President John Dramani Mahama recently cut the sod for Phase II of the Sentuo Oil Refinery Expansion Project. This US$1.2 billion investment will raise Ghana’s refining capacity from 40,000 to 100,000 barrels per day. The ceremony was more than a groundbreaking event – it was a declaration that Ghana’s energy sector is open for business and that the diaspora is invited.

Here is why Ghana’s energy sector represents one of the most compelling investment opportunities for the global Ghanaian diaspora right now.

1. Macroeconomic stability has returned – and it’s real

When President Mahama assumed office in January 2025, Ghana’s economy was emerging from one of its most difficult periods. Inflation had peaked at 23.8 per cent, the currency was volatile, and investor confidence was weakened.

Eighteen months later, the picture is dramatically different.

Indicator	December 2024	April 2026
Inflation	23.8%	3.4%
International Reserves	US$8.9 billion	US$13.8 billion
GDP Growth	–	~6% in 2025
GDP	–	US$114 billion

Inflation has collapsed from 23.8 per cent to 3.4 per cent. International reserves have strengthened from approximately US$8.9 billion to nearly US$13.8 billion. The Ghana cedi has stabilised and appreciated against major international currencies. Ghana’s economy expanded by approximately 6 per cent in 2025, with GDP crossing US$114 billion, making Ghana one of Africa’s leading economies.

Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Victor Emmanuel Smith, has described political stability, credibility, and predictability as the country’s “most powerful tools for attracting global investment”. As one investor at the Economic Dialogue in Atlanta put it:

“Stability is the new alpha. Ghana offers exactly what global capital is now searching for – peaceful rule, democratic governance, and peaceful transitions”.

2. Upstream oil and gas: US$3.5 billion in new commitments

Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector is experiencing a renaissance. Partners in the Jubilee and TEN fields have committed US$2 billion by 2028 to increase oil and gas production, while Sankofa field partners have pledged another US$1.5 billion to boost gas output.

This US$3.5 billion injection is funding new well developments across productive fields and scaling domestic natural gas production from 270 million to 350 million standard cubic feet per day.

President Mahama confirmed that production from the Jubilee field has increased significantly, from approximately 60,000 barrels per day to about 85,000 barrels per day currently. For the first time in several years, Ghana is poised to record an increase in crude oil production, reversing a multi-year decline.

What this means for diaspora investors:

• GNPC is seeking global investors for over 20 new oil and gas exploration fields
• The Voltaian Basin – Ghana’s most significant frontier onshore opportunity – is open for strategic partnerships. GNPC’s exploration subsidiary, ExplorCo, is poised to begin onshore drilling before the end of 2026
• The Accra-Keta Basin offers more than 15 new ocean locations for drilling, ranging from shallow waters to ultra-deep-sea zones
• A new “sliding scale” royalty system adjusts tax cuts dynamically based on production levels and oil prices, ensuring fair terms even when market conditions change.

3. Downstream refining: Sentuo’s expansion changes the game

The Sentuo Oil Refinery expansion is transformative. Upon completion, Ghana’s refining capacity will more than double from 40,000 to 100,000 barrels per day. Employment at the facility will rise from about 800 to 1,500 workers.

But the significance goes far beyond jobs.

President Mahama’s vision is clear:

“Ghana should not be known merely as a producer of crude oil. Ghana should be recognised as a nation that refines, processes, and adds value to its resources, and also become a net exporter of petroleum products”.

When Sentuo completes Phase II and the Tema Oil Refinery is fully operational, Ghana will have more than enough capacity to feed local demand – and export the rest to neighbouring countries.

The government has already demonstrated its commitment to local refining. In a deliberate and strategic decision, one million barrels of crude oil from the Jubilee Field were allocated for refining at Sentuo.

What this means for diaspora investors:

• The Petroleum Hub Project – a US$60 billion integrated energy and petrochemical complex in Jomoro, Western Region – will comprise three refineries with a total capacity of 900,000 barrels per day
• The hub offers opportunities for diaspora investment in refinery development, petrochemical facilities, logistics infrastructure, and energy transition projects.

4. Ghana is positioning itself as West Africa’s energy hub

Ghana’s ambition extends beyond self-sufficiency. The country is positioning itself as the preferred energy and industrial hub for the West African sub-region.

