The Jospong Group, a conglomerate headed by one of Ghana’s most successful businessmen, Joseph Siaw Agyepong, has won a $33 million loan from the Austrian government to expand its rice manufacturing firm in the country.
Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo hailed Austria for the gesture, which he announced in Accra on Wednesday, noting that the Jospong Group had previously constructed 16 integrated recycling and composting facilities thanks to prior financial help from the Austrian government.
Akufo-Addo was speaking at a luncheon honoring Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who is visiting Ghana for three days.
Agyepong said last year that he was delving into large-scale mechanised rice production in response to the Ghanaian government’s determination to increase rice output in the country.
Since then, the company has signed memorandums of understanding with key rice sector players in Thailand to build rice mechanization centers, bio-organic fertiliser manufacturing centers, farm tool supply, and rice mills in Ghana.
Jospong Group, formed in 1995 as a printing press by Joseph Siaw Agyepong, has subsequently grown to become one of Ghana’s greatest indigenous corporations.
It has holdings in over 14 industries and 60 companies with activities in Africa and Asia.
The organization has a presence in waste management, ICT, printing and publishing, agriculture, finance, and logistics.
In 2021, the Ghanaian government named Agyepong “CEO of the Decade” for his company’s environmental and sanitation efforts.
