The diaspora represents first a critical source of foreign exchange inflows. Second, a powerful channel for technology transfer and innovation. And third, an important bridge to global capital markets. However, unlocking this full potential requires a deliberate transition. A transition from consumption-oriented to investment-oriented diaspora capital. Equally important is the intentional inclusion of our second generation Ghanaians whose engagement will depend on modern digital and identity-based approaches. Approaches that utilize their savings and preferences and investment objectives. So, this gathering reflects our shared commitment to strengthening the relationship between Ghana and its diaspora. Recognizing that diaspora capital, remittances, and expertise are all integral to Ghana's macroeconomic stability and long-term growth. But over the past year in Ghana, our macroeconomic framework has been recalibrated. Recalibrated to ensure stability, to ensure predictability, and to ensure investor confidence. Inflation dynamics, as some of you may be aware, these have improved significantly. The external sector remains resilient, and our financial system continues to demonstrate soundness and adaptability. Our gross international reserves have strengthened, improving import cover, while receipts have shown considerable resilience, supported by appropriate policy interventions and effective liquidity management. My objective this evening is to set out with clarity the role of the Bank of Ghana and to engage you on how we can transform our remittance flows into formal foreign exchange and channel them into investable capital through the financial system. But if remittance inflows remain a cornerstone of Ghana's external sector and its... And let me give you some data. In 2024, that was before I came home, Ghana recorded approximately 4.6 billion dollars in remittances. These flows continued to rise through last year, 2025. We recorded nearly 7.8 billion US dollars by the end of last year. So, at roughly 6% of GDP in terms of in real terms, remittances now exceed foreign direct investment, underscoring their systemic importance.
Now, remittance products in Ghana are quite diverse and have evolved rapidly. Driven through effective collaboration with banks, mobile money operators, fintech innovation, and strong diaspora engagement. I can give examples. There's the bank-based remittance products. There's the mobile money remittance products. There's the fintech or digital remittance apps which some of them use. Cross-border payment platforms and aggregators. And then, of course, there's the cash pickup and agent network products also being used. Recent policy actions have focused on enhancing formal remittance capture, strengthening transparency in the foreign exchange market, supporting digital cross-border payment systems, and improving the integrity, quality, and reporting of remittance data. For us at the Bank of Ghana, we are aligning this approach with international best practice. We are exploring diaspora bonds and structured investment vehicles in collaboration with the designated entities, promoting foreign currency denominated investment products through supervised industry players, strengthening regulatory frameworks for cross-border flows, and establishing more structured and continuous diaspora engagement platforms. Also, we are leveraging fintech applications to reduce remittance costs and settlement frictions, including the responsible use of digital ledger and tokenization based models to improve speed, to improve traceability, and to improve efficiency in cross-border remittance and investment flows. We are doing all this within a sound regulatory and supervisory framework. We are working to ensure that when a Ghanaian in Washington or elsewhere decides to invest in Ghana, whether in government securities, whether in SMEs, whether in fintechs, whether in real estate, or whether in infrastructure, that the pathway to doing this is seamless, it is predictable, credible, and it is rewarding. These initiatives are informed by proven global best practices from emerging markets here. We have a number of examples by way of countries to copy from. Talk about the Philippines, talk about Mexico, or talk about India. They have successfully implemented structured diaspora engagement frameworks, combining targeted investment instruments, digital remittance platforms, and sustained policy dialogue to mobilize remittances into long-term investment and development finance. Mexico, for example, shows how to scale diaspora capital. Philippines shows how to change financial behavior. And India shows us how to mobilize large capital from remittances. So, Ghana intends to adapt and to scale these lessons in a manner that is consistent with our domestic financial sector.