The numbers tell the story. Once Sentuo and Tema Oil Refinery are fully operational, Ghana will have enough capacity to export refined petroleum products to neighbouring countries – strengthening the cedi, improving the balance of payments, and deepening industrial capacity.

Energy Minister John Abdulai Jinapor has confirmed that the government has “reversed the power deficit situation, declining oil production and the weakened investor confidence” through the Reset Agenda. The energy sector is now experiencing renewed growth and stability.

5. Local content: A deliberate invitation to diaspora businesses

President Mahama has been explicit: local content “must be viewed not merely as a regulatory obligation, but as a critical pillar of our national development strategy”.

The government expects “meaningful participation by Ghanaian companies throughout the value chain” and “deliberate investment in skills development”.

Dr Tony Aubynn, CEO of the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation, has called for a “bold and forward-looking economic partnership between Ghana and its diaspora community”. His message to diasporans is clear:

“The Petroleum Hub is a game-changing national asset, and we need our diaspora as co-investors, innovators, and partners in expanding Ghana’s energy economy”.

What this means for diaspora investors:

• Diaspora bonds for energy and industrial infrastructure, offering competitive returns backed by transparent governance
• Co-investment frameworks enabling diaspora investors to partner with institutional investors, private equity funds, and state-backed entities
• Financing local startups and SME supply chains in logistics, maintenance, fabrication, technology solutions, and energy services
• The diaspora can play a catalytic role in financing Ghana’s next generation of energy and industrial startups.

6. Investment incentives are attractive and transparent

Ghana has created a compelling incentive framework for investors, including:

• 10-year corporate tax holiday for qualifying enterprises
• Exemptions from import duties on qualifying equipment and inputs
• Unrestricted repatriation of profits and dividends
• No minimum capital requirement for companies owned by Ghanaians (including those in the diaspora)
• A “one-stop-shop” system for permits, giving investors a single, fast-track approval process with a strict deadline

The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) has stressed the need for “diaspora capital to be channelled into transparent and well-governed investment structures”. Ghana maintained its 6th position on the African continent to invest in 2025 and 2026, according to Rand Merchant Bank.

7. The 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme

President Mahama’s flagship 24-Hour Economy initiative is designed to maximise the utilisation of infrastructure, industry, labour, logistics, ports, and energy systems around the clock. It presents enormous opportunities for investors in logistics, industrial parks, warehousing, cold-chain systems, transport, agro-processing, manufacturing, retail, ICT, and energy.

The program is aligned with the Accelerated Export Development Programme and the government’s vision of building “a productive, export-oriented, industrialised and technology-driven economy that creates opportunities for our people and competitive returns for investors”.

8. How to get started

For diaspora investors ready to engage, here is a practical roadmap:

Step	Action
1	Register with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) – enterprises with foreign ownership are required to register before commencing operations
2	Explore incentives under the Free Zones Scheme, including tax holidays and duty exemptions
3	Connect with the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation (PHDC) for large-scale energy projects
4	Explore the GNPC’s investment opportunities in exploration, production, and the Voltaian Basin
5	Consider diaspora bonds and co-investment frameworks for energy infrastructure
6	Leverage the “one-stop-shop” permit system for streamlined approvals

The bottom line

Ghana’s energy sector is not just growing – it is transforming. US$3.5 billion in upstream commitments, a refining capacity poised to double, a US$60 billion Petroleum Hub on the horizon, and a government that has made local content and diaspora engagement central to its industrial strategy.

President Mahama’s words at the Sentuo ground-breaking captured the moment:

“This investment is a powerful vote of confidence in our future and in the vast opportunities that Ghana continues to offer”.

For the global Ghanaian diaspora, that vote of confidence is also an invitation.

Ghana’s non-traditional export sector has shattered the $5 billion mark for the first time, recording a historic 30.7 per cent surge to $5.006 billion in 2025.

But for diaspora investors watching from abroad, the real story lies not in the headline number, but in what it reveals: a massive, untapped opportunity in agro-processing that could multiply returns while transforming Ghana’s industrial base.

