Ghana will participate in the inaugural International Investment Forum in Burkina Faso (FIIBF) this week, with a high-level delegation traveling to Ouagadougou to explore trade partnerships and investment opportunities across West Africa.
The two-day forum, scheduled for October 9 to 10, 2025, will bring together heads of state, investors, and industry leaders to strengthen regional economic integration and promote investment-led growth across key sectors including agribusiness, manufacturing, and renewable energy.
Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, Ghana’s Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, has charged the delegation with representing the nation with excellence and positioning Ghana’s private sector as a leading investment partner in the sub-region. Deputy Minister Sampson Ahi will lead the Ghanaian contingent at the event.
Speaking during a pre-departure engagement in Accra, Ofosu-Adjare reaffirmed the government’s commitment to deepening regional cooperation and promoting business collaboration across West Africa. She urged delegates to actively engage investors, showcase Ghanaian products, and forge partnerships that drive long-term value creation.
The minister emphasized that Ghana’s business community is eager to participate not only to exhibit products but also to deepen engagement beyond the forum itself. She called on participants to project the nation’s values, innovation, resilience, and enterprise throughout the event.
Burkina Faso’s Ambassador to Ghana welcomed the delegation’s participation, noting that the presence of the Deputy Minister and other officials would be a great honor. He stressed that Ghana’s involvement demonstrates continued commitment to regional integration and a shared vision for sustainable development within the sub-region.
The forum will feature a high-level session between Burkina Faso’s head of state and major investors, focusing on the country’s development priorities and incentives designed to attract foreign direct investment. More than 400 participants representing approximately 40 countries have reportedly registered for the inaugural event.
The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Craft of Burkina Faso is organizing the forum, which aims to create a strategic business platform for sharing expertise, networking, and highlighting reforms intended to create a more enabling environment for investors within the sub-region and beyond.
Ghana’s participation reinforces ongoing efforts to position West Africa as a competitive investment destination by encouraging joint ventures, enhancing market access, and facilitating cross-border trade. The forum arrives at a time when regional economic cooperation faces both opportunities and challenges.
Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger jointly announced their exit from ECOWAS, which became effective January 29, 2025, though Burkina Faso remains in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). This political development adds complexity to regional economic integration efforts but has not diminished interest in bilateral trade relationships.
The Ghanaian delegation’s mandate includes exploring opportunities across multiple sectors where Ghana maintains competitive advantages. The country’s established manufacturing base, relatively developed financial services sector, and agricultural processing capabilities position it as a potential partner for Burkina Faso’s development priorities.
Burkina Faso has been working to create an environment conducive to private sector investment despite security challenges in parts of the country. The government has identified mining, particularly gold production, and agriculture as priority sectors for foreign investment and partnership.
For Ghana, the forum represents an opportunity to expand export markets for processed goods and to position Ghanaian companies as partners in value chain development. The country has pursued regional market expansion as part of broader economic diversification efforts aimed at reducing dependence on traditional commodity exports.
The timing of the forum coincides with renewed emphasis across West Africa on intra-regional trade as a driver of economic resilience. Regional organizations and member states have increasingly recognized that economic integration can help buffer individual countries against external economic shocks.
Ghana’s active participation in the forum signals continued commitment to regional partnerships even as some West African nations navigate political transitions and security challenges. The delegation will seek to demonstrate that economic cooperation can transcend political complexities when mutual benefits are clear.
The forum is expected to produce concrete outcomes including memoranda of understanding between private sector entities, identification of joint venture opportunities, and frameworks for enhanced trade facilitation between participating countries.
As the delegation prepares to depart, expectations center on Ghana’s ability to showcase its private sector capabilities while identifying genuine partnership opportunities that extend beyond the forum itself. The minister’s emphasis on sustained engagement reflects recognition that such events serve as starting points rather than endpoints for meaningful economic relationships.
