Excellencies,
Distinguished ministers,
Captains of industry,
Chairman of Enterprise Singapore,
Minister Grace,
Friends of Africa and Asia,
Good morning. It is a privilege to open my State Visit to Singapore here at the 8th Africa‑Singapore Business Forum.
This is my very first engagement in Singapore over the next three days, and there could be no better place to start than in the company of the builders of prosperity—our entrepreneurs, investors, innovators and policymakers who turn ideas into jobs and growth.
I thank Minister Grace for her warm welcome and insightful remarks, and I appreciate the leadership of the Chairman and the entire team at Enterprise Singapore in bringing together this platform.
Over the next three days, I look forward to constructive meetings with Prime Minister Wong and President Tharman, I look forward to instructive industry roundtables and site visits, and to deepening our understanding of Singapore’s remarkable journey—your excellence in logistics and ports, your discipline in public administration, your remarkable devotion to a sustainable environment, and your success in cultivating skills and innovation.
We are here to learn, to partner, and to deliver.
The theme—Bridging Capabilities, Charting Sustainable Growth—speaks to a partnership that is both urgent and full of promise. We live in a rapidly changing world. The post-Cold War world ushered in the era of globalisation.
It sparked much excitement about the endless possibilities open to mankind to create prosperity for most of the world’s population. The cheers and backslapping that celebrated the MDGs, which pulled 1 billion of the world’s people out of poverty, are becoming just a pleasant memory of the past.
The death knell of multilateralism is sounding. Global relations are becoming more transactional. Tariffs and retaliatory tariffs are flying fast and furious. The effects on the global economy are still to be well understood.
In these unpredictable times, we must forge new alliances and open new opportunities and possibilities. We must explore new markets and new investment spaces.
In a world of tightened financial conditions, fragile supply chains and rising protectionism, South–South collaboration is not optional; it is essential. Africa and Singapore must be champions of open markets, trusted rules and practical partnerships that deliver jobs, technology transfer and shared prosperity.
Africa and Asia are the two youngest, fastest‑urbanising regions in the world. We are complementary in resources, markets and know‑how. And the numbers tell a clear story: Africa‑Singapore trade rose by about 50 per cent between 2020 and 2024 to nearly US$14 billion, with West Africa accounting for more than half of that.
Ghana‑Singapore trade has also grown, reaching over US$215 million in 2024.
I speak today as an African leader and as President of Ghana. Our message is simple: Africa is investable, and Ghana is your reliable gateway to the continent. The continent is the world’s most dynamic emerging market.
We are 1.4 billion people today—young, fast-urbanising, digitally connected—and by 2030, Africa’s cities will host more than 700 million consumers.
The African Continental Free Trade Area is the largest new free trade area in the world by number of countries, and this has created a $3.4 trillion market and lowered barriers across supply chains.
Africa holds vast renewable energy potential and is already a global leader in mobile money and fintech adoption. This is a market ready for scaled solutions. Yet this opportunity must be matched with capital at the right price and with the right instruments.
As the African Union Champion on Financial Institutions, I must be candid: the current global financial architecture remains inequitable for low- and middle-income countries.
Africa faces an annual financing gap estimated at $1.3 trillion. Infrastructure needs alone run between $181 and $221 billion per year through 2030, and the climate finance gap is about $213 billion annually.
We are taking steps to build an African financial system that works for Africa; accelerate the African Monetary Institute as a precursor to the African Central Bank, and link ten (10) major stock exchanges through the African Exchanges Linkage Project to enhance liquidity.
We are also scaling the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System to enable businesses to settle cross-border trade in local currencies. This is where Singapore’s strengths can be catalytic.
Singapore stands at the nexus of global finance, fintech, logistics and green innovation.
Your excellence in project preparation, blended finance, risk management, standards and dispute resolution is precisely what African projects need to move from pipeline to bankable to build.
As host of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, Ghana sits at the heart of the US$3.4 trillion single market. Through ECOWAS, we connect you to more than 400 million consumers in West Africa.
We offer political stability, a rules‑based environment, a double taxation agreement with Singapore in force since 2019, and a growing base of Singaporean investors—69 companies registered with cumulative investments exceeding US$2 billion.
Ghana is, therefore, a trusted entry point to scale across the continent. We know credibility is earned. We are pursuing a deliberate national reset: stabilising the macroeconomy, restoring confidence and reforming how we do business.
