Ghana to Create Diaspora Savings and Investment Account – Minister

Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance, announced his intention to create a Diaspora Savings and Investment Account to attract people of African American descent to invest in different sectors of the country.

Dubbed the African Sankofa Account, the plan, due to be rolled out over the next three months, will explore ways to target African retailers other than institutional investors in the Caribbean and the Americas.

The decision is to build on the successes of the Year of Return, which marked 400 years of slavery, and empower people in the diaspora to see Ghana as a major investment destination.

“There are going to be a number of meetings between the Ministry, Bank of Ghana and Ghana Investment Promotion Center to discuss so that we create this instrument, which will allow funds to flow and how to get the retail impact of this account. investment, ”Ofori-Atta said at a press conference in Accra on Thursday.

“We expect that we will be able to attract around $ 3 billion, the same level of remittances currently in a year or two,” the minister added.

Mr. Ofori-Atta said the account will be a vehicle for the issuance of diaspora bonds in the future.

Ms. Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, said the plan to establish the account was in line with the ministry’s vision and engagement with people in the diaspora.

She said the ministry had had investment engagement discussions with people who visited the country on investment opportunities in the return year.

“But we also recognized that not everyone has the capacity to make huge investments. Some of them are also available to make small contributions and I think these accounts will give everyone the opportunity to make an investment in Ghana and Africa, ”Ms. Oteng-Gyasi said.

The program is also linked to the Beyond Return program, which has seven main pillars, including; investment by giving the opportunity to the global African family to invest in a bond or any other investment vehicle that the Ministry of Finance has deemed appropriate.

Mr. Akwasi Ababio, Director of Diaspora Affairs in the President’s Office, said the President’s recently launched Beyond Return initiative has three key pillars out of the seven focused on investing through real estate, investment products and the development of the country’s heritage. tourist infrastructure.

Source: GNA