Ghana: The Asantehene launches a summit in Washington targeting 500 million dollars in investments in Africa

The Africa Business Investment Summit 2026 opened on August 28 at MGM National Harbor, in the Washington D.C. area, aiming for 500 million dollars in structured capital commitments between African project developers and US institutional investors over two days. More than 400 delegates - government officials, business leaders and US-based investors - attended the opening, themed "The Asante Crown Meets the Diaspora". According to Africa Newsroom (APO), this is the first time the Millennium Excellence Week, the event's organizer, has held an event outside Ghana. The keynote address was delivered by His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, King of the Asante people and patron of the summit: "For too long, Africa has been described primarily in terms of its deficits... unbuilt roads, ungenerated power, uncreated jobs, unavailable capital." He added that "Africa is already becoming a central part of tomorrow's global economy, and those who understand this early will position themselves advantageously." Sampson Ahi, Deputy Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, representing the Ghanaian president, discussed the national "twenty-four-hour economy" program aimed at shifting from raw material exports to finished goods manufacturing. The first day featured sessions on critical minerals, Ghanaian gold and diaspora fintech, including an interview with actor Boris Kodjoe. The second day is set to cover the creative economy, health and digital, ahead of bilateral investment matchmaking. For Ghana, the event tests the ability of the Asante crown to mobilize US institutional capital beyond traditional diaspora remittances, as Western public aid contracts and African governments...