“We are going to undertake a comprehensive rebranding because we want to rake in investments to the tune of GH¢5 billion and above in a year and not GH¢5 billion in four years. This we will do by making sure the bride called Ghana is looking beautiful, attractive and respective.”

In an interview with the Daily Graphic about his plans to revive the image of the centre as a focal point that will attract investment into the country, he said: “Many countries in the world such as India, Malaysia and even Cameroon are putting themselves to the international market through branding and we will do same because we have what it takes to achieve that and more.”

What to drive the investment

“In a country that is on the move to be among those in the ‘first world’ you need to look at the global business environment first then you look at the low hanging fruit,” he said, and noted that the GIPC would critically focus on services, technology and agriculture which he described as some of the low hanging fruits.

Mr Grant said: “We need to create a domestic market first and look to the foreign market next.”

He further stressed the need for a bigger airport, saying, “If you want to be most attractive in West Africa, we need a sizeable airport to attract people.”

“We also need an attitudinal change. This will involve education, PR and marketing, so I am going to use a lot of technology out there to sell Ghana through the creation of a more vibrant and engaging website and portals that people can access easily with all the information they require,” he said.

Transformation

Determined to make a difference, Mr Grant said: “I also want to make GIPC a place where everyone wants to serve, a place where people will be happy to work, so I need smart people to work with, as well as a new building, because the old building does not inspire the great things we want to do.

The office of the GIPC is presently located within the Ministries enclave in a bare dilapidated structure which does not inspire confidence.

In 2002, the headquarters of the centre was moved to a new office located within the premises of the Gulf House in Accra. However, in 2009, the headquarters was brought back to its former place within the Ministries area.

Road shows

Mr Grant said the centre would undertake a number of road shows to woo investors into the country, saying, “We will go to the developed countries; but the most important thing is how to attract investors to help build our country.”

“So we will go to our traditional partners through the road shows to encourage them to come and invest in our country with the aim of learning from them when they come so we can also develop some skills,” he said.

Mr Grant said the centre would also consider private equity which seemed to be the way many were thinking.

He said the centre would again look at intra-African trade which, “I believe, is very critical.”

“For us, one of the greatest things about the interventions we want to bring is to create jobs through the building of factories and for all of these, the private sector is going to drive it. So we are going to learn from countries that have done it before,” he said.