Therefore, this round table meeting this evening is designed to explore bankable diaspora investment opportunities, co-create innovative diaspora financial solutions, support a strategic shift from consumption-driven remittances to investment and investment-led models, and provide clarity on regulatory constraints affecting diaspora flows. We expect tangible outcomes, including greater formalization of remittance flows, increased diaspora participation in Ghana's financial markets, enhanced partnerships between the diaspora, financial institutions, and policy makers, and actionable policy and regulatory recommendations. In the period ahead, the Bank of Ghana will continue to collaborate with stakeholders to convert diaspora inflows into long-term development capital, encourage the development of targeted financial instruments for diaspora investors, strengthen digital payment ecosystems for seamless diaspora onboarding, institutionalize regular diaspora engagement mechanisms, and enhance data systems to better track and leverage remittance flows. So, in conclusion, let me emphasize that the Ghanaian diaspora is not peripheral to our economy. It is actually central to our external stability, our investment strategy, and our economic transformation. And let me say that again, that the Ghanaian diaspora is not peripheral to our economy. You are not peripheral. You are central to our external stability, to our investment strategy, and our economic transformation agenda. If we harness this well, our diaspora can become a reliable source of long-term capital, even during crisis. And we must treat the diaspora as domestic investors that are abroad, not external senders of money. Our next phase is not just about remittances. It is about turning the diaspora income into long-term investment capital for Ghana. So, through this maiden round table meeting here, our collective task is to transform remittances into investment and engage private entities into enduring economic partners. For us at the Bank of Ghana, we stand ready to work with you all to achieve this objective.
How can I help? Anyway. What about construction? Yes, sir. Construction.
These are some of the areas that we want to talk to you about. That is enough, but not enough for you. We don't need to talk about your ability to participate. Yes. You don't have an experience. When a business is formalized, the opportunities in location incentives, depending on where you are located. The opportunities... There's a vast law of which you can take advantage of as a registered business. So, when you're talking about formalization of your remittances, we're also talking about the ability to establish a business as every other investor does. And why am I starting from that point? It's because we understand why would you tell someone who is not a Ghanaian to go to Ghana and do business and invest in Ghana? But for a Ghanaian who brings abroad and I've had experience and the resources, most of them they are businessmen abroad. There's a link which is missing here. You always say, 'Oh, there are people that we try working with they are not being faithful to you.' That's what I hear from many people in the country. So, the government is trying to resolve that by creating a national board and they're trying to move the government to that. You know some years back, government could not pay you. There's a chance that it happens. But the real issue is that for those who are not Ghanaians, when they come together, they have the patience to invest and they often have the same what we are looking for here. So, our message is very clear that you have to begin to look at what are some of the success factors of all these foreign companies that invest. And what I mean is that they plan differently to achieve the success that they have in Ghana. And I can assure you that the line is simply their commitment to investing in Ghana. We have to be clear with ourselves and I often say this that for the person who is not from Ghana, their commitment to investing in Ghana everything they want often looks happier than those of us who are from Ghana and are committed to investing in Ghana. But fundamentally, we are all tied to achieve one goal. And that goal is that for every person that looks like us to be respected around the world, regardless of what continent, continent of Africa, to develop on the basis of knowledge. You can be whatever you want to be here, but you are just another one of us. But if the continent is developed, when you walk in here, you are not just another person. You come from a place that matters to you. So, that's our selling message. And the governor has spoken about your capital, which is about 15 billion. And he said it's higher than FDI. FDI last year was 2.7 billion. So, your money in Ghana is higher than FDI. But that money is not going... It's not turning itself into investment. Because you have to convince yourself about being an investor in your own country. So, we encourage you to look at that. But I spoke about some of the challenges too. I wouldn't worry you too much about that. We look at some of the perceived challenges that we have. And then there's the challenge of you having the risk which you are, you know, you're putting in your investment, but then there's a risk that you may not get what you want. There's also limited access to capital. So, speak. What if you share some of the capital projects that you do and you look at your business? There's also the fact that because many of you do business with your relatives. But while you're