Ghana is fast emerging as a preferred market for Dubai-based companies that are looking to expand their presence into Africa and tap into new investment opportunities. A number of factors have been fueling this trend, such as ongoing efforts by the Ghanaian government to open up various sectors of the economy to foreign investors and diversify the country’s trade relationships.
On the other hand, companies in Dubai have capitalised on trade potential that Ghana offers. Dubai’s non-oil trade with Ghana in 2020 despite the pandemic reached $2.1 billion which is the highest since 2014, registering a 77.3% growth compared to 2018.
The evolving Dubai-Ghana trade relationship will be front and centre at the Global Business Forum Africa (GBF Africa), the first major business forum taking place at Expo 2020 Dubai. The mega event is the first-ever World Expo to be hosted in the Middle East, Africa, and South Africa (MEASA) region.
Ghana is market of strategic importance to Dubai and a gateway for UAE companies to access promising markets across West Africa. Last year, the country ranked sixth on Dubai’s list of African trading partners, with non-oil trade between the two exceeding USD2.1 billion. In the first five months of this year, Ghana ranked second in the West Africa region for Dubai Chamber members exports and re-exports,
One of the major factors which has enabled Dubai to build itself into a global business hub is its outward and inclusive approach to expanding its trade relationships and attracting companies, investors and specialized talent from around the world.
In recent years, several initiatives and incentives have been rolled out to boost Dubai’s value proposition to businesses and investors and enhance the emirate’s economic competitiveness.
Competitive advantages offered include 100% foreign ownership, 10-year and 5 year “golden” residency visas, virtual working visas, world-class infrastructure, excellence logistics facilities, strategic geographic position enabling easy access to markets across the GCC, Middle East, Africa and Asia.
It was recently announced that a new “green visa” will soon be introduced to expand the self-residency status (in other words employer sponsorship is not required) to investors, entrepreneurs, highly skilled individuals, top students and graduates.
Recently, a new foreign trade strategy was announced by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to raise the value of the emirate’s trade to AED 2 trillion ($544 million) over the next five years.
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