Accra Mall was officially opened in July 2008 by the Actis Africa Real Estate Fund, and is Ghana’s first and only Grade-A shopping mall. It consists of 19,000 square metres of lettable space and has parking for 800 cars. Construction of the mall took two years and at the peak of construction over 700 people worked on the development.

The mall is 99% let with 69 retailers, including major banks, pharmacies, large department stores and a cinema. Investment in shopping centres can have significant positive social and economic impacts, both direct and indirect.

Accra mall employs over 1,000 people. Businesses activity is increasing and stimulating further growth for the local community through additional job creation and increased knowledge passed onto local suppliers. Some businesses in the mall are new to Ghana and provide access to products which previously were either unavailable locally or prohibitively expensive. Contracts for cleaning, security and maintenance have been awarded to local suppliers, thereby providing the local community with further employment and income.

Businesses in Accra Mall generated an estimated US$4.3m in sales tax for the Ghanaian government in 2008. It is projected that taxes, rates and fees of US$60m will be accrued from retail tenants over a ten year period.

Actis managed the entire development of the mall from concept to completion. Actis has developed sustainability guidelines for real estate funds, and provided these guidelines to the mall’s designers and builders. The guidelines are informed by international best practice and include measures to increase the energy efficiency of the building. Actis has also developed comprehensive health and safety guidelines, specifically designed for real estate investments in emerging markets.

Following the initial success of Accra mall expansion, there are plans to increase the space within the mall, introducing new companies to Ghana’s formal retail sector, and generating further tax revenues for the Ghanaian government.

1 From year-end 2008, except for when stated otherwise.
2 US$16.2m have been invested by Actis to date. CDC’s investment in Actis Africa Real Estate Fund is US$154m. Total fund size is US$154m.
3 2007-2008.