The Deputy Minister of Trade for the Government of Ghana, Honorable Dr. Joseph Annan and an official trade delegation visited Finland from September 6-9, 2011. They were accompanied by a five member business delegation from the Ghana Chamber of Commerce, headed by Honorable Mr. Seth Adjei-Baah.

The delegation was hosted by FinPro, as well as the Finnish Foreign Ministry. The program included a welcome cocktail to meet with Ghanaian diaspora in Finland, a series of seminars explaining the business environment in Finland to the Ghanaians, an open investment seminar for Finnish companies interested in pursuing opportunities in Ghana, as well as company visits to such Finnish industry giants as Nokia.
At the welcome cocktail event, it was revealed that Finland is home to a total of 774 Ghanaians. These immigrants can create real opportunities for bilateral trade, particularly in the small and medium enterprise sector. “Many Ghanaians like myself living in Finland have already started investing in small business opportunities at home, including real estate development and equipment leasing,” explained Elder Samuel Anini.

The main event was an investment seminar at Kiasma, the museum of modern art, entitled the Pearl of Africa: Ghana. Over 200 participants listened to the Deputy Minister’s keynote speech, as well as a presentation by Ghana Investment Promotion Center Director of Marketing and Communications, Dr. Edward Ashong-Lartey, which highlighted current investment opportunities in Ghana. Mr. Markus Ranne, head of FinPro’s Africa desk, remarked that the Deputy Minister’s speech was, “dynamic and interesting to the audience.”