The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority (GIPA), Simon Madjie, has called for a more strategic mobilisation of domestic and regional capital to finance Africa’s oil and gas industry and accelerate industrial development across the continent.
Speaking at the AOW Energy 2026 Conference in Accra, Madjie said Africa must increasingly rely on its own financial resources to unlock investment opportunities across the energy value chain rather than depending predominantly on external financing.
He identified pension funds and diaspora remittances as two of the continent’s most significant yet underutilised sources of long-term capital that could be channelled into strategic investments in the oil and gas sector.
According to him, Africans living abroad remit billions of dollars to the continent every year, but much of the money is used for consumption instead of being directed into structured investment vehicles capable of driving industrial growth and economic transformation.
Madjie stressed that creating the right investment frameworks would enable governments and the private sector to attract more diaspora capital into productive sectors of the economy.
He also advocated greater regional integration and specialisation within Africa’s oil and gas industry, urging countries to focus on areas where they possess competitive advantages while collaborating to strengthen the continent’s energy value chain.
Such an approach, he said, would improve efficiency, enhance value addition and position African economies to benefit more from their natural resources.
Madjie further outlined reforms introduced under the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority Act, 2026 (Act 1173), describing them as key measures to improve the country’s investment climate.
Among the major changes, he highlighted the removal of the blanket minimum capital requirement for foreign investors, saying the reform is expected to make Ghana more competitive and attractive to investors while encouraging greater private sector participation.
He said the reforms underscore Ghana’s commitment to creating a more business-friendly environment capable of attracting quality investment and supporting sustainable economic growth.
