Investment Guides
Investor Opportunities in Blantyre, Malawi
In October 2009, MCI and KPMG released a report on investment opportunities in Blantyre, Malawi, one of the Millennium Cities. The report analyzes sectors and products showing potential for investment in Blantyre and the region.
Investors Guide to São Tomé and Príncipe
The Investor's Guide to São Tomé and Príncipe, released on September 19, 2008, intends to make São Tomé and Príncipe better known to global investors. The principal investment opportunities are identified in the
areas of agriculture (cocoa, flowers, fruits and vegetables for export), adventure and eco-tourism, fisheries, regional trans-shipment, and petroleum services. The Guide also provides an account of the investment climate and the broader context of the country.
The Portuguese version of the Guide was released on September 19, 2008 in Lisbon, Portugal, in an event hosted by the Portuguese Business Development Agency (AICEP), with the participation of his H.E. President Fradique de Menezes. The English version of the Guide was released in a special dinner for the President in New York on September 22, 2008.
The Guide was prepared by The Earth Institute at Columbia University in collaboration with the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment. The Guide has the high-level support of the Government of São Tomé and Príncipe, the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), and the European Business Council for Africa and the Mediterranean (EBCAM) and was drafted with input from local and international stakeholders.
Download the English version here
Download the Portuguese version here
Invest in Ghana: Focus Kumasi
Click here to download Invest in Ghana: Focus Kumasi.
Click here to read the press release announcing the publication of Invest in Ghana: Focus Kumasi.
The Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Columbia Program on International Investment (CPII) released Invest in Ghana: Focus Kumasi in April 2008. It is the first city investment guide in West Africa.
Kumasi is Ghana's second largest city and capital of the Ashanti region. It is an important commercial center. Its location, climate and safety, combined with Ghana's increasing access to foreign markets, make Kumasi attractive to investment in a number of areas. One sector of great potential discussed in the Guide is in the area of cocoa and its processing. Another concrete opportunity is the production of fruit juice made from different fruit growing in the region. Furthermore, opportunities were identified in the hotel sector and in retail. The production of pharmaceuticals also has great potential. Other areas with potential include agriculture and agro-processing as well as manufacturing. The Guide outlines these opportunities as well as relevant matters such as tax and regulatory conditions in Ghana.
The Guide was developed with the support of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC). The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) and the European Business Council for Africa and the Mediterranean (EBCAM) have lent their support to this effort.
The Guide was launched in Kumasi on April 18, 2008.
Invest in Kenya: Focus Kisumu
MCI and CPII released Invest in Kenya: Focus Kisumu in September 2007. The Guide, the first city investment guide for Africa, was prepared by the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI) in cooperation with the Columbia Program on International Investment (CPII).
Fittingly, MCI’s first investor’s guide focuses on Kisumu, the first city named a Millennium City. Kisumu, located on Lake Victoria, is Kenya’s third largest city and an important economic center. Its location, climate and safety, combined with Kenya’s increasing access to foreign markets, make Kisumu attractive to investment in a number of areas. One sector of great potential discussed in the Guide is agriculture, with opportunities in the areas of sugar cane, cotton, groundnuts, rice, and horticultural crops. Other areas with potential include aquaculture, agro-processing and dairy. The Guide delves into these opportunities as well as relevant matters such as tax and regulatory conditions in Kenya.
The Guide was developed with the support of the Governments of Kenya and Finland, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) and the European Business Council for Africa and the Mediterranean (EBCAM) have lent their support to this effort.
The Guide was officially launched in Nairobi on September 26, 2007.
Investor's Guide to Liberia
As part of Columbia University's Liberia Advisory Project (headed by Dr. Jeffrey D. Sachs and Dr. Macartan N. Humphreys), the CPII provided expert support to the Government of Liberia on strategies for attracting FDI to the country. More specifically, it supported the National Investment Council (Liberia) in the preparation and launch of an Investor's Guide to Liberia, released in time for the Liberia Private Sector Investment Forum that took place February 15, 2007, in Washington, DC. The event was organized by The Corporate Council on Africa in co-sponsorship with the Government of Liberia, the International Finance Corporation, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.