

Now under Mohama's current term, the message coming from the presidency is very different.

31

00:02:51,670 --> 00:02:57,571

mean, Ghana is no longer content clearly to be just a consumer and important economy.

32

00:02:57,571 --> 00:03:05,391

the focus is now on industrialization, value addition, and positioning Ghana as a

manufacturing hub in West Africa.

33

00:03:05,391 --> 00:03:08,351

And the numbers are starting to take that shift.

34

00:03:08,351 --> 00:03:17,971

I mean, if we look at this article here as well, which you should be able to see, it says

here that Ghana overtakes Cote d'Ivoire as the second largest economy in West Africa,

35

00:03:17,971 --> 00:03:18,191

right?

36

00:03:18,191 --> 00:03:19,491

And that's from Joy Online.

37

00:03:19,491 --> 00:03:21,751

That's a great source, all right?

38

00:03:21,971 --> 00:03:26,179

And you can see here, it says in 2022, something happened that most of us didn't notice.

39

00:03:26,179 --> 00:03:30,619

In 2022, Cote d'Ivoire overtook Ghana as the second largest economy in West Africa.

40

00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:33,939

Nigeria has always been the first with about a GDP of 300 billion.

41

00:03:33,939 --> 00:03:38,099

I mean, Nigeria is always going to be the biggest economy in West Africa, let's face it.

42

00:03:38,099 --> 00:03:39,119

I'm not surprised by that.

43

00:03:39,119 --> 00:03:41,999

And Ghana followed with a GDP of around 75 billion.

44

00:03:41,999 --> 00:03:44,519

So a few years ago, we weren't doing that great.

45

00:03:44,519 --> 00:03:49,979

But today, Ghana's GDP has exceeded 100 billion markets, estimated at 113 billion.

46

00:03:49,979 --> 00:03:53,495

So we've now moved away from...

47

00:03:53,495 --> 00:03:55,375

you know, not performing as great.

48

00:03:55,375 --> 00:03:57,557

So we're doing much, much better these days.

49

00:03:57,557 --> 00:04:02,139

So this is a win for Ghana, a massive, massive win for Ghana.

50

00:04:02,139 --> 00:04:03,799

What can I say here?

51

00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:14,444

Really and truly, the focus now is on industrialization, it's on value addition, and it's

on positioning Ghana as the manufacturing hub in West Africa.

52

00:04:14,444 --> 00:04:22,431

So we've gone from one of the nations in one of the biggest nations in West Africa that

imports probably the most products to becoming

53

00:04:22,431 --> 00:04:27,304

one of the main nations that is now producing some of the most products.

54

00:04:27,304 --> 00:04:31,798

And this is a massive win for Mohamed's administration and for Ghana as a whole.

55

00:04:31,798 --> 00:04:41,604

And it's kind of given me some kind of, you know, reminiscence to the Kwame Nkrumah era,

you know, which was heavily about creating industries.

56

00:04:41,604 --> 00:04:46,588

So could this be Mohamed, could Mohamed's administration be Kwame Nkrumah 2.0?

57

00:04:46,588 --> 00:04:47,149

I don't know.

58

00:04:47,149 --> 00:04:48,689

We're gonna have to see how this goes.

59

00:04:48,689 --> 00:04:51,959

uh But essentially, uh

60

00:04:51,959 --> 00:04:57,942

you know, we are doing better in terms of our production, which is fantastic.

61

00:04:58,462 --> 00:05:02,784

So yeah, that's pasta for you, all right?

62

00:05:02,824 --> 00:05:04,595

We've imported a lot of pasta.

63

00:05:04,595 --> 00:05:13,139

Main reason is Wachi, you know, that's pretty much the main reason why we import so much

pasta because of the spaghetti that we eat in the Wachi.

64

00:05:13,139 --> 00:05:17,961

So of course you need to create a lot more pasta to help the Wachi.

65

00:05:19,651 --> 00:05:29,771

Yeah, so we have gone through a lot so far in terms of what we're doing in terms of

producing, but going on in terms of the stories from today.

66

00:05:30,531 --> 00:05:36,030

instead of important so much past, think Ghana is now in position where it can produce it

locally.

67

00:05:36,030 --> 00:05:43,131

I think this is really important to supply our own huge domestic demand and potentially

export to our neighbors in the future.

68

00:05:43,131 --> 00:05:46,211

I think it's clear that this is an example of a policy shift.