doing your business with your relatives, you are not professional. So, you have to do business with professionals who would assist you to really invest in Ghana. They are professionals in Ghana. Dr. Kotei is here from CEPA. You invest a certain amount of your money and you talk to the professionals. Yes, so you can see from the free marketing resources. Then some of you also worry about the currency. But now thanks to Dr. Bawumia and our able assistant at the Bank of Ghana, the currency is very stable. You look at the stability. So, those are some of the risk factors. And I'll see you there. The government is very stable with all of these macroeconomic... And now the objective is to develop the economy of Ghana. This is where we begin the... We are setting goals for you. If you want to invest in Ghana, you will come into the country to invest. For those of you that are interested, the governor has passed a law called the virtual asset service in the capital. If you have expertise in that area, you are invited to come to Ghana to invest in that. And you know, we are just about the first country in West Africa to have the law to regulate cryptocurrency and all the associations for that company and service providers. This is a fine opportunity for you to invest in Ghana and make some money in the crypto. For those of you who can also define some of the perceptions in agriculture, we invite you to come in. Now, we have legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp which is now Indian hemp. I was watching your TV last night and they call it weed eight. For the THC, it's 0.3. And you can go into the cultivation, the processing, the marketing, the regulation, and it's open entirely to you as a Ghanaian investor into the country. This is where you can obtain some of your investment income. There's also the opportunity at the government's flagship program for the chemical economy. Let me break this up for opportunity that I have here. So, the 24-hour economy has certain components which we call the growth poles. One such component is the Western Economic Corridor. Now, the goal of the Western Economic Corridor is to domesticate 2 million hectares of land along the Volta Lake through agro-ecological parks, industrial parks. And all the things that will make that successful in this school program. So, if you're a Ghanaian investor, then the question is, how can I participate in the 24-hour economy? Because government is not going to do it all by itself. So, government is creating SPV, special purpose vehicle. Through the Ghana Investment Promotion Center that has its own governance structure, on which you can invest, then you have control. And when a government have government rules, your investment is secure because this is an independent SPV. That is looking after your ecological park, your industrial park, or any of the investment along the Volta Lake. So, that is something that I'm inviting you, the diaspora, to really put in your money. When you see the SPV being formed, please put your money in that investment because it is secure. And government is creating it for you. And whatever happens, you have a say in how that investment would be carried out, especially under the 24-hour economy. And this SPV will need to be taken from many of the projects around the 24-hour economy, whether it's in the park which is called the Bono East Corridor, agriculture and trade, it will be the same. Government is going to create an SPV for the Tamale Cargo Hub with the intention to convert the Tamale Airport into a cargo hub to export many of the agricultural products. You're also going to have an SPV which you can participate in. There are also other emerging areas that you can look at. How many of you use electric vehicle? Let's see. Who has an electric vehicle here? Right. So, you do have... You know about the electric vehicle. Now, we want to work in our 1,000 charging stations. The regulation is already in place. What we need from you is your expertise and your resources to help us migrate into using a lot of electric vehicles on our roads. Our goal is to get about 70% adopted by the year 2040. I've already mentioned the industrial Indian hemp. And then, we're talking about the cryptocurrency. I mentioned agriculture. Agriculture has emerged as a place now for investment in our country. It's one of the agencies of government that has several leaders and several points for investment. So, when you come, you have what we call the Big Data Project which is under the Ministry of Agriculture. And under the Big Data Project, government is building over 50 farmer service centers that will be closer to the farmer. So, they'll provide extension services. You can also go there to sharpen your tools and they'll provide tractor services. These are things that you can equally participate in agriculture. Also, in agriculture, we import over 400 million dollars worth of poultry products. So, there are huge opportunities in the poultry value chain, whether it's processing, whether it's hatching, you know, veterinary services. There are significant opportunities that exist in that one. Also, in agriculture, there's the intention of the government and the Minister of Finance to grow about 200,000 hectares of palm oil. Palm trees and palm oil, 200,000 hectares in that one as well as cocoa. So, there are huge opportunities in the palm oil sector. And if you have expertise or lands in your villages that is agricultural, invest your money into that. In fact, there's a World Bank 500 million dollar project just for the palm