What you need to know about Ghanaian business culture
Due to abundant natural resources, reliable and well-educated workforce, and with English as a language in the business world, more investors are seeing Ghana as a potentially favourable place to do business.
The World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Survey for 2019, however, ranks Ghana 118th in this regard, out of the 190 countries.
Age, experience, wealth, and position within the company are important determiners of gaining respect in the country. Thus, senior business people are the primary decision makers in most Ghanaian companies. Expats who would like to do business in the country should well remember the importance of valuing the academic and professional credentials of the people they want to enter a contract with and address them accordingly.
Relationships and rapport are also highly valued in Ghana. To build a strong business relationship, you should work on getting to know them on a personal level. It shouldn’t be a surprise then if no business matter is discussed during the first meeting.
Ghanaians also tend to be indirect in their communication, so it would be wise not to throw a topic that will cause tension. Also, make sure you attend all invitations.
Laws and regulations in Ghana
Ghana has a court or division of court that is especially dedicated to hearing commercial cases. The country’s court structure and proceedings allow pretrial attachment. New cases are also assigned randomly to judges.
Guarantees including prohibition against discrimination and expropriation to all enterprises are provided by Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Act, 2013 (Act 865). As a member of Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), it provides investment guarantees against non-commercial risk for investments in developing countries. And in order to enhance the security and protection of the investment regime, Ghana has entered an Investment Protection and Protection Agreement (IPPA).
Arbitration and litigation in Ghana
The application of arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism has a positive trend. Disputes are preferably resolved through arbitration, so companies include arbitration in their agreement. Parties also elect Ghana Arbitration Centre as a forum to resolve such disputes.
Litigation serves as a main dispute resolution method in setting large commercial disputes. However, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is gaining prominence as an alternative to litigation since litigation is often associated with cost, delay, and alienation. Amicable settlement can be proposed by the court to settle dispute among litigants.
Get assistance from alliance experts
If you are interested in making successful market entry to Ghana, you may consult Alliance Experts. The company’s extensive research on negotiation will give you a greater advantage in cross-cultural business landscape. Its expertise is on optimizing the outcome of the negotiation.
