The 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated
Export Development Secretariat has appealed to the private sector to partner
with the government to drive infrastructure delivery and industrial expansion
under the 24-Hour Economy programme.
The call was made by the Head of
Programmes and Strategy at the Secretariat, Abdul Nasser Alidu, at the AGI
National Council Retreat 2026 held in Accra. The retreat was held under the
theme, “Sustaining Economic Stability to Drive Industrial Growth.”
Addressing members of the Association
of Ghana Industries, Mr. Alidu stated that the 24-Hour Economy is fundamentally
a private sector–led initiative and will only achieve its objectives through
structured collaboration with industry players, investors, and financial
institutions.
“We want partnership,” Mr. Alidu stated.
“We are inviting private sector players with the capital and technical capacity
to work with us to develop industrial parks and agroecological parks under
models that ensure sustainability and profitability.”
He explained that beyond
infrastructure development, the programme requires businesses to establish
operations within the parks being developed. Using the Pharmaceutical
Innovation Park in Akuse as an example, he indicated that land has been secured
and an anchor investor identified, but additional firms are needed to establish
production facilities and anchor the ecosystem.
According to him, financial
institutions and fund managers also have a critical role to play by providing
long-term and affordable financing to support infrastructure developers and
enterprises operating within the 24-Hour Economy framework.
Abdul Nasser-Alidu further assured
members of the Association of Ghana Industries that the Secretariat is
committed to advocating at the highest levels of government to address
structural constraints affecting the private sector. He said such constraints
include market access, incentive structures, productivity barriers, and other
regulatory and operational bottlenecks.
He stressed that the programme places
deliberate emphasis on empowering Ghanaian businesses, particularly small and
medium-sized enterprises, to become central actors in the country’s industrial
transformation.
The engagement forms part of ongoing
consultations between the Secretariat and key industry stakeholders aimed at
strengthening collaboration and ensuring the effective rollout of the 24-Hour
Economy agenda.
END.