oil project. So, if you keep an eye on that, there are huge opportunities in being in that area. Now, at cocoa, you are all aware that we are seeking to reform our cocoa sector. We want to go more into cultivation. The objective of government now is to process the cocoa bean. To process at least 50%. And we have about 500,000 metric tons of processing capacity. Which today is not the same as before. Many of the cocoa processing companies are looking for strategic partners like you who can also source cocoa to help them increase their production level as a country. Now, if you move from agriculture, you go into housing. Housing, we have over 1.8 million... That is a housing deficit. Is that right? I think it's okay. So, the opportunities in housing. Let me see those of you are in the pharmaceutical sector. Any money in the pharmaceutical sector? Yes. And you. You are the ones we want to have investment from. This is currently the pharmaceutical sector that I am talking about which is 600 million. Projected to grow to 800 million dollars. I think that 80% is going to be five or so years from... And we are looking for more Ghanaians to participate in the pharmaceutical sector. We are the leading player in the West African sub-region. We are looking for investment in the APIs, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and the pharmaceutical consumables. And the retail is even open exclusively to the Ghanaians. So, please consider giving your investment into the pharmaceutical sector. But you know, Ghanaians are noted for one thing, tourism. So, we are looking for investment in our hotels. If you come to Accra or any of the regions, you don't have... Ask for the hotels. They are convinced that the Ghanaian... They have the resources to construct more hotels of international standard. Right. So, I'll be coming for that when we see the next time. And the government of Ghana has all the incentives for people who are investing in Ghana. The incentives that we provide as government of Ghana is non-discriminatory. The one that applies to a foreigner is the same that applies to you as a Ghanaian investing in Ghana. It's just a matter of formalizing your payment and showing where your source is coming from and being straightforward. You know when I say being straightforward, you mean dealing with the right whether it's GRA or whether it's about the table. And we know that because of the exposure of the diaspora, everything is above the table. Now, I'll end here by saying the government of Ghana has done a few unique things to help us. One, the business environment has improved. The government has already mentioned when we in the Investment Promotion Center improved the investment environment really making it convenient for the investors. Five reasons. What is now our business tax? Really, the existing corporate income tax is one of the lowest corporate income taxes. And this part of 15% is the lowest in the sub-region except for Nigeria. I think it's around 80%. Your corporate income tax in Ghana depends on where you are located. If you go outside of Accra, it's 8.75%. It could go as low as 4%. And in the five regions, the corporate income tax is 5%. It's very low. So, if you take advantage of that, you can go to different regions and really succeed. But the average corporate income tax within the sub-region is well over 30%. Ghana average is around 25%. So, all of these opportunities are there. And you must look at what government is doing, the regulations. Now, the Ghana Investment Promotion Center, the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority with the sole goal of what? Of strengthening the investment environment. We have stopped medium and small enterprises except for the retail market where we have to protect it from able Ghanaians like yourselves. But every other medium and small enterprise is open. Our job is also to provide you with data on areas to invest in our country. So, we hope to really see you investing in Ghana. And remember that the black man succeeding in Africa is the black man succeeding in the black man outside of Africa. I mean black man black man.
Come close. Come close. Come close. Good evening. Thank you, Mr. Mireku. Come close. Come close. Good evening, everybody. It is a pleasure to be at all these wonderful places. We have the banking sector. Come to the right row. And we as you have so many beautiful faces right here, we have several people from Zoom in this way of the Ghanaian community that were invited here in the DMV that you can see. The D A N and so that's that's what that's for. And if you hear your group name, we want to hear you all in your number. So, when you hear your group, please want to hear you and hear the representative. We have the Bankers Association of Ghana. We have the College of Ghanaian Pastors Association. And then we have the Council of Ghanaian Pastors Association. I just want to let you know that we thank you so much for attending. We have the Council of... We have the NSA Association of Washington D.C. We actually INCORPORATED IT. THE GHANA DIASPORA PUBLIC AFFAIRS COLLECTIVE. The Ghanaian Professionals Network, GPN. The Ghanaian Diaspora Nursing Alliance, GDNA. The Global Diaspora Council. We have the Ghanaian Community Association. Old Mawuli School Union. We have Presec the St. Peter's Old Boys. The Chemu Old Boys Alumni Association. And then we have the University of Ghana Alumni Association. And there's so many groups that if I missed anyone here, please forgive me. Here you want to acknowledge me. Did I miss anyone?