69

00:05:46,211 --> 00:05:49,419

I mean, we're talking trade rules, border controls.

70

00:05:49,419 --> 00:05:54,422

industrial policy or going back to Ghana based production, is important.

71

00:05:54,723 --> 00:05:56,324

But past is just one piece.

72

00:05:56,324 --> 00:05:59,926

Let's zoom out and talk about the wider industrial story.

73

00:05:59,926 --> 00:06:00,926

All right.

74

00:06:00,967 --> 00:06:02,768

There's so much to talk about.

75

00:06:02,768 --> 00:06:06,080

I mean, if we talk upon this story as well.

76

00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:13,655

So Mahama launches $250 float glass factory in Shamma deepening Ghana, China industrial

corporation.

77

00:06:13,655 --> 00:06:19,479

So so much is going on in terms of uh industrialization and production in Ghana right now.

78

00:06:19,723 --> 00:06:22,005

I want to talk about this, okay?

79

00:06:22,005 --> 00:06:36,386

So now when you're talking about the float glass factory, essentially, Mahama broke ground

in the $250 million float glass factory in the Western region in partnership with Kida

80

00:06:36,386 --> 00:06:39,178

Gana Ceramics and Chinese investors.

81

00:06:39,178 --> 00:06:46,883

Now this factory will produce flat glass for construction, windows and other industrial

uses.

82

00:06:47,111 --> 00:06:50,354

products that Ghana has historically imported.

83

00:06:50,354 --> 00:07:00,902

So this is the key area that I want to discuss that so much that we've imported from the

West or from other parts of Africa, we're now starting to import, sorry, we're now

84

00:07:00,902 --> 00:07:03,585

starting to create ourselves, which is really important.

85

00:07:03,585 --> 00:07:14,834

So this project will also deepen Ghana and China's industrial corporation and it'll sit

alongside multiple ceramic tile production lines that Kida has already rolled out.

86

00:07:14,834 --> 00:07:16,483

At the same event,

87

00:07:16,483 --> 00:07:26,163

Mahabhar highlighted that Ghana's GDP, yes, as I mentioned earlier on, he also highlighted

that Ghana's GDP has crossed to over 113 billion, so we're on the up guys, which is really

88

00:07:26,163 --> 00:07:27,223

important.

89

00:07:27,443 --> 00:07:34,923

And what's also important to stress here is that he linked this performance already to

industrial expansion.

90

00:07:34,923 --> 00:07:40,123

So facilities like towel plants, sanitary ware, factories, this is now the Float Glass

project.

91

00:07:40,123 --> 00:07:44,323

So there's so many projects going on right now at the same time.

92

00:07:44,343 --> 00:07:46,116

So beyond glass and pasta.

93

00:07:46,116 --> 00:07:54,068

There's also a talk and activity around the world's largest clay cement uh clay based

cement facility, sorry, being anchored in Ghana.

94

00:07:54,068 --> 00:08:04,600

And this aims to use local raw materials for cement production instead of relying so

heavily on the important in the imported clinker.

95

00:08:05,261 --> 00:08:16,383

Now the government is saying and local media saying that these cement investments are

already pushing prices down by around 20 % in the domestic market relieving some pressure.

96

00:08:16,469 --> 00:08:22,141

on the construction sector and on ordinary garnets trying to build, which is really,

really, really important.

97

00:08:22,339 --> 00:08:35,247

We're also seeing the commissioning of various other things, such as modern sanitary ware,

factories, new ceramic tile lines, again, substituting the imports with local production

98

00:08:35,247 --> 00:08:39,169

and opening up export potential into neighbouring countries.

99

00:08:39,169 --> 00:08:44,139

Now, Mahama has been clear in its messaging that garnets should not remain just a buyer of

finished goods.

100

00:08:44,139 --> 00:08:48,400

it must be a manufacturing giant in West Africa.

101

00:08:49,361 --> 00:09:00,664

So when we talk about industrialization inside Ghana, this is one side of the coin, but

the other side of the coin is who we actually go in to sell to, and that's what I want to

102

00:09:00,664 --> 00:09:01,404

discuss now.

103

00:09:01,404 --> 00:09:06,325

So this is where the African continental free trade area comes in.

104

00:09:06,325 --> 00:09:11,971

So this creates a single African market with an estimated combined GDP of over three

trillion dollars.

