Call for Singapore firms to invest in Africa amid uncertainty from tariffs

SINGAPORE - Businesses in Singapore and Africa should jump at opportunities to collaborate as like-minded partners in the face of uncertainty from tariffs by the Trump administration, said Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama.

A closer partnership between the Republic and the African continent “is both urgent and full of promise”, he said in a speech at the 8th Africa Singapore Business Forum on Aug 26.

He added: “Tariffs and retaliatory tariffs are flying fast and furious. The effects on the global economy are still yet to be well understood, but in these unpredictable times, we must forge new alliances. We must explore new markets and new investment spaces.”

Mr Mahama said Ghana can offer businesses political stability and a rules-based environment to operate in.

He added that the western African country has seen

a growing base of Singapore investors

. It has 69 registered Singapore companies with cumulative investments of more than US$2 billion (S$2.6 billion).

Mr Mahama, who was sworn in for his second term as Ghana’s president earlier in 2025, is on an inaugural state visit to Singapore, which will conclude on Aug 28.

After the business forum, he visited the Singapore Institute of Technology, to understand local experiences in higher education, and Biopolis, to get a sense of public and private sector collaboration in the life sciences and biotechnology fields.

On Aug 27, he will receive a ceremonial welcome and call on President Tharman Shanmugaratnam. He will then meet Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, witness a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony and attend a state banquet.

To wrap up the trip, Mr Mahama will participate in a roundtable with Singapore businesses interested in investing in Ghana organised by the Singapore Business Federation.

The visit comes as Singapore’s bilateral investment treaties with Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire entered into force.

The treaties are legally binding, and will give Singapore businesses in the two markets enhanced protection for their investments, on top of what is accorded under local laws.

Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations Grace Fu announced the entry into force of the treaties on Aug 26 and said they were “key building blocks that will strengthen Singapore’s partnership with Africa”.

“I am confident this will catalyse greater investment flows between our countries,” she added.

Singapore now has seven such treaties in Africa, a continent of 54 countries.

It is in the process of negotiating an agreement with Ghana, with which it had bilateral trade of more than US$215 million in 2024.

Trade between Singapore and Africa has grown by more than 50 per cent in recent years, from $12.1 billion in 2020 to $18.7 billion in 2024, according to data from Enterprise Singapore.

Against this backdrop, Mr Mahama said Ghana is a “trusted entry point” to scale across the continent.

He said the African Continental Free Trade Area, which is the world’s largest in terms of countries, territories and population, offers access to a US$3.4 trillion market.

He added: “We know that credibility is earned, not acquired. We are pursuing a deliberate national reset, stabilising our macroeconomy, restoring confidence and reforming how we do business.

“Inflation is easing, the local currency has stabilised, and ratings outlook is improving.”

Mr Mahama also cited efforts to make Ghana more accessible to international companies. This includes a review of its investment promotion Act to remove minimum capital thresholds for foreign investors, which he said will soon be put up for Cabinet approval.

He added: “In a world of tightened financial conditions, fragile supply chains and rising protectionism, collaboration is not optional; it is essential.

“Africa and Singapore must be champions of open markets, trusted rules and practical partnerships that deliver jobs, technology transfer and shared prosperity for our people.”