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Ghana’s pursuit of middle-income status, bolstered by developments in the oil and gas sector, has put a corresponding strain on its transport networks, particularly at ports and airports. The government has committed to expanding facilities at airports to better meet the demands of a rising number of flights and an increasing amount of passengers. The first step of the proposed improvement works at Tema and Takoradi ports will be a dredging operation increasing draught to 16 metres at each facility. Major road upgrades include the Eastern Corridor Roads Project, which commenced in 2012 and will rehabilitate 800 km of road between Tema and Kulungugu. The government is seeking to improve these facilities through public-private partnerships. Although the largest projects will take some time in coming to fruition, the government has shown strong commitment to bolstering economic growth through infrastructure enhancement. This chapter contains interviews with Nils Smedegaard Andersen, Group CEO, A.P. Moller-Maersk Group; and Doreen Owusu-Fianko, Managing Director, Ghana Airports Company.

With the economy growing at record rates, the authorities are working to keep pace with rising demand for water, power and sanitation. Compared to many neighbouring countries, Ghana’s utilities are in healthy standing, though the sector has not been without problems. The country’s water and sanitation systems are in need of improvement; only 64% of the population had access to clean water and 15% to adequate sanitation as of 2010. While Ghana has excess installed electric capacity, the Volta River Authority plants have not been operating at full capacity due to natural gas shortages and underperformance. To better supply growing electricity demand, the government plans to increase installed capacity to 3160 MW by 2015. Moreover, the government recently completed a master plan allowing the Ghana Grid Company to begin refurbishing and replacing outdated infrastructure. With new projects either on schedule for completion or about to be launched, Ghana’s water and power sector is likely to improve in the short term. This chapter contains interviews with Kweku A Awotwi, Chief Executive, Volta River Authority; and Charles Darku, Former CEO, GRID.

Often referred to as the backbone of Ghana’s economy, agriculture has traditionally been the largest sector and the biggest employer in the country, bolstered by diverse commodities and strong ties to European markets. However, agriculture’s economic contribution has dwindled as the sector has shown low growth in recent years. Its contribution to GDP fell in 2012, totalling 22.7% of GDP, compared to 25.3% in 2011. To counter this, the Food and Agricultural Sector Development Plan features six priority themes. Cash crops form a significant portion of exports, although transport gaps and seasonal production continue to be issues. The government is using growing petroleum revenues to beef up funding allocation for agricultural modernisation. Around $10.3m of the Annual Budget Funding Amount will be spent on the sector annually from 2013-23. As the government continues to expand and modernise agriculture, the industry should see steady growth over the coming years. This chapter contains an interview with Sunny Verghese, Group Managing Director and CEO, Olam International.

Since the discovery of offshore oil in 2007, Ghana has been adapting to the new reality of its hydrocarbons economy. In 2012 production at the Jubilee field increased 15% year-on-year to reach 27.4m barrels of crude oil, the entirety of which was exported for nearly $3bn. Oil production from the Jubilee field will likely plateau at around 140,000 bpd from 2013 to 2023. Gas production is also expected to peak at around 100m standard cu feet per day in 2015. The infrastructure needed to transport and process Jubilee’s gas resources is not expected to be complete until after 2013. As the gas processing plant nears completion in 2014, Ghana will be able to link its hydrocarbons output with its energy needs, bringing stability to the nation’s electricity sector. With GDP forecast to grow 8-9% in 2013, oil production and demand are both sure to continue rising. This chapter contains interviews with Kwesi Botchwey, Chairman, Ghana National Gas Company; and Aidan Heavey, CEO, Tullow Oil.

While insurance penetration is still modest by emerging market standards, headline indicators are improving significantly. Over the past five years, revenue from insurance premiums has averaged 32% growth, with the life segment seeing 38.1% expansion over this same period. Microinsurance is expected to be a major growth driver given the cost-sensitivity of policies. As of 2010, between 160,000 and 250,000 people in the country had a microinsurance policy. Improved social and living conditions point to rising demand for insurance services in Ghana. Indeed, six of the world’s 10 fastest-growing economies over the past decade were in sub-Saharan Africa, including Ghana. Staff training, a concentrated market and a lack of capacity continue to be constraints, but recent reforms to boost capitalisation, encourage consolidation and improve awareness are set to help pave the way for continued increases in premiums. This chapter contains an interview with Lydia Lariba Bawa, Commissioner, National Insurance Commission.

While Ghana benefits from a roster of financial actors, the country’s capital markets are modest compared to continental exchanges in Cairo, Johannesburg, Lagos and Casablanca. The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) has just 36 equities and one exchange-traded fund listed on its equities exchange alongside a bond market dominated by government securities. In recent years the requirements for listing have been reduced, while the GSE has also been educating Ghanaians about the benefits of raising capital through equity. There is a long list of state-owned enterprises that could list on the bourse, and their doing so might encourage more private firms to follow suit. Ghana’s capital markets remain extremely attractive to investors seeking a toehold in the West African sub-region, in light of its robust growth, diversified commodity exports and political stability. This chapter contains an interview with Kofi Yamoah, Managing Director, Ghana Stock Exchange, and a viewpoint from David Awuah-Darko, Managing Director, IC Securities.