105

00:09:11,971 --> 00:09:16,291

And this reduces the tariffs and non-tariff barriers among participating countries.

106

00:09:16,291 --> 00:09:22,051

So effectively making it more cost effective to sell across Africa to one another.

107

00:09:22,071 --> 00:09:35,351

And so for a country like Ghana, which already hosts the AFCFTA Secretariat in Accra,

that's a massive opportunity for us to move from just supplying our domestic market to

108

00:09:35,351 --> 00:09:36,611

supplying the entire continent.

109

00:09:36,611 --> 00:09:37,711

And this is a win.

110

00:09:37,711 --> 00:09:41,171

This is another step forward for Ghana, which we really need right now.

111

00:09:41,932 --> 00:09:51,640

If Ghana can get its manufacturing base right from pasta and processed foods to tiles,

glass, sanitary ware and cement, it can plug directly into this continental market with

112

00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:53,721

fewer trade barriers.

113

00:09:54,002 --> 00:10:03,610

Now, Mohamed's narrative is that Ghana must position itself now during his mandate to be

one of those winners, one of the countries that doesn't just consume under this

114

00:10:03,791 --> 00:10:09,271

continental um free trade market, but actually produces at scale and exports.

115

00:10:09,271 --> 00:10:16,016

This means aligning with industrial policy, customs, reforms and infrastructure with this

$3 trillion opportunity.

116

00:10:16,217 --> 00:10:18,609

So how does this affect Ghanaians?

117

00:10:18,609 --> 00:10:21,581

How does this affect the wider diaspora?

118

00:10:21,922 --> 00:10:24,684

want to discuss this right now.

119

00:10:24,684 --> 00:10:26,946

Now, how does this affect all of us?

120

00:10:26,946 --> 00:10:37,244

mean, all of this feeds into Muhammad stated mandate, which is to engineer an economic

reset that shifts Ghana from a fragile import dependent model to a more resilient

121

00:10:37,244 --> 00:10:38,435

production driven

122

00:10:38,435 --> 00:10:42,235

one that keeps more value and brings more cities into the country.

123

00:10:42,355 --> 00:10:53,675

I mean, if we go back only a few years ago, seeing articles like this, know, 2024 from tin

tomatoes, the toilet was gone as costly import bill revealed.

124

00:10:53,675 --> 00:11:02,315

And we're talking, you know, 13.7 billion importing items in 2023, which is absolutely

outstanding.

125

00:11:02,535 --> 00:11:03,975

This is ridiculous.

126

00:11:04,673 --> 00:11:06,384

We need to do a lot better than that.

127

00:11:06,384 --> 00:11:13,537

And which is why I'm really pleased with what the government is currently doing, setting

up all of these different factories and industries, because it's really, really, really

128

00:11:13,537 --> 00:11:14,817

important.

129

00:11:14,817 --> 00:11:26,942

This all feeds into my harm is mandate, and it makes us more of a production driven

country rather than the import driven country, which is the transition that we're going

130

00:11:26,942 --> 00:11:27,853

through right now.

131

00:11:27,853 --> 00:11:33,387

And it brings more value to the country, more investors, and it keeps the strength of the

city high.

132

00:11:33,387 --> 00:11:43,271

So for us as a diaspora, know, for us that maybe lives in Ghana or migrates to Ghana,

we're going to get more for our buck there, which is really, really important.

133

00:11:43,311 --> 00:11:47,973

So as you guys can see, all of these are fantastic.

134

00:11:47,973 --> 00:11:54,566

All these developments, they're fantastic and it's going to push us forward as a country,

but it's not going to be an easy challenge.

135

00:11:54,566 --> 00:12:02,259

Protecting local industries by restricting imports can help domestic factories grow, but

it can also raise concerns about

136

00:12:02,296 --> 00:12:07,637

higher prices for consumers if competition drops or if local producers can become placent.

137

00:12:08,097 --> 00:12:10,898

There are also questions about implementation.

138

00:12:10,898 --> 00:12:14,477

Can customs and border agencies actually enforce these bans?

139

00:12:14,477 --> 00:12:20,230

I mean, that's going to be a challenge in order to do that without creating new

opportunities for corruption and smuggling.

140

00:12:20,230 --> 00:12:23,801

So when you create a new opportunity sometimes, sometimes it creates a new problem.

141

00:12:23,801 --> 00:12:26,722

So that's something that we also need to navigate as a country as well.

