Prince Kofi Amoabeng, the founder of the defunct UT Bank, has called on President John Dramani Mahama to implement a bold, non-partisan national strategy focused on deliberately creating at least 10 Ghanaian billionaires to serve as economic pillars for the nation.
Speaking at the Fourth First National Bank (FNB) Head of State Invitational Golf Tournament at the Achimota Golf Club last Friday, Mr Amoabeng argued that targeted government backing for capable, honest entrepreneurs is essential to accelerating economic growth, reducing poverty, and projecting Ghana’s economic strength internationally.
The ‘Deliberate’ Billionaire Strategy
Mr Amoabeng’s proposal cuts through traditional economic policy by suggesting the government should actively select and support a cohort of high-potential domestic business leaders.
His call is particularly notable given his own high-profile experience in the financial sector and the subsequent regulatory clean-up.
Addressing the President directly, the former CEO stressed that empowerment should bypass political allegiance and focus strictly on merit and compliance.
“My suggestion is that, apart from helping the poor people with the employment arrangement, we should try to create about at least 10 millionaires or billionaires in Ghana. Deliberately,” he said.
He outlined the criteria and the government’s role in this transformative economic vision:
“You can choose people, young people, who are honest and pay their taxes and have business to stand for, and intentionally, the government backs them up with grants, with contracts and things like that. To grow them so that you go across internationally and everything and project the name of this country.”
The move, Mr Amoabeng added, requires the country to break away from the “pull-him-down syndromes” that currently sabotage homegrown success. He urged the President to look beyond party lines to identify “genuine business people” who can lift the entire national economy.
“So, Mr President, identify, please, not only NDC, but genuine business people and push them, encourage them, so that they will become successful for our dear country,” he said.
Praise for Economic Gains and 24-Hour Policy
Mr Amoabeng also used the high-profile platform—attended by the President, the Minister for Sports, and corporate leaders—to commend the current administration for demonstrating a “renewed national sense of hope.”
He acknowledged positive trends in key macroeconomic indicators, citing recent improvements in inflation, interest rates, and the performance of the Ghana Cedi.
The former banker also offered a concise, practical interpretation of the administration’s flagship initiative:
He commended the administration for its 24-hour economy initiative, which he described in simple terms: “When you accept you are poor, when rich people are sleeping late, you don’t sleep. That’s basically my understanding of it.”
Infrastructure and Judicial Reform: Critical Pillars
Beyond wealth creation, Mr Amoabeng identified two major systemic bottlenecks hindering Ghana’s economic acceleration: infrastructure and the legal system.
He threw his weight behind the proposed Accra–Kumasi commercial project (referring to a major rail or road upgrade), arguing it is crucial for business efficiency. Given that the current road journey takes an average of seven hours, the cost of logistics is crippling for businesses.
“One other thing which really freaks me is the proposed Accra commercial project,” he said. “Every right-thinking person who spends about seven hours to go to Kumasi, they only want to pay even 1,000 cedis so they can get there in time and conduct their business and come back.”
Finally, he called for urgent and comprehensive reform of the Judiciary, arguing that chronic delays in the legal system severely hinder business confidence and investment. Recounting his own difficulties in the debt recovery process, he highlighted the impact of systemic inefficiency on capital flow:
“I personally had a debt recovery which took eight years. And you ask yourself, somebody has come for your money, give you a collateral, it’s not paying, why should it take eight years?”
Amoabeng concluded that without fixing the Judiciary, which currently lags behind global standards in contract enforcement, the President’s broader economic transformation agenda would be unable to achieve its maximum impact.
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