- Manufacturers Need Affordable Power and Technology to Compete Under AfCFTA — AGI
Ghanaian manufacturers will struggle to compete effectively under the African Continental Free Trade Area unless the country provides reliable and affordable electricity while accelerating the adoption of digital technologies across industry, the Association of Ghana Industries has warned.
Pharm. Dr Kofi Nsiah-Poku, President of the AGI, has placed energy reliability and digital innovation at the centre of the private sector’s competitiveness agenda as Ghana seeks to move from macroeconomic stabilisation towards stronger industrial production, exports and employment.
The message formed a central part of the 2026 Ghana Industrial Summit and Exhibition, which opened in Accra on September 15 under the theme, “Driving Sustainable Export-Led Growth through Energy Reliability and Digital Innovation.” AGI said the theme was deliberately focused on the factors that will determine the competitiveness and long-term growth of Ghanaian industry.
AGI has acknowledged government efforts to expand generation capacity and improve grid infrastructure, but Mr Nsiah-Poku stressed that engagement over energy tariffs must continue because power needs to be not only available but competitively priced.
That distinction is increasingly important for firms competing against imported products at home and attempting to expand into African markets.
A manufacturer may have access to electricity, but if the tariff materially raises the cost of each unit produced, reliable supply alone does not guarantee competitiveness. Electricity prices feed directly into margins, selling prices and investment decisions, particularly in energy-intensive industries.
AGI’s recent Business Barometer has identified energy costs among the most critical challenges confronting companies for consecutive quarters. The association has consequently called for measures including affordable green financing, incentives for renewable energy technologies and reforms that make it easier for firms to invest in alternative energy systems.
Industrial production depends on predictable energy costs that allow companies to price goods, schedule production and commit capital with reasonable confidence. Sudden interruptions can leave workers and machinery idle, damage materials and delay orders, while unexpectedly high tariffs can make locally manufactured products less competitive against imports.
That becomes particularly important as Ghana attempts to use AfCFTA to move beyond the limitations of its domestic market.
Access to a continental market can theoretically give Ghanaian firms the scale needed to expand production, but tariff-free access does not eliminate production costs. Ghanaian manufacturers must still compete with companies operating in markets with larger industrial bases, cheaper financing, efficient logistics and, in some cases, lower energy costs.
AGI has consistently argued that reliable and affordable electricity is essential to processing raw materials locally, expanding manufacturing and improving industrial competitiveness. The association has identified sectors including agro-processing, mining, cement, steel and chemicals as particularly dependent on dependable power.
The requirement becomes more demanding under Ghana’s 24-hour economy programme.
Factories operating additional shifts need electricity networks, logistics systems, ports, financial services and other infrastructure capable of functioning continuously. Mr Nsiah-Poku has backed the initiative, describing it as a framework that can encourage investment, strengthen supply chains and support Ghana’s transition towards an export-led economy.
But continuous operation is only economically useful if additional hours translate into productive output at competitive cost. That is where digital transformation becomes increasingly important.
Factories are moving towards production systems in which inventory, machinery, energy consumption, logistics and customer demand can be monitored and managed digitally. Automation, data analytics and other technologies can help firms reduce waste, improve maintenance schedules and use capital more efficiently.
AGI’s Industrial Summit is explicitly promoting technology adoption as a route towards greater efficiency, productivity and competitiveness, with the event bringing businesses together with technology providers and other partners.
Digital inventory management can reduce unnecessary stockholding and release working capital. Electronic payment and accounting systems can improve financial records. Production-monitoring tools can identify inefficiencies before they become expensive, while digital sales platforms can give businesses access to customers beyond their immediate markets.
But technology adoption also requires capital and skills. SMEs that already struggle with borrowing costs may find it difficult to finance equipment, software and employee training. Industrial digitalisation therefore cannot be treated simply as an instruction for companies to modernise. Policy must address financing, connectivity, skills and the commercial return on technology investment.
AGI has already begun applying digital solutions to some of its members’ energy constraints. In August, the association launched BisaConnect, a platform linking businesses with solar consultants and service providers to help companies assess and develop renewable-energy projects.
The initiative illustrates how the energy and digital agendas can reinforce each other.
Reliable electricity allows firms to operate digital systems effectively, while better technology can help manufacturers monitor energy use, improve efficiency and reduce production costs.
The potential result is a productivity multiplier. For Ghana, that is particularly important because the country’s industrial challenge is increasingly about producing more value from each unit of labour, capital and energy rather than simply expanding economic activity.
The government and private sector also face a financing constraint. Ghana’s recent fiscal pressures limit the extent to which infrastructure gaps can be addressed solely through direct public expenditure, increasing the importance of private investment, renewable-energy financing and public-private partnerships.
Businesses will therefore need policy predictability. Manufacturers are more likely to commit capital to factories, energy systems and digital infrastructure when they can reasonably anticipate tariffs, taxation, regulation and market conditions over several years.
Ghana’s industrial strategy will consequently be judged less by the number of initiatives announced and more by whether firms actually invest, increase output and expand exports.
AGI has framed strategic industrialisation as the bridge between economic stability and sustainable growth, arguing that macroeconomic improvement should become the foundation for productivity, value addition, exports and employment.
AfCFTA gives Ghanaian industry access to a much larger potential market.
But access alone does not guarantee sales. The firms that succeed will be those capable of producing reliably, controlling costs, meeting standards and delivering competitively across borders.
For Ghanaian manufacturers, affordable and dependable electricity and the capacity to deploy technology are therefore becoming less of a competitive advantage than a basic requirement for survival.
Ghana’s industrial future will ultimately be determined not by the ambition of its industrial policies, but by whether its factories can produce efficiently enough to compete across Africa.
