Ghana has a small population base and a small sales market. Many foreign trade sellers have not conducted serious research, lacked understanding of the Ghanaian market, and their products were not suitable, resulting in losses. Debts in Africa are difficult to settle, and trade fraud in Ghana is frequent and the means of fraud are diverse. Many companies have been deceived and must be careful when doing business in Ghana.
In order to protect its trade suppliers, Ghana has stipulated that only Ghana franchises are allowed:
1. Operating in the market or doing small business, hawking or selling in small stalls anywhere;
2. Taxi and car rental (but if foreigners invest in more than 25 new cars, they can also operate taxi and car rental businesses);
3. Beauty salons;
4. Telecom recharge scratch card printing;
5. Manufacturing basic stationery such as exercise books;
6. Drug retail;
7. Bag water production, supply, and retail;
8. Other gambling industries other than football.
In addition, Ghana’s laws and regulations are very stringent and set certain thresholds for trade. Here are some of them for foreign trade sellers to refer to:
Legal currency: Cedi CEDI.
Foreign currency circulation:
Foreign currency needs to be exchanged at specified banks and currency exchange offices. Some local financial institutions can open RMB accounts for residents and non-residents. The Ghanaian government has included RMB in its foreign exchange reserves, but the specific reserve amount and proportion have not yet been disclosed. China and Ghana have not signed a bilateral currency exchange agreement.
Foreign exchange control:
1. Foreign companies must register companies locally and obtain investment approval and legal residence procedures from the Ghanaian investment management department to open accounts in domestic banks in Ghana. Foreign companies whose investment funds are remitted by foreign banks can open offshore accounts in domestic commercial banks. If the company only opens an ordinary foreign currency account, foreign exchange can only be transferred in China and cannot be freely transferred overseas.
2. Residents and non-residents can carry US$10,000 or equivalent traveler’s checks or equivalent negotiable bills for direct consumption abroad. Authorized banks can freely export foreign exchange cash. If you carry more than 10,000 US dollars in cash, you must declare it to the relevant department when entering or leaving the country.
3. In terms of import, a negative list management is adopted, and the import of narcotics and small arms is prohibited. For regulatory purposes, if the import of foreign exchange exceeds 50,000 US dollars, relevant basic transaction documents must be submitted.