Accra, April 24, GNA – Just a few weeks after showcasing SME success stories, the Kwahu Business Forum (KBF) is now making a bold continental statement.
It is being strategically positioned as Ghana’s direct answer to Africa’s most prestigious business gatherings, including the World Economic Forum on Africa.
Organisers of the annual business gathering have confirmed that plans were underway to transform the Kwahu Business Forum from a national economic dialogue into a world-class investment platform capable of attracting entrepreneurs, investors and policymakers from across the continent and beyond.
A statement by members of the African Chamber of Content Producers (ACCP), copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra said, Mr Benjamin Essuman, Special Aide to the Chief of Staff and a core member of the Forum’s organising team, disclosed that the Kwahu Business Forum was deliberately developed to serve as Ghana’s version of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
“The forum will continue to be held in Kwahu and is being positioned as Ghana’s version of the World Economic Forum,” Mr Essuman stated.
The World Economic Forum on Africa, which was last held in 2019 before a seven-year hiatus, is scheduled to resume only in April 2027 in South Africa, with Johannesburg or Cape Town as potential hosts.
“This gap presents a unique opportunity for the Kwahu Business Forum to establish itself as a reliable, annually recurring continental platform”.
The statement said in its third edition alone, the Kwahu Business Forum attracted over 1,000 entrepreneurs, investors and policymakers, and had already featured participation from global institutions such as the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and major international investors.
“The 2026 edition has taken on a strong international dimension. Notable global players, including Sentuo Group, have engaged with the Forum, signalling that the event is not only a national platform but a global investment gateway”.
Mr Essuman, according to the statement explained that the Forum had moved beyond dialogue into tangible deal-making.
“Several entrepreneurs who participated in previous editions have secured support from financial institutions, with their projects now progressing steadily.
“We have seen international companies and investors participating actively. The presence of the President at the forum continues to boost confidence among businesses and deepen engagement,” Mr Essuman added.
It said the Forum’s continental ambitions were backed by concrete infrastructure plans.
“President John Dramani Mahama has announced that the government is working with Metalex and Trasacco to construct a permanent convention, conference and exhibition centre in Kwahu.
“We want it to become a centre for conferences and exhibitions, not only in Ghana, but for organisations that come from outside Ghana to come and hold conferences and exhibitions here,” President Mahama declared at the 2026 Forum.
As part of the broader development plan, an airstrip will be constructed to facilitate both domestic and international travel to Kwahu, particularly for conferences and large-scale events.
Traditional authorities in Kwahu have already donated approximately 150 acres of land to support the development of a permanent business conference centre.
The project will include spaces for performances, meetings and exhibitions, aimed at boosting business tourism and economic activity in the area.
Unlike many continental business fora that focused primarily on high-level dialogue, the Kwahu Business Forum has built a unique accountability mechanism into its structure: every participating bank commits to financing at least five bankable enterprises per year.
This results-driven approach has already yielded measurable outcomes. Several SMEs, including Perferct End Logistics, Nobi Farms, and Rockmar Pharmaceutical, have secured full financial support and are now fully operational, according to Ghana Export-Import Bank CEO Sylvester Mensah.
The Forum’s impact on SME financing addresses a critical market failure: small and medium-sized enterprises constitute approximately 85% of Ghanaian businesses yet receive a disproportionately small share of formal credit.
The Forum, conceived by President John Dramani Mahama and Chief of Staff Julius Debrah in 2024, has rapidly evolved from a modest stakeholder engagement during Easter festivities into one of Ghana’s most significant annual economic gatherings.
President Mahama has consistently emphasised that the Forum’s success should transcend political cycles and expressed confidence that future administrations would sustain and expand support for the Kwahu Business Forum, which has become a key platform for promoting investment and entrepreneurship.
As efforts intensify to transform the Kwahu Business Village into an international conference hub that will attract businesses and investors from across the world, the Forum is increasingly being compared to Africa’s most prestigious business gatherings, and, according to its organisers, it is ready to rival them.
GNA
Edited by George-Ramsey Benamba
April 24, 2026