Processed and semi-processed products now account for more than 83 per cent of total non-traditional export earnings, with cocoa derivatives alone — including butter, paste, and powder — contributing over US$3 billion. Yet officials acknowledge that Ghana is still exporting the bulk of its agricultural produce at intermediate stages, leaving billions in potential value on the table for investors willing to build the final processing and packaging infrastructure that commands premium prices in Western supermarkets.

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The diaspora opportunity: capturing the “missing middle”

For Ghanaian diaspora investors with capital, global retail networks, and a desire to scale African value chains, the timing could not be more opportune. The government has made diaspora engagement a central pillar of its economic transformation agenda, with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) establishing a dedicated Diaspora Desk to provide regulatory guidance, aftercare services, and access to verified land through an in-house land bank.

“Value addition in agro-processing, digital financial services, and green construction is gaining traction, driven partly by diaspora-led innovation,” said Kwame Kesse-Agyepong, Head of Investment and Business Development at the GIPC.

He noted that Ghana is already seeing strong interest from diaspora entrepreneurs across manufacturing, fintech, renewable energy, and tourism.

Key commodities driving the export surge — cashew nuts, shea nuts, coconut, yams, mangoes, and processed agricultural products — offer prime entry points for diaspora-backed ventures. Yams alone recorded a sharp 559 per cent increase in exports. Each of these products presents opportunities for investments in drying, milling, refining, cold-chain logistics, quality-certified packaging, and branded finished goods for export to Europe, North America, and Asia.

Policy tailwinds and incentives

The government has rolled out a suite of incentives designed to attract diaspora capital into the real sector:

• A new e-visa system launching in the first quarter of 2026 with reduced fees specifically for the global African diaspora.
• The Accelerated Export Development Program, chaired by President Mahama, targeting US$10 billion in non-traditional export earnings by 2030.
• Ghana’s Free Zones Scheme offering a 10-year corporate tax holiday, exemptions from import duties, and unrestricted repatriation of profits and dividends.
• The Feed the Industry Program, strengthening the link between agriculture and industry by ensuring a steady supply of raw materials for agro-processing.
• Reforms abolishing the US$200,000 minimum capital requirement for joint ventures with Ghanaian participation and the US$500,000 minimum for wholly foreign-owned enterprises.

Additionally, the Bank of Ghana is working with commercial banks to develop investment-linked remittance products aimed at channelling diaspora inflows — which reached a record US$7.8 billion in 2025 — into infrastructure projects and long-term capital formation.

A strategic gateway to Africa

Beyond Ghana’s borders, diaspora investors gain a strategic advantage: access to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the world’s largest free-trade zone by number of participating countries. Africa now accounts for 30.36 per cent of Ghana’s non-traditional export earnings, largely driven by intra-ECOWAS trade. By establishing processing plants in Ghana, diaspora investors can export value-added goods duty-free to 1.4 billion Africans while also leveraging Ghana’s AGOA benefits for the US market.

The road ahead

GEPA CEO Francis Kojo Kwarteng Arthur has appealed for an increase in the Authority’s share of the import levy from 10 per cent to 20 per cent to accelerate progress toward the US$10 billion target by 2030.

“If 10 per cent can generate over $5 billion in export earnings, then 20 per cent will yield even greater results in foreign exchange generation, job creation and industrial transformation,” he said.

For diaspora investors, the message from Accra is clear: the export boom has created a runway. The question is who will capture the value.

When the news broke of Bhagwan Ramchand Khubchandani’s passing in 2021, the tributes came not just from the corporate boardrooms of Accra, but from everyday Ghanaians who had grown up shopping in his stores.

To the outside world, he was the founder of Melcom, the 65-outlet retail behemoth that dominates Ghana’s department-store landscape. But to truly understand the magnitude of his legacy, you have to rewind a century. You have to step back to 1929, when the Gold Coast was still a British colony, and a 14-year-old Indian boy with empty pockets but a brimming heart stepped off a ship, looking for work as a humble store boy.

This is the story of a dynasty built not on inherited wealth or speculative venture capital, but on the sheer will to survive devastating catastrophes, the trust of an English creditor, and an unshakable love for a country that took an immigrant family into its fold.

