Ghana’s industrial future is a hot topic, especially concerning its partnerships with global economic powerhouses like Germany. However, a prominent Ghanaian policy analyst is calling for a significant rethink of this relationship, arguing that the current focus on skills training and small business support, while valuable, simply won’t cut it for Ghana’s ambitious 24-Hour Economy (24HE) initiative.
Bright Simons, in a recently published paper, challenges the very foundation of how Germany engages with Ghana’s industrial transformation agenda. He posits that relying primarily on classroom training and bolstering small businesses, while well-intentioned, is structurally incapable of delivering the robust, industrialized economy Ghana desperately needs.
Think about it: building a truly industrialized nation requires more than just a skilled workforce or a vibrant SME sector. It demands significant investment in large-scale industrial projects, technology transfer, and the establishment of new, major manufacturing capabilities. Simons’ core argument is that Germany, with its formidable industrial might and technological prowess, should be engaging Ghana not just as a recipient of development aid or skills training, but as a strategic partner in building industrial ‘spearheads’.
These ‘spearheads’ would represent flagship industrial ventures, perhaps joint ventures or German-backed large-scale projects, designed to kickstart entire new sectors or significantly expand existing ones with cutting-edge technology and substantial production capacity. This kind of engagement goes beyond mere capacity building; it’s about transferring industrial muscle and fostering a paradigm shift in Ghana’s economic structure.
The 24HE initiative isn’t just about keeping businesses open longer; it’s about maximizing productivity, creating high-value jobs, and integrating Ghana more deeply into global supply chains as a producer, not just a consumer. To achieve this, Ghana needs partners who are willing to invest in, and help build, the foundational industrial infrastructure that can operate around the clock and compete on a global scale.
Simons’ paper is a crucial call to action, urging both Ghanaian and German policymakers to elevate their engagement. While skill development is essential for any modern economy, it must be complemented by — or even driven by — tangible, large-scale industrial investment and strategic partnerships that truly catalyze transformative growth. Without these industrial spearheads, Ghana risks remaining in a cycle of incremental progress, rather than making the bold leap towards the industrialized future it envisions.
Source: Original Article
