The delegation that led the peace talks

Ghana and other African countries are fast becoming top priorities for Finland in the area of development cooperation, business and investment.

Two weeks ago, the Government of Finland and the Government of Ghana signed an agreement on projects to be funded under Finland’s Public Sector Investment Facility (PIF) Scheme, on the margins of a trade and investment mission to Finland.

The PIF Scheme is a Finnish financing instrument designed to support public sector investments in developing countries in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, utilising Finnish technology and expertise.

Both Ghana and Finland already cooperate in many areas, and increasing and strengthening the areas of cooperation has come to the top of the agenda in recent years.

Business forums

For some weeks now, there have also been some business or trade and investment forums in Helsinki.

The signing of the PIF Scheme agreement was followed the next day by the Ghana-Finland business forum where some Ghanaian and Finnish companies shared experiences and explored possibilities for partnerships.

The Finnish Ministry has been encouraging Finnish companies to look for opportunities in Ghana.

There are many areas for possible partnership in business and investment in Ghana, including solar power, waste management and waste or renewable energy, health, environment, education, and ICT (Information and Communication Technology), especially ICTs for girls’ education.

The Finnish Foreign Ministry, through Finnpartnership, has been connecting Finnish companies to their Ghanaian counterparts.

Finnpartnership promotes business activities and partnerships with the aim of generating positive development impacts in the target country (see www.finnpartnership.fi).

Another meeting, the Sierra Leone/Finnish Investment Forum, takes place next week, 11-12 October 2022, in Helsinki.It is aimed at promoting investment opportunities for stakeholders.

Finland’s Africa strategy

All these indicate Finland’s commitment to strengthen ties with African countries through trade and investment strategies.

Last year, Finland drew up an African strategy in order to promote Finland’s ties with African countries.

The strategy, “Finland’s Africa Strategy—Towards stronger political and economic partnership”, was approved by the Finnish Government in March 2021.

The strategy is to be used to diversify and deepen Finland’s relations with African countries, the African Union and regional organisations, with a focus on political and economic relations (see https://um.fi/about-finland-s-africa-strategy).

Partnerships for Finnish and Ghanaian companies

There seem to be many possibilities for partnerships between Ghanaian and Finnish companies.

While trade between Finland and Ghana remains relatively modest, there is growing interest among Finnish companies towards investing in Ghana, such as in solar power or turning waste material into energy.

I think many Ghanaian companies are also looking for Finnish counterparts for investment efforts in Ghana.

The ball is now in the court of all stakeholders, including Ghanaian diaspora companies in Finland, Finnish companies and companies in Ghana, to seek one another.

Thank you.

By Perpetual Crentsil