Ladies and gentlemen, it feels as if some of you asked where are you? Are you outnumbered? Are you Presec by chance? Of course. Presec, where are you? All over. You're here in good... Well, ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for being here in your numbers. And this brings us to a very important part of our program, essentially the heart of why we're here. We now turn to our stakeholder perspectives, and this is where we move from opportunity to understanding the reality on the ground. In this particular segment, what we're going to do is hear directly from the voices across the diaspora. We'll hear from the financial institutions, of course the regulator Bank of Ghana is here, and we will find that we will see insights grounded in real experiences. Ladies and gentlemen, with humility, all the humility Ghana can afford me, I humbly ask our speakers to make sure that your contribution are sweet, short, straight to the point, which will also give us enough time to come to the floor with your questions, comments, and interventions. I ask you this with all the humility within. Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to bring to the stage for this particular moment Dr. Ernest Addison the Executive Director of Finance and Operations of the Bank of Ghana. Dr. Ernest Addison Duncan. Please come to the podium or to the stage. To AIM. When he comes up... Please welcome to the stage Executive Director of Marketing from the World Financial Group, WFG, Mrs. Emilia Eduku-Quist. And now, ladies and gentlemen, I would also like to bring from the Bank of Ghana, heading the Fintech and Innovation Office, Mr. Rexford Agyemang-Sarpong. Please also allow me to welcome the Economist from the Bank of Ghana, Mr. Eric Osei-Bonsu. And I think, Mr. Matthew, you have no choice but to come back to the stage. You made us a promise, and we want to hold you accountable. Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, GIPC. Now, Ghana Investment Promotion Authority. We have some colleagues of the bank who are joining us online. We want to acknowledge you. We know you can hear us. We are also live on YouTube, also live on Facebook, and of course recorded. So, for those of you who want to partake in this gathering later on, it's probably recorded and placed on the Bank of Ghana official pages. So, ladies and gentlemen, I bring this conversation... Thank you to our first question. Our first question will be given to our members of the diaspora. You essentially are representing, I would like to call it, not only itself, but the big voice, the diaspora voice. I don't know what it's running on. Please allow me to start. Thank you for your contribution.
Well, we're talking about what we want to do. The foreign direct investment here. From my perspective as a... I've changed the music. I see the same... Yes, cuz it was running at standard definition. I just put it to full, actually. The current remittance platforms are now authorized to have direct investments in Ghana. So, if you're investing in Ghana for the most part, you are making payments directly to family directly. You need to take the alternative. So, you don't have any remittance to existing remittance systems with the Bank of Ghana or other financial institutions. So, that's the first. The second for me as a citizen of Ghana is the issue of trust. Right? The issue of trust whereby... Yes. Good. So, I don't know where that camera is. Not only having individual dealing with individual, even having government state by level of where we have countless incidents of or reports of misappropriation where there are no mechanisms in place to hold people accountable. So, those are the two key problems from my perspective as a citizen who is a taxpayer. You know, the camera that has the two tripods. I would like to talk about what that solution has to be. The camera has the... The camera with the two tripods. So, let me give you the two issues that I see. Number one, we need to invest with all sorts of platforms. Just see if you can get everybody in. Select which you say the remittance amount to go into that investment or that investment. Just move it to... The second would be I have to... Just move it to... So, we can invest as a nation. The camera can't come out. So, we have a list of, let's say, approved products that investors can confidently invest in. So, if it's okay... And we have mechanisms to have... Okay, good. So, just to hold people accountable so that people investing will have every... Should I run into any issues... the conflict resolution. Yeah, just leave it. So, that is the first thing. They have money for investment and my question... Set it up right. is where I think it's going... Yes, okay. Yes, yes. The final list of people who are investing in Ghana... Just tilt a little bit. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
Dr. Addison. Yes, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. First of all, thank you for inviting me. Thank you. Distinguished panel. Usually this panel is made up of finance people, so as a medical physician, I feel honored to be here. Drive. And I'll start by saying that, you know, this idea of remittance investment is an excellent idea. Its time has come. Its time is long overdue, you know. You know, you ask... You know, I would like to work with the government's vision and leadership. We are finally trying to formalize what has been happening for years. I think there needs to be a real ecosystem, formalized ecosystem, so that everybody who wants to remit knows what's happening. It has to be seamless. It has to be competitive. It has to be easy to do. And I think we really come a long way from when we started, when, you know, to remit laterally. Sometimes I think it's actually worse than it used to be. Now, we have this situation where on your phone you can just remit money for a funeral or for your relatives or fees or something through one of these multiple platforms. A couple of things. One, the rates on those platforms are not necessarily the most competitive. And secondly, of course, internally there are no fees, and we know they get money from arbitrage from the difference in what your rate is and what they actually pay. But there's another thing that I've always wondered anytime I send money through these channels, what really happens to the dollars that we bring here? Do they have to go to Ghana or do they stay here and do they not show up on the balance of payments? So, there's definitely something that needs to be looked at. We need to be able to ensure that that money is coming to Ghana and benefiting our people. I know the governor has talked about this. That's why I always listen to you. So, I know you've talked about this multiple times. The other thing I think is important is us, you know, making sure that this is more transparent in