Ghana is Africa’s largest gold producer.
Last year, the country earned roughly $20 billion from gold exports.
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That sounds like an extraordinary success story. But Ghana has apparently decided that being Africa’s biggest gold producer is not enough.
As of September 1, certain gold exporters can no longer simply ship Ghanaian gold doré overseas to be refined.
They have to refine it in Ghana first.
And when you look at everything Ghana has been doing over the past year, it becomes clear that this is about much more than refining.
Ghana is trying to buy more of its gold locally, test it locally, refine it locally, build internationally recognized refining capacity—and eventually develop more of the businesses and industries that exist around gold.
In other words:
Ghana doesn’t just want to produce the gold anymore. It wants more of the gold industry.
And that distinction matters.
For generations, one of Africa’s biggest economic challenges has been that the continent produces enormous quantities of valuable commodities while much of the processing, manufacturing, financing and higher-value economic activity surrounding those commodities happens somewhere else.
Ghana is now attempting to change that equation.
And the implications could extend far beyond Ghana.
Watch the full Breakdown:
And after you watch, I want to hear from you:
Should more African countries require greater processing and manufacturing at home before their natural resources leave the continent?
And for the entrepreneurs and investors in this community: Is this the kind of opportunity you want us to explore more deeply together?
Let’s talk about it.
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