Doing Business in Ghana: Regions, Cities & Business Opportunities

Greater Accra is Ghana’s most populous region (5.46 million people, 2021 census) and home to the national capital, Accra. The wider Greater Accra Metropolitan Area holds roughly 4 million people and ranks among Africa’s largest metropolitan areas. Accra anchors two of Ghana’s most important pieces of infrastructure: Kotoka International Airport, which handled a record 3.62 million passengers in 2025, and the Port of Tema, Ghana’s largest seaport, which moved 19.9 million metric tons of cargo in 2025, 64% of the country’s total seaborne trade, and over 95% of national container traffic.

A major Terminal 3 expansion at Tema (a joint venture between Ghana Ports & Harbours Authority, APM Terminals, and Africa Global Logistics) raised the port’s container capacity from 800,000 to 3 million TEUs, with a further phase targeting 3.5–3.7 million TEUs. Tema has become an increasingly important gateway for landlocked neighbors including Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.

Sources: Wikipedia/Accra · Ghana Statistical Service · Ghana Shippers’ Authority Maritime Trade Review 2025 · AGL Group · Newsaero

Central Region is Ghana’s fourth most populous region (2.86 million people), and Cape Coast, its regional capital, is home to roughly 190,000 people. The region is Ghana’s most established tourism corridor, anchored by two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle, the latter built in 1482 and the oldest surviving European building in Sub-Saharan Africa. Kakum National Park, about 30 km from Cape Coast, is known for its canopy walkway suspended 30–50 meters above the forest floor.

The hospitality sector here has seen recent investment: AnoMansa Beach Resort (formerly Elmina Bay Resort) was acquired and rebranded by Landtours Ghana in January 2025, and the Ghanaian government earmarked more than 400 million cedis in late 2023 for heritage tourism upgrades including Elmina Castle. Other named properties include Elmina Beach Resort, Ko-Sa Beach Resort, and Hans Cottage Botel.

Sources: Ghana Statistical Service · UNESCO World Heritage List · VoyagesAfriq · The Traveler · Wikipedia/Cape Coast Castle

Western Region (2.06 million people) is home to Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana’s oldest harbour city and, alongside Tema, one of only two major seaports in the country. The region produces cocoa, gold, manganese, limestone, and timber, and hosts Ghana’s offshore Jubilee Oil Field, with proven reserves around 3 billion barrels and production near 150,000 barrels a day.

The Port of Takoradi handled 11.1 million metric tons in 2025 (36% of national seaborne trade), with vessel calls up nearly 25% year-on-year through November 2025. A $100 million Oil and Gas Services Terminal was commissioned in November 2024, and the region’s hospitality sector now includes several internationally branded properties, including the Protea Hotel Select Takoradi (Marriott), the first internationally branded hotel in Western Region, and Planters Lodge, described as the city’s first 5-star luxury heritage hotel.

Sources: Ghana Districts · Wikipedia/Jubilee Oil Field · Ghana Shippers’ Authority Maritime Trade Review 2025 · Ghana News Agency · Modern Ghana

Ashanti Region is Ghana’s most populous region (5.44 million people), and Kumasi, its capital, is the country’s second-largest city (444,000 in the metro area; roughly 3.49 million across Greater Kumasi). Kumasi is home to Kejetia Market, the largest open-air market in West Africa, and the Ashanti Region alone accounted for 21% of Ghana’s national output in a 2014 estimate, nearly half of it generated in Kumasi. The region’s economy runs on gold, cocoa, manganese, bauxite, and timber, half of Ghana’s timber processing takes place in Kumasi, and the gold-mining town of Obuasi sits 50 km southwest.

Kumasi’s Prempeh I International Airport was renovated at a cost of £66 million and reopened in 2024, with a runway extension announced in 2025 to accommodate larger aircraft. The Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal, an inland port under construction near Kumasi, is designed to link the ports of Tema and Takoradi to landlocked Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. Beyond Kejetia Market’s role as a major commercial landmark, we don’t have a named heritage or hospitality asset to point to in Kumasi itself yet.

Sources: Wikipedia/Kumasi · Wikipedia/Economy of Ashanti · Ghana Shippers Authority · GhanaWeb · MBDA

Volta Region (1.66 million people) is anchored by Ho, its regional capital (roughly 180,000 people), and by the Aflao border crossing with Togo, a major commercial gateway for trade with Togo, Benin, and Nigeria that sees heavy daily cross-border traffic. The region is Ghana’s other clear tourism corridor: Wli Waterfalls, the highest in Ghana and West Africa, sits within the Agumatsa Wildlife Sanctuary near the Togo border, and the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary is a regular stop on regional tourism itineraries.

Ho has a documented accommodation shortage during major events, which the Ghana Tourism Authority has flagged as a priority for new hotel and eco-lodge investment. A $23 million five-star Safari Resort is under phased development in Ho, and named lodging in the region includes Freedom Hotel Ho, Wli Water Heights Hotel, Volta Serene Hotel, Sogakope Beach Resort & Spa, and Tagbo Falls Lodge.

Sources: Ghana Districts · Wikipedia/Aflao · Visit Ghana · Travel and Tour World · MyJoyOnline

Northern Region (2.31 million people) is one of Ghana’s most agriculturally important regions and holds the country’s largest reserve of iron ore. Tamale, its capital and Ghana’s third-largest city (375,000 people), is a hub of the national shea industry: shea butter production contributes an estimated $18 million a year to Ghana’s economy, and hundreds of thousands of women across Northern, Upper West, and Upper East regions are involved in shea harvesting and processing.

A new Tree Crops Development Authority zonal office opened in Tamale in November 2025 to support shea and cashew cultivation, and a Shea 2026 Conference was launched to tie the industry into Ghana’s broader 24-Hour Economy initiative. We don’t have a named tourism or hospitality asset to point to in Tamale yet, the shea trade is the city’s dominant economic identity.

Sources: Ghana Districts · Wikipedia/Northern Region · Global Issues/IPS · AllAfrica · Tolon Radio

Eastern Region is Ghana’s third most populous region (2.93 million people), with Koforidua, its capital, home to roughly 125,000–151,000 people depending on the estimate used. The region’s clearest tourism identity centers on the Akosombo Dam and Lake Volta, the world’s largest man-made lake by surface area, covering 8,502 square kilometers, alongside Boti Falls, a seasonal waterfall near Huhunya, and Begoro Waterfalls.

We don’t have recent (2023–2026) business or infrastructure news to point to for Eastern Region or Koforidua yet. The region’s economic identity beyond tourism and hydropower is generally associated with cocoa production, consistent with the broader Eastern Region forest belt.

Sources: Wikipedia/List of Ghanaian regions by population · Wikipedia/Koforidua · Visit Ghana

Upper East Region (1.3 million people, 4.2% of Ghana’s population) sits at the southern terminus of the ancient Trans-Saharan trade route. Bolgatanga, its regional capital (roughly 140,000 people), remains a historic crossroads for cross-border trade with Burkina Faso and is a major center for woven baskets, leather goods, and straw handicrafts.

The Paga border crossing, about 44 km north of Bolgatanga, is the region’s main link to Burkina Faso and home to the Paga Crocodile Pond, a sacred pond and historic trade-era landmark that draws visitors. We don’t have recent (2023–2026) business or infrastructure news to point to for Upper East Region yet, and road-distance estimates from Accra vary widely across sources (roughly 586–820 km) without a single authoritative figure.

Sources: Upper East Regional Coordinating Council · Graphic Online · Wikipedia/Paga · Wikipedia/Paga Crocodile Pond