HE Papa Owusu-Ankomah, Ghana’s High Commissioner to UK & Republic of Ireland, has urged UK businesses to partner the Ghanaian private sector especially at a time that the country seeks to expand its manufacturing base within the sub-region. The High Commissioner made this call at the Hogan Lovells Africa Forum held in London.

The Forum is one of the prestigious events in London and this year’s theme was ‘Africa Making an Impact’. The event attracted good patronage from all sectors of the economy, and the platform was also used to showcase the growing African start-ups and FinTech industry. Most of the discussions centred on how to review some of the underlying issues around Africa’s current position which could offer solutions for how companies and countries could make an impact in their local communities as well as in a global marketplace.

In a panel discussion, H.E Papa Owusu-Ankomah and his colleagues H.E. Yamina Karitanyi High Commissioner for the Republic of Rwanda and H.E. Rui Carneiro Mangueira Ambassador of the Republic of Angola underscored the need for potential investors to see Africa as the new frontier for investment. The High Commissioner pointed out that so far, the narrative on Africa has changed with many global powers seeking to increase their influence and investment portfolio on the continent.

HE Papa Owusu-Ankomah, however, made a passionate appeal to UK businesses to take advantage of what the continent offers with the impending set up of largest continental free trade in the world. He urged the participants and potential investors to take advantage of the growing youth population, with an ever-increasing middle class coupled with the emerging FinTech platform and strong economic performances in most African countries to invest.