President John Dramani Mahama rang the opening bell at the Nasdaq Stock Exchange on Tuesday, using the high-profile moment to spotlight a slate of pro-market reforms aimed at positioning the West African nation as a more competitive destination for global capital.
Mahama’s appearance, which included a prominent Nasdaq billboard in Times Square bearing his image and the message “Ghana is Open for Business,” came ahead of a U.S.-Ghana Executive Business Roundtable co-hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre.
The event drew executives and investors from the fintech, manufacturing, and energy sectors, many of whom were briefed on new measures rolled out by Mahama’s administration to liberalize Ghana’s investment climate.
Among the headline reforms: the elimination of minimum capital requirements for foreign investors and the introduction of a residency-by-investment program. Ghanaian officials project the new initiative could attract between $5 billion and $10 billion in foreign inflows by 2028.
The policy moves come as Mahama seeks to reframe Ghana not only as a gateway to West Africa’s 400 million-strong market, but as a stable and investor-friendly economy in a region often overshadowed by political and fiscal volatility.
President Mahama is in New York for the 80th United Nations General Assembly, where he is expected to advocate for global financial reform and deeper economic integration across Africa. His administration has pitched the latest reforms as a foundation for long-term growth and macroeconomic resilience, following years of pandemic-induced setbacks and commodity market turbulence.
“We are laying the groundwork for a new era of inclusive growth driven by private capital,” Mahama said at the roundtable. “The world is looking for the next frontier. Ghana intends to be at the center of it.”