Inflation is easing, the cedi has stabilised, and ratings outlooks are improving.
We are simplifying regulations through our Business Regulatory Reforms, and we are reviewing our Investment Promotion Act—including the removal of minimum capital thresholds for foreign investors—to make it easier and faster to partner, whether through joint ventures or wholly‑owned investments.
The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre now provides sector‑specific, region‑by‑region opportunity maps to help investors make decisions based on credible data.
Our economic strategy is anchored in productivity, exports and jobs. We call it the 24‑Hour Economy—for a reason. Ghana is OPEN FOR BUSINESS 24 hours a day.
We are aligning infrastructure, incentives, and skills so factories, farms, ports, and service centres can operate round-the-clock shifts safely and competitively. At the core of this is the Volta Economic Corridor—our most ambitious integrated development to date.
The Volta Corridor has four pillars:
Grow24: irrigating more than two million hectares for year‑round farming.
Make24: agro‑industrial parks for textiles, pharmaceuticals and food processing.
Show24: tourism and hospitality along one of the world’s great inland lakes.
Connect24: transforming Lake Volta into a cost‑efficient inland transport spine, reducing logistics costs and linking farms, factories and markets.
We are complementing this with catalytic projects—the Legon Pharmaceutical Innovation Park, the Kumasi Machinery and Technology Park, the Akosombo‑Juapong Garments and Textiles Park, Digital TVET Centres of Excellence, and renewable energy corridors.
Our Big Push Infrastructure programme will accelerate roads, power and digital connectivity to crowd‑in private capital and unlock scale.
Singapore’s strengths align perfectly with Africa’s and Ghana’s priorities.
Allow me to propose five practical pillars where we can bridge capabilities and chart shared growth:
1. Efficient, green supply chains: Partner with Ghana to modernise ports, inland waterways and cold chains. Your world‑class logistics and standards can reduce Africa’s trade costs and unlock export competitiveness.
2. Agribusiness and food systems: From precision irrigation to processing and packaging, Singaporean tecnology and African scale can turn our farms into reliable suppliers for Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
3. Clean energy and carbon markets: Ghana and Singapore signed an Article 6 Implementation Agreement in 2024. We have established a Carbon Markets Office and Ghana Carbon Registry, anchored in new environmental legislation, to ensure transparency and alignment with international standards. Invest with us in renewable energy, waste‑to‑energy, regenerative agriculture and forestry. Generate high‑integrity credits while delivering jobs, clean air and resilience.
4. Digital economy and services: Build with us on e‑payments, cybersecurity, digital ID and smart government. Create BPO and shared‑service hubs to serve Africa from Accra, 24/7.
5. Advanced manufacturing and critical minerals: Ghana has strong manganese output and significant lithium potential, alongside graphite, gold, copper and rare earth prospects. Our policy is value addition at home—battery precursors, components and downstream manufacturing—powered by clean energy and world‑class standards.
Enterprise Singapore has been an outstanding partner in building these bridges, helping Ghanaian firms access Asian markets and enabling Singaporean champions to succeed in Ghana.
We deeply appreciate this.
Together, we can scale what works—project preparation, blended finance, guarantee instruments, and SME matchmaking—so that more deals move from MoUs to operations.
To the business leaders in this room, I want to extend a special invitation. On day three of this State Visit, as part of the Africa Forum, we will host a Presidential Business Roundtable.
Join us. Bring your teams. Put Ghana’s readiness to the test. We will showcase bankable projects, provide direct access to our regulators, outline incentives for strategic investors and offer a one‑stop investor concierge so decisions can be made quickly and confidently.
Our proposition is straightforward:
– A stable, reform‑minded country, connected to the AfCFTA, designed for scale.
– A 24‑Hour Economy that matches your need for speed, reliability and standards.
– A pipeline of investable projects in agribusiness, logistics, manufacturing, energy, digital and tourism.
– A partner that values integrity, predictability and long‑term relationships.
In return, Ghana and Africa ask for what Singapore does best: practical collaboration, technology transfer, disciplined project execution, blended finance, and a shared commitment to skills development.
When Singaporean and African firms collaborate, we will create jobs for our youth, diversify global supply chains, and drive growth in sustainability.
Thank you.