the opinion. Vehicles that's the way the diaspora know we can use because this has to go past just paying for school fees to having proper investment vehicles that we can use. I'm sure all of us here, whether you're self-employed, whether you work in a company, one of your biggest investment vehicles is your retirement funds. And I'll ask anybody in that room whether they are means, whether Ghana can harness any of some of our investment retirement accounts into Ghana investment. This is what we call patient capital. Of course, if you're going to invest in one of any of the things and VIPs we've both talked about. So, you really need to look at the long term if you want to go down that road. But we need to be able to invest long term, 10, 12, 15 years. Even my son who's 21 years old is putting $200 a month in his 401k. And he'll roll over some of that money into some better to buy a home. That's his patience, meaning that he's not expecting to get that money today or tomorrow. He's patient for 10, 15, 20 years. Something that is definitely very much needed in Ghana. Another thing I think we should talk about, yes, you're here asking us for our treasure, but there's also time and talent which I would argue is just as important. I think with the leadership of the Bank of Ghana, there should be frameworks where we as a physician can go and do something that is formalized, okay? So, that I take 2 weeks off or 3 weeks off for my practice, I can go and work in Ghana and have some incentive. It doesn't have to be financial. A lot of us are willing to do this for less than we are paid here because we love our country. But it should be something that, you know, inures to our benefit as well. So, if it's well structured, it'll be great. The last thing I'm going to talk about, which might be quite controversial. You know, I heard our president talk about the diaspora being the 17th region. But I would argue that it should be the first region. Don't you guys agree? Meaning that we've contributed so much to the GDP as has been mentioned, probably more than all the other regions. So, why doesn't the diaspora be the first region? And one of the reasons and one of the ways it can be, and I'm glad we have an MP here, is if we finally have the right to vote. To vote in the diaspora. You ask for our talent, you ask for our time, you ask for our treasure, but we should be able to vote. We should be able to have a say in the national direction. And with that, I'll hand it over to my next. Thank you, sir.
Professor Addae Mensah. Thank you very much. Okay, thank you. Thank you very much. I thank you for inviting me. What I really see here, you know, may be palatable to some. But I'll say it anyway. Number one, I want to suggest to all of you that Ghanaians in the diaspora love Ghana as much as Ghanaians in Ghana or sometimes even more. There is... If you study the development of nations, we always talk about the Asian nations. We talk about Singapore. We talk about South Korea. In my career job, I traveled around the world. I was almost on the plane because I had a global position with offices in London, in Mumbai, in Hong Kong and so on. Whenever I traveled to these countries, whether it's India or anywhere, the diaspora... I believe many of you know that China's development was not in a vacuum. China's development mainly is from Chinese in the United States. India, you go to Bangalore Bengaluru. The development of India is tied closely to Silicon Valley. The Indians in the Silicon Valley. Unfortunately, and this has been saddening to me, that somehow the Ghanaians in Ghana don't like the Ghanaians in the diaspora to work with them. And this has been saddening to me. You know, if you look at every developing nation, because we are developing, the best and brightest in most of them, if they want higher education, they get it from outside their countries. That is why we came here. It's not that we don't love Ghana. But we came here because this is where people seek higher education. So, that in fact, in my year group from KNUST, now they call it KNUST, we used to call it UST. No one who got a first class in the UST, got a scholarship to go abroad. No one is in Ghana. All of us are in the US and Canada. Now, what I'm saying is this. God has made it so that there is a way even with the free education we got from Ghana, we will pay back. We want to pay back. We want to contribute. But our Ghanaian friends, unfortunately, don't want us there. And this I don't understand. So, number one, I like what I'm seeing in this administration. Every admin to me, I'm not NPP or NDC, I'm a Ghanaian. And I want to support Ghana. So, what I'm seeing here, what I'm seeing with this administration, the children, CD and so on, I love it. And the thing is, if truly, Mr. Governor, if you truly want to do this, please it should not be a one-off event. What is happening? What's happening is that when governments come, I've been invited on many occasions to come and speak. In the previous government, they would ask me to come and speak. You speak and they say, 'Wow, we've never seen an intelligent person like this.' And then you would sort of tell them everything, nothing happens. So, my suggestion is, please, let it bear fruit. We can't actually create a solution in this meeting. We can start a dialogue. But from this, there should be invitations to have series of meetings until we get to implementable solutions. And then we implement them and there's monitoring. There is a feedback loop. And then we make sure because if I go to Singapore, okay? If I go to China and I speak to them about some things that they need to do, I'm telling you, the next year I go there, I see implementation. So, trust is very important. Trust. And when I say trust, I'm saying this, you can do all that we are talking about here. If there is not accountability in Ghana among those who oversee things, my friend, you can try to fill a bucket. If the bucket has holes on them, you can fill it, it will never get full. So, we have to be serious as a nation. There should be punishment for wrongdoing, especially from where? The top. Okay, if we are serious as a nation, honestly speaking, if we are serious as a nation, and I'm glad what I'm seeing right now, I hope will be sustainable. I have told my European friends that in 10 years, Ghana should be competitive to be like at least Southern Europe, like Spain, like Portugal, like Italy. They're not that much more accountable than we are. You have only 30 seconds to go. Yes, 30 seconds. All right. Let's make sure that we don't go on a rant of things, please. You know, we do love the country and we want this country to do well. We don't want to just be a talk. Thank you. Let's make sure we get to an implementation phase. Implement the things and let's see that it works. Thank you so much.