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A Shop Boy’s Dream in the Gold Coast

In 1929, Ramchand Khubchandani arrived on the shores of what was then the Gold Coast at the tender age of fourteen. He was young, far from his homeland, and possessed of little more than a willingness to work. As he took his first steps onto Accra’s sunbaked streets, he did something that would set the tone for the next hundred years: he immediately fell in love with the country and its people.

His first job was a modest one—a store boy, learning the ropes of trade, retail, and customer service from the ground up. He spent the next seventeen years behind counters, meticulously observing local consumer behavior, learning how to haggle, and understanding the intrinsic trust required to succeed in West African commerce. It was a long apprenticeship, but in 1946, the fruits of his labor finally materialized. With his younger brother, he pooled together a lifetime of savings to open the very first GLAMOUR department store, right in the heart of Accra’s modest central business district.

Their hard work was quickly rewarded. Business boomed, and within short order, they opened three more branches across the city. For a pair of immigrant brothers, it must have felt like destiny had finally tilted in their favor. They were no longer shop boys; they were proprietors. But destiny, as they would soon learn, is a fickle mistress.

The 1948 Crossroads Shooting: Looting and Total Ruin

February 28, 1948. The Christiansborg Crossroads Shooting, a tragic spark that ignited the 1948 Accra Riots and fast-tracked Ghana’s fierce quest for independence, also marked the end of the brothers’ first dream. As colonial tensions reached a boiling point, the streets of Accra descended into bedlam. The city was swept by widespread looting.

The Khubchandani brothers watched in horror as mobs descended upon their shops. They witnessed their entire life’s savings, their stock, and their newly built empire vanish before their eyes in a matter of hours. When the smoke cleared, they were left with absolutely nothing. They did not have insurance. Overnight, they went from successful entrepreneurs to penniless laborers.

For most people, this would have been the final chapter. It was a crushing, debilitating blow—one that shattered dreams and left people destitute for life. But the Khubchandanis had an indomitable spirit. They had an established reputation in the Gold Coast business community as astute, honest, and resilient traders. With nothing left but a determined, never-give-in attitude, they began knocking on every door in Accra, begging for a lifeline.

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The Handshake That Saved an Empire

Among the suppliers they approached was a British firm. In a twist that seems straight out of a cinematic drama, this particular English supplier took a monumental gamble. The supplier had dealt with the brothers before and knew their reputation. He agreed to ship them an entire inventory of goods without demanding a single pesewa upfront—extending them unsecured credit based entirely on their good word.

It was an act of phenomenal trust, and the brothers did not squander it. They paid back every last cedi on time. They honored their commitments with such diligence and integrity that they not only recovered but returned to the market with greater strength than before. Their credit rating became unshakeable. In the years that followed, they expanded aggressively, moving beyond simple retail into full-fledged industrialization.

From Textiles to 1,200 Workers: The Industrialization Era

By 1955, the brothers turned their attention to manufacturing, opening what is historically documented as Ghana’s very first garment factory. They were astute enough to understand that true power lay in controlling the supply chain. Their vision pushed them to backward integrate—they began manufacturing their own textiles. At its zenith, this textiles division employed over 1,200 Ghanaians. For a young nation still learning to flex its industrial muscles, this family-run Indian-Ghanaian business was a massive engine of economic development.

Yet, they still had an appetite for more. Not satisfied with retail and textiles, the brothers pivoted yet again, this time into the hospitality sector, establishing Ghana’s first Indian restaurant, the legendary Maharaja.

Operation Feed Yourself: The 1979 Agricultural Pivot

Then came 1979, and with it, a drastic shift in the Ghanaian political landscape. The military regime of Colonel I. K. Acheampong launched a sweeping economic initiative called “Operation Feed Yourself.” It was a self-reliance program that strictly restricted imports and ordered local factories to set up agricultural operations to produce the raw materials required for their own industrial output. The directive was absolute: failure to comply meant a complete revocation of their import licenses for crucial production inputs.

The brothers faced a dilemma. Their textile and garment businesses relied heavily on polyester, which required absolutely no agricultural activity. They argued this logic to the regime, but the military government was unyielding. To keep their licenses and retain their business foothold, they were forced to become farmers.

They established the GLAMOUR Poultry Farms, a move made out of political coercion, but one that became an accidental stroke of genius. That poultry farm still stands and operates profitably today, proof of the family’s ability to adapt to political headwinds and bureaucratic inertia.

