Ghana Not Seeking Sympathy, GEXIM Chair Tells US Summit

GEXIM Chair pitches Ghana as investment gateway, cites recovery and expanded export bank

Ghana has told American investors that it is not coming to the United States with an outstretched hand, but with an extended one, as the governing board chairman of the Ghana Export-Import Bank (GEXIM), Dr Joseph Nyarkotei Dorh, used a major trade summit in Cincinnati to reposition Ghana as a commercial partner rather than an aid recipient.

Speaking at the Africa America Trade & Investment Summit 2026, Dr Dorh invoked Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, saying Ghana “faces neither East nor West” but forward. “We have come to Cincinnati to speak the language of commerce,” he said. “Buyer and seller. Investor and enterprise. Partner and partner.”

The GEXIM chairman presented Ghana’s economic recovery as the foundation of the pitch. He said the economy grew by 6 per cent in 2025 and again in the second quarter of 2026, while inflation fell to 5 per cent in August 2026 from 22.9 per cent in 2024. The IMF has recognised gains in stabilisation, including stronger reserves and improved fiscal performance, he added.

Dr Dorh also announced that GEXIM’s loan portfolio had grown from under $70 million to nearly $300 million by the end of 2025, reaching hundreds of Ghanaian businesses. The bank’s 2025–2030 strategy focuses on agro-processing, garments and apparel, pharmaceuticals, industrial oils, and food value chains such as rice and poultry.

He cited the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), reauthorised through December 2028, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), whose secretariat is in Accra, as key advantages for American firms.

“Ghana does not arrive with an outstretched hand. We arrive with an extended one,” Dr Dorh said. “An outstretched hand asks; an extended hand offers.”

He ended with a direct appeal: “Let us not leave Cincinnati with only handshakes and business cards. Let us leave with commitments.”