Creating Markets in Ghana : Country Private Sector Diagnostic
The objective of the Ghana Country Private Sector Diagnostic (CPSD) is to identify the main opportunities for the private sector that will have a strong development impact in Ghana and to highlight the key constraints (both cross-cutting and sector...
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2018
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/536511531311975214/Creating-markets-in-Ghana-country-private-sector-diagnostic http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30212 |
| Summary: | The objective of the Ghana Country
Private Sector Diagnostic (CPSD) is to identify the main
opportunities for the private sector that will have a strong
development impact in Ghana and to highlight the key
constraints (both cross-cutting and sector-specific)
hampering private sector growth. The CPSD consists of a
systematic assessment of all of Ghana’s economic sectors
along two dimensions: (a) desirability: how private
investments in these sectors could help Ghana to address its
development challenges; and (b) expected feasibility: how
the constraints standing in the way could be removed. This
sector scan led to identification seven priority sectors, of
which, three were selected to conduct deep dive studies:
namely agribusiness, ICT and education.Four main
opportunities exist for the private sector to make a major
contribution by creating markets in Ghana. First, the
private sector can help to develop new high-value export
markets, such as horticulture and ICT-enabled services, in
which Ghana is already well positioned. Second, the private
sector can leverage ICT to improve the performance of
Ghana’s most important sectors, including for improving
government activities and services. Third, the private
sector can help to promote efficiency and innovation in the
key social sectors of education and health. Fourth, the
private sector can play an important role in helping to
address the main cross-cutting constraints, such as
facilitating trade, providing competitive green energy,
opening rural land markets, developing technical skills, and
financing promising small and medium enterprises
(SMEs).There are fewer opportunities for transformative
private sector investments in the other sectors (mining,
tourism, retail, construction, water and sanitation, and
manufacturing).Ghana can seize these opportunities through a
mix of public and private interventions:The government
should pursue essential economic reforms to resolve the
energy crisis by reforming the regulatory framework for
electricity tariffs; facilitating trade, through customs
reforms and the Ghana Community Network Systems;These
reforms would pave the way for the private sector to invest
in projects with a high development impact, including
through large firms. Such opportunities already exist in
Ghana in the three priority sectors of ICT, agribusiness and
education that are reviewed in this report.The government
should also consider supporting the entry of ‘pioneer’
investors, which are often in the form of foreign direct
investment (FDI).Supporting promising SMEs will also be
critical, especially during their acceleration phase.This
could be achieved through a combination of public financing
and capacity building, technical support adapted to the
sector in which they operate, and risk-sharing and mezzanine
finance facilities. Similar to the pioneer investors, such
support should be provided in an inclusive, transparent and
competitive manner. Examples of promising SMEs were found in
all three deep-dive sectors. |
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