The One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative is the vision of His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to change the nature of Ghana’s economy from one which is dependent on import and export of raw material to one which is focused on manufacturing, value addition and export of processed goods. These raw materials are largely found in the districts which would have otherwise gone waste.
The initiative as proposed by His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is private sector led. Government creates the necessary conducive environment for the businesses to access funding from financial institutions and other support services from Government agencies to establish factories. Ghanaian entrepreneurs will thus own the companies, operate them and bear all the risks and rewards of the projects.
On 25th August, 2017, His Excellency the President launched the 1D1F programme at Ekumfi in the Central Region. His Excellency after the launching, cut sod for the commencement of the first factory, a pineapple/ fruit processing factory at Nanabeng in the Central Region of Ghana.
Objectives
The 1D1F initiative seeks to achieve the following;
- Add value to the natural resources of each district and exploit the economic potential of each district based on its comparative advantage.
- Ensure even and spatial spread of industries that would stimulate economic activity in different parts of the country.
- Create massive employment particularly for the youth in rural and peri-urban communities, and thereby improve income levels and standards of living, as well as reduce rural-urban migration.
- Promote exports and increase foreign exchange earnings
- Enhance the production of local substitutes for imported goods thereby conserving scarce foreign exchange.
The Secretariat
The Secretariat provides technical support services including the following:
- Registering projects received from Promoters and maintaining a database of projects.
- Reviewing business plans with a criteria matching the credit review yardstick of the financial institutions.
- Providing advisory services to Promoters to restructure their business proposal to conform the standards of the financial institutions.
- Liaise with financial institutions to provide financial support to viable businesses whose business proposal have met criteria.
- Follow up to ensure that queries raised by the Participating financial institutions on projects submitted to them are duly addressed.
- Structuring of stakeholders engagement to address the needs of business Promoters and also ensure compliance with statutory and market requirements.
- Provide infrastructural support to projects through key stakeholders
- Supporting Promoters in addressing other challenges including legal support.
- Liaise with the Promoters to provide documentation appropriate to meet the criteria set to qualify and receive the incentives approved by Parliament.
- Ensuring sustainability of projects is assured and meet the requirement of the three cardinal pillars of project evaluation an implementation:
- Availability of raw materials
- Good Corporate Governance Practices
- Available market for produce (are there any off-taker’s agreement?).