Mrs. Adams Safianu, I don't know how you are going to pick up from there, but I trust you can. It's a privilege to be among these great gentlemen. I can't believe you might be here. I'm here. I'm representing the Ghanaians in the country. This is an amazing opportunity and I'm just going to read out some statistics that was given to me earlier. The diaspora has been very proud of what they're doing for their country. I love Ghana. Okay. And so, like the governor said, 7.8 billion of our dollars go to support our dear country. And we make up 6% of Ghana's GDP. Now, it was also said, we are central to the economic transformation agenda.
So, which means we are very important. I work in the financial sector, but I focus on insurance. Now, everything we set out for is dependent upon our ability to go to work to make money. What if you are not able to go to work because of a sickness, like stroke, disability, cancer, and we can't go to work? Our ability to make the money is gone and gone forever. What about the people we support back home that we transmit to so that they can live? They depend on us. So, if we cannot go, money is not coming and we can't transmit. So, all the things that we talked about that the governor spoke about and our dear brother spoke about, there was no mention of insurance. I'm begging the Ghana government and all the key leaders in this room. We as Ghanaians, if Ghana is growing and Africa in general, as a whole, if you are going to lose that title 'third world', it's insurance. America, insurance in America is 1919. The insurance tax code is as old as the US tax code itself. 1919, the country America depends on the insurance industry. And I didn't hear it about insurance. We have to start education right now. And now, I'm going to talk about something else, three things. Our dear brother talked about three things, right? He says 'The changing financial behavior.' I think that's what we need. And education has to start from the top all the way down to our first Ghana and Africa as a whole in general. He says 'Sustain financial literacy for overseas workers.' I'll stop there. Sustain financial literacy for overseas workers. If we produce a certain amount of GDP, my dear brothers and sisters in the diaspora, it's very important that we protect our most valuable asset. And it's not our bank account, it's not our investment account, it's not our houses, it's our income. But everything depends on that income and it must be protected. Education starts right away. Thank you. By the way, before I go on, we are willing to transmit, to invest. Transmission can be done in different ways. We can be done in different ways. We have money, we have also skills. We are willing. We are willing, we who are sitting here, I'm willing to clone myself in people who are serious, who don't waste my time. I don't mind going home to clone myself in my sisters, in my mothers, and all those people out there. We need to clone ourselves, so investment is not only money, the most powerful investment is skills. We get him to support. Thank you. Thank you very much.
And now, I move to our colleagues who are smiling from ear to ear because the work you have to do is very simple. [laughter] And I think that I think Now, we've heard about formalizing the ecosystem, creating seamless competitive rates. What happens to the dollars that we were asked? Transparency of the vehicles of moving our funds from here to home. The time and funds, and we harness them. What about the time and talent? How do we formalize all those objectives? We're talking about where we stand as a diaspora. We don't want to be the 17th, we want to be the first to do. That may not be for you to answer, but let me just put it out there for posterity's sake. We have a division between the diaspora and those back at home. How do we create a seamless bridge between the two? Insurance has just come up, and ladies and gentlemen, lastly, skills. We transmit the skills also as a form of remitting to invest? And now, to you, my wonderful gentlemen, let us respond to the various points that we have heard. Ladies and gentlemen, in no particular order, I'm going to start off with you, the Fintech and Innovation Office, Mr. Richard Asare. All the best. Thank you very much.