142

00:12:26,722 --> 00:12:28,783

Then there's the issue of sustainability.

143

00:12:28,783 --> 00:12:30,765

So for Ghana's industrial boom,

144

00:12:30,765 --> 00:12:33,617

to last, in order for it to last, we need reliable power.

145

00:12:33,617 --> 00:12:38,819

You know, we have the doomsaw, we have the intermittent power challenges as well.

146

00:12:38,819 --> 00:12:47,074

We need efficient ports, we need good roads with solid regulations and access to finance

for small and medium sized suppliers that feed into these big factories.

147

00:12:47,074 --> 00:12:53,257

So we're all going to need to play our part here, you know, in order for us to move

forward, you know, do understand?

148

00:12:53,257 --> 00:12:54,888

It's really, really important.

149

00:12:54,888 --> 00:13:00,911

If we see this article here on LinkedIn, this is from Yanik Deezer, and he says,

150

00:13:01,035 --> 00:13:04,367

Now the bigger picture is by 2050 Africa's urban population will double.

151

00:13:04,367 --> 00:13:06,808

We need to build millions of homes, schools, roads and hospitals.

152

00:13:06,808 --> 00:13:09,740

The real question is what will we build them with?

153

00:13:09,740 --> 00:13:17,064

know, so it's really key that we get our act together so that we can, you know, make

things like this a reality.

154

00:13:17,064 --> 00:13:19,225

It's so, so, so, so important.

155

00:13:19,225 --> 00:13:21,835

Honestly, I can't stress how important it is.

156

00:13:21,835 --> 00:13:22,826

All right.

157

00:13:22,907 --> 00:13:31,117

Now the real test for Mohamed's economic research will be whether five to 10 years from

now these industries are competitive enough to export.

158

00:13:31,117 --> 00:13:40,112

consistently after or under the Africa free trade continental market and not just survive

behind protective walls.

159

00:13:40,172 --> 00:13:43,554

So there you have it my global gardening citizens.

160

00:13:43,554 --> 00:13:45,995

What do you think about all of this?

161

00:13:45,995 --> 00:13:50,918

Are new factories actually operating at high capacity and creating new jobs?

162

00:13:50,918 --> 00:13:54,720

Do export volumes of manufactured goods begin to rise?

163

00:13:54,720 --> 00:14:00,483

Does the city remain relatively stable backed by stronger production and exports?

164

00:14:00,483 --> 00:14:05,883

and do ordinary guardians feel the impact in terms of prices and opportunities?

165

00:14:05,903 --> 00:14:08,843

Let me know your thoughts, always willing to hear from you guys.

166

00:14:08,843 --> 00:14:11,383

Drop a comment below if you're watching or listening on YouTube.

167

00:14:11,383 --> 00:14:14,123

Please hit the like button if you're still with me.

168

00:14:14,123 --> 00:14:17,863

If you're listening to Spotify Apple Podcasts, please leave us a five-star review.

169

00:14:18,023 --> 00:14:21,163

You can drop us a DM on social media as well to let us know your thoughts.

170

00:14:21,163 --> 00:14:24,903

At The Sound Of A Crowd, just search for The Sound of Accra podcast on your social media

platform.

171

00:14:24,903 --> 00:14:26,003

You'll find us there.

172

00:14:26,003 --> 00:14:29,378

Or you can feel free to head over to our website.

173

00:14:29,378 --> 00:14:37,389

you can go to the soundofacriad.com and what you can do there is essentially you can come

to soundofacriad.com and you can literally just leave us a voice note here.

174

00:14:37,389 --> 00:14:44,148

You know, can hit this button, leave a voice note and you know, you'll be able to send a

lovely voice note to us and we will pick it up.

175

00:14:44,148 --> 00:14:45,112

There we go.

176

00:14:45,112 --> 00:14:45,892

Perfect.

177

00:14:45,892 --> 00:14:47,312

So there you have it guys.

178

00:14:47,312 --> 00:14:48,313

Let me know your thoughts.

179

00:14:48,313 --> 00:14:49,953

Looking forward to hearing from you.

180

00:14:50,173 --> 00:14:51,954

If you made it to the end, thank you so much.

181

00:14:51,954 --> 00:14:55,314

God bless and I'll catch you on the next one.

182

00:14:55,314 --> 00:14:56,115

Take care.

183

00:14:56,115 --> 00:14:57,035

Bye bye.