CEOs Must Lead Ghana’s Reset Through Production, Integrity and People Development — Ishmael Yamson

By Kofi Ahovi

Business leaders urged to drive local production, uphold ethical leadership and develop the next generation as Ghana prepares for its future

Founder of Ishmael Yamson & Associates, Dr. Ishmael Yamson, has challenged chief executives and business leaders to take a more active role in Ghana’s economic transformation, urging them to prioritise local production, ethical leadership and investment in people.

He said the success of Ghana’s economic reset agenda depended not only on government policies but also on the everyday decisions businesses make about what they produce, whom they employ, how they pay taxes and how they treat workers and customers.

Dr. Yamson made the remarks at the Ghana CEO Vision High-Level Dialogue 2026, held in Accra under the theme “Reimagine Ghana’s Future: CEOs at the Heart of the Reset Agenda.” The dialogue preceded the Ghana CEO Awards ceremony scheduled for Friday, October 30.

Executives in this room are among those leaders. You cannot watch the reset from the stands. It will be won or lost in the choices you make: what to produce, whom you hire, what taxes you pay, and how you treat your employees and your customers,” he said.

Dr. Yamson argued that Ghana’s economic challenges were partly rooted in decisions made by its own leaders and citizens, cautioning against blaming external institutions for conditions the country could address through responsible governance and disciplined economic management.

He said the country needed to move beyond repeated cycles of economic difficulty and focus on the structural changes required to build a productive and resilient economy.

I have said that the overwhelming majority of our problems are homegrown and self-inflicted,” he stated, adding that Ghana must learn to make difficult but necessary decisions rather than rely continually on external support.

Prioritise local production and innovation

Dr. Yamson identified increased domestic production as one of three priorities for business leaders, urging chief executives to invest in Ghanaian industries, technology, innovation and new ideas.

He expressed concern about Africa’s limited contribution to global innovation and questioned how long the continent could depend on technologies developed elsewhere while aspiring to achieve economic independence.

New ideas, new thinking, new technology — those are the things that are changing the world today. What is our contribution as Africans and as Ghanaians? Can we forever import technology from outside and claim to be independent? We can't,” he emphasized.

He also criticised the country's dependence on imported goods, particularly food, despite its considerable agricultural potential.

According to him, businesses must look beyond importing and reselling foreign products and explore opportunities to produce goods and develop solutions locally, creating jobs and retaining more economic value within Ghana.

Integrity must define leadership

The second priority, Dr. Yamson said, was integrity and ethical leadership, which he described as central to his own professional journey.

In my own career, right from day one, only one thing has shaped my life and my career, and that is leading with integrity and ethics,” he stressed.

He urged chief executives to recognise that leadership positions carried responsibilities beyond personal achievement or corporate profitability.

According to him, leaders must be judged by the difference they make in their organisations and in the lives of ordinary Ghanaians.

A leader must make a difference. You must add value,” he said, challenging executives to consider the legacy they would leave behind.

He cautioned that businesses and national leaders who prioritised personal interests over the broader public good risked perpetuating the same challenges that had constrained Ghana’s development over the years.

Invest in the next generation

Dr. Yamson's third recommendation was for business leaders to deliberately develop future generations of leaders, warning that decisions taken today would shape Ghana's social and economic conditions for decades.

If we, as leaders today, continue to make the same decisions, the same choices that they made, we cannot expect a reset Ghana five, 10, 20 or 50 years from now,” he said.

He urged executives to think beyond immediate business results and consider the kind of country they wanted future generations to inherit.

He also called for a greater willingness to make difficult decisions in the national interest, rather than choices driven by personal benefit or short-term considerations.

Dr. Yamson illustrated the urgency of Ghana’s development challenges by referring to worsening traffic congestion, recalling that a journey that once took him about 20 minutes to attend church now took approximately one hour and 40 minutes.

That’s not the Ghana I want to live in,” he said, calling for a fundamental rethink of how the country planned its development and addressed persistent infrastructure and productivity challenges.

UNESCO calls for private-sector-led transformation

Also addressing the dialogue, Edmond Moukala N’Gouemo, Director of the UNESCO Ghana Office, urged businesses to broaden their definition of success by measuring their contribution to society alongside conventional financial performance.

He said the private sector had a crucial role to play in addressing poverty, inequality and gaps in access to essential services, including healthcare, education, clean water and energy.

The world we hope for will not be created by conversation alone, but by the action we take together,” he said.

Moukala called on companies to invest strategically in vulnerable communities and underserved regions, arguing that such investments could strengthen the workforce, expand markets and support sustainable business growth.

He urged chief executives to look beyond quarterly profits and consider how their operations and supply chains could help communities become more resilient.

Imagine recognising a CEO not only for what they are making in quarterly profit alone, but the percentage of their supply chain that has moved from vulnerable to resilient,” he remarked.

He added that supporting vulnerable populations should not be viewed merely as charity but as a strategic investment in the people and communities on which businesses depend.

Moukala also called for stronger partnerships among government, the private sector and development institutions to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

CEOs urged to turn dialogue into action

Earlier, Latif Abubakar, founder of the Ghana CEO Awards, said the dialogue was designed to encourage business leaders to move beyond discussions and develop partnerships and ideas capable of contributing to national development.

Ghana's reset agenda requires bold ideas, responsible leadership, strategic partnerships and the courage to turn challenges into opportunities,” he said.

He stressed that the private sector had a critical role in driving investment, creating jobs, stimulating innovation and building an economy that worked for all.

Abubakar encouraged participants to use the platform to ask difficult questions, exchange ideas and pursue partnerships that could translate into measurable results.

The dialogue formed part of activities leading to the Ghana CEO Awards, scheduled for Friday, October 30, which will recognise individuals and organisations for excellence, innovation, resilience and outstanding leadership.