The Split and the Birth of Melcom (1989)

By the 1980s, the patriarch Ramchand had passed the baton to his son, Bhagwan Ramchand Khubchandani. Bhagwan inherited 50% ownership of the sprawling GLAMOUR conglomerate. Yet, like his father, Bhagwan had a singular, burning passion: pure retail. He believed that the future lay not in spreading thin across manufacturing, textiles, and farming, but in conquering the domestic consumer market.

In 1989, Bhagwan made the difficult decision to part ways with his family partners. He took his 50% share and, bringing his own sons-in-law—Mahesh Melwani and Ramesh Sadhwani—into the fold, he laid the foundation for a new enterprise: Melcom.

It began with a single, modest store in Accra. There was no e-commerce, no aggressive venture capital backing, no technology-driven disruption. It was old-world retail—brick-and-mortar trade built on a deep, almost psychic understanding of Ghanaian consumer habits. Bhagwan understood that Ghanaian shoppers craved accessibility, affordability, and the physical experience of picking out goods in a well-lit, well-organized environment. Over the next three decades, he turned that single store into a staggering 65 outlets spread across every corner of the nation.

The Twin Disasters of 2012: The Collapse and the Fire

Just as the business was reaching its apex, 2012 dealt two nearly fatal blows to the empire.

On November 7, 2012, Ghana was gripped by a national tragedy. Melcom’s five-story shopping mall at Achimota, near Accra, suddenly collapsed. The Ghanaian authorities and the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) immediately launched a massive, frantic rescue mission. It took days of backbreaking work to pull trapped survivors from the rubble, but the final toll was devastating: 82 people were pulled out, including 14 who were confirmed dead.

Initial investigations revealed catastrophic structural defects—a fatal lack of adherence to building codes and the utilization of improper building materials. Notably, Melcom itself had only rented the building in January of that same year. Despite being blameless in the construction, the company bore the immense burden of the tragedy, having to navigate public grief, compensation claims, and a tarnished reputation.

Crucially, however, the company did not hide. They faced the families of the victims, cooperated fully with the government, and vowed to do better. They began the grueling process of restoring consumer confidence.

Yet the universe had another challenge waiting. Just 45 days later, on December 22, 2012, the Melcom mall in Agona Swedru, in the Central Region, was engulfed in a catastrophic fire. The Ghana National Fire Service rushed to the scene, but the building was already fully ablaze. Because the blaze broke out after the store had closed for the night, there were no human casualties. However, the adjoining warehouses—stocked to the brim with heavily discounted Christmas inventory—were completely gutted.

To lose one store in a year is a tragedy; to lose a huge warehouse stuffed with peak-season inventory is a commercial catastrophe. And yet, Melcom survived. The family dug deep into their reserves, rallied their suppliers once again, and rebuilt.

The Legacy and the Future

When Bhagwan Khubchandani passed away in 2021, he left behind a corporate group that had transcended retail. The Melcom Group of Companies now encompasses six distinct entities: Melcom Limited, Century Industries Limited, Crownstar Electronic Industries Limited, Melcom Hospitality, Melcom Travels, and Melcom Care. It is an enterprise that touches almost every facet of modern Ghanaian life—from groceries to refrigerators, from travel planning to hotel stays.

But perhaps his greatest achievement is the blueprint he left for multi-generational entrepreneurship. Today, his sons-in-law, Mahesh and Ramesh, steward the empire. They are not just managers; they are custodians of a century-old trust established by a 14-year-old immigrant. They stand as a powerful example that in emerging African markets, the formula for enduring success is not the slickness of an app, but the resilience to endure fires, collapses, political upheavals, and devastating losses, all while keeping a polite smile on your face for your customers.

As Bhagwan once wrote in his memoirs, “Like my father, I have adopted Ghana as my home. I am eternally grateful to the people of Ghana who have, for all the years, extended their unconditional love and hospitality.”

The next time you walk into a brightly lit Melcom supermarket, remember that you are not just standing in a retail store. You are standing in a monument to a century of trade, one built from a single wooden counter in 1929, rebuilt from the ashes of a 1948 riot, and fortified by the grit of a family that simply refused to give up.