Executive Chairman of the KGL Group and Board Chairman of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Alex Dadey has called on government to focus on diasporan investment as a solution to Ghana’s economic challenges.
In his opening address on Day 1 of the maiden Kwahu Summit under the theme- “AfCFTA: From Ambition to Action- Delivering Prosperity through continental Trade”, Alex Dadey recounted his experiences garnered working at the highest corporate levels on both sides of the Atlantic over the past 30 years. He explained, “During this period of working in the United Kingdom and over 25 countries around the globe, I have remained passionate about, diaspora socio economic inclusion and harnessing technology to push boundaries for advancement in businesses across Africa. Your Excellency, with all this experience across multiple business landscapes and cultures, I can boldly state, without a shred of doubt that the most successful period of my business life has been at home, in Ghana. The opportunities and rewards have been tremendous, and the environment conducive for business. Ghana, like most developing economies, has its share of peculiar challenges, however, for any entrepreneur – foreign or diaspora, driven enough to look beyond these challenges, opportunities will always be presented.”
He added, “Ghana is perfectly placed to attract foreign and diaspora investment, to propel growth by leveraging our abundant natural resources, a youthful population of approximately 57% under the age of 25; and a concerted effort backed by the right policies with a sustainable growth strategy. We must be determined to change strategy and focus away from only exporting our abundant natural resources and low value manufactured products. I believe that the African private sector must be incentivized to invest abroad in developed markets and repatriate profits back home, like our foreign competitors do. This is one the surest ways of shoring up our local currency”.
Ghana’s diaspora community have always contributed to the development of the Ghanaian economy, but Alex Dadey believes a more concerted plan in terms of policy needs to be the next step in order to tap into the full potential of this hitherto untapped asset.
He highlighted, “We need to focus on our Diaspora. They are our most valuable resource. Diaspora Engagement Policies will have to be formulated and incentives given to attract them to invest back home. Diaspora Direct Investment should be our preferred option. The benefits of this approach far outweighs the efforts, compared to that of attracting FDI and loans from Multilateral Institutions like the IMF, which comes with stringent conditionality. Moreover, we should introduce Diaspora investment products like Diaspora Direct Investments, Diaspora Portfolio Investments and Diaspora Philanthropic Investments to our Diaspora, linking them with local entrepreneurs. to realize the diaspora investment potential, individual experiences of Diasporans across the continent, presented in a collective narrative and mapped to a diasporan investment policy will be crucial in unearthing a multi-billion-dollar opportunity. As part of our efforts to attract Diaspora Investment, the key will be to leverage the success stories of diasporans like myself, who have returned home to invest and are thriving in businesses across different sectors, presenting them as models to inspire and assist others identify and realize the many amazing opportunities investing back home presents. This is why I always tell the success story of the KGL Group”.
KGL Group is known for its pioneering advancements in technology, providing state-of-the-art solutions to both private and public sector industry. Most recently, the group has been creating solutions within premix fuel to help support the local fishing industry. KGL Group is a wholly owned Ghanaian group of companies, with interests in Technology Innovation, Fin-Tech, Logistics, Trade, Property Development, Gaming and Commerce. The parent company commands a network of specialized business units that promote efficient solutions and effective tech-based related services to customers across Ghana and partner operating regions.