GNBCC & The Royal Netherlands Embassy Host GROW24 Investment Roundtable

On Tuesday, 29th July 2025, GNBCC in collaboration with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana, organized a special roundtable discussion on the GROW24 initiative – a flagship programme under the 24-Hour Economy policy by the Office of the President of Ghana.

Theme: Investment Opportunities with GROW24
Venue: Pelican Hotel, Cantonments, Accra
Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

The event was strictly by invitation and brought together a select group of stakeholders in Ghana’s agriculture sector, including members of the GNBCC, invited guests and representatives from the Netherlands Embassy. The session aimed to provide exclusive insights into Ghana’s agricultural transformation agenda, focusing especially on investment and partnership opportunities under the Eden Volta Breadbasket Project.

The program began with a warm welcome from Hilde Famaey, General Manager of GNBCC, who set the context for the gathering by explaining its relevance to ongoing policy and investment discourse. Her remarks were followed by H.E. Jeroen Verheul, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Ghana, who emphasized the longstanding Ghana–Netherlands relationship and the Dutch government’s interest in supporting Ghana’s horticulture and agribusiness sectors. He noted that now—during policy formulation—is the opportune moment for businesses and development partners to get involved.

The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) shared insights on the investment landscape and the various benefits of doing business in Ghana. You can view their presentation here.

The main presentation of the day was delivered by Mr. Charles Nornoo, Team Lead for the GROW24 Initiative. He broke down the GROW24 strategy, one of the eight pillars of the 24-Hour Economy agenda, quoting H.E. John Dramani Mahama:

“The 24-Hour Economy is more than just a policy; it’s a catalyst for industrialization, export promotion, and job creation. It’s about building an economy that works for everyone, every hour of the day.”

Mr. Nornoo outlined the program’s focus on developing Agbleduwo – Agroecological Parks, supported by selected irrigation schemes, anchor farmers with in-growers, the Eden Volta Breadbasket Project, and the Shikpon Urban/Peri-urban Vegetable and Fruit Farming program.

Additional highlights from his presentation included:

Packaging centers in every town with technical experts to reduce the over 30% post-harvest losses (and over 70% in yam alone).

PLAM (Participatory Land Access Model) to help communities lease land to investors while maintaining ownership and benefit-sharing.

Plans to reduce $3.5 billion in annual food imports, with a focus on local production.

The launch of FUND24, which aims to unlock over $1 billion in affordable financing for MSMEs in agriculture through concessional loans, fixed interest rates (in agreement with the Bank of Ghana), and long-term land lease incentives.

Following the presentations, a Q&A session gave participants the opportunity to engage Mr. Nornoo and his team on both broad policy topics and specific collaboration ideas. The feedback was enthusiastic and the interest in exploring future opportunities under GROW24 was evident.

If you would like to find out more or are interested in exploring collaborations under the GROW24 initiative, please feel free to contact us via:

📧 [email protected] or visit the official GROW24 page: https://24hplus.gov.gh/project/grow24-agriculture

We look forward to helping you explore the future of agriculture and investment in Ghana.