Ghana was the first African nation to gain independence from the UK, in 1957, and is among the most stable countries in Africa.

Ghana’s economy remains heavily reliant on its abundance of natural resources, including gold, diamonds, manganese and bauxite, as well as vast areas of arable land. Ghana and neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire are the largest producers of cocoa in the world. Free trade and enterprise dominate the Ghanaian economic structure today. During the last decade, Ghana has implemented the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy I & II.

Ghana has enjoyed a highly stable and peaceful environment for a long time, which remains critical to economic growth in Africa. Ghana has therefore become attractive to many investors from around the world and is increasingly becoming the preferred Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) destination in the region. The population is generally well-educated and has an active culture of entrepreneurship, supported by an active diaspora, primarily in the UK, USA and Canada, that repatriates a significant capital to Ghana, thereby further contributing to the country’s resources and access to capital.

The economic and political stability of Ghana, coupled with steady improvement in international rankings on several key metrics, lead many to believe that Ghana is poised to move onto a higher growth trajectory. What’s more, the country continues to enjoy extensive and rapid infrastructural development. Despite all this, poverty remains pervasive in Ghana, which has an income per capita of $1600. As in most places in developing countries, poverty rates and poor infrastructure impact rural communities most acutely.

The Ghanaian Cedi (GHS) has depreciated annually by almost 7% against the Euro over the past three years, but seems to have stabilized in 2011. The Cedi has, so far, avoided the large depreciations experienced by the East African Shilling currencies in 2011. Ghana applies a withholding tax on interests earned, which is applied to Investor and MYC4 earnings.