A Ghanaian Watch special report on how Ghana’s first 100 days of visa-free access for all Africans has sparked excitement, business growth, and serious challenges across the continent.
By Alex Ababio
The Accra Experiment
ACCRA, Ghana – On August 18, 2025, the early morning calm at Black Star Square broke with the sound of roaring motorbikes. A convoy of riders was setting off on what they called a “mission to redraw Africa’s map.”
The Trans African Tourism & Unity Campaign, a 40,000-kilometer road journey across 39 African countries in 163 days, is more than a symbolic ride. It represents Ghana’s bold decision to remove visa barriers for all Africans – a move that could reshape the continent’s travel and trade.
Led by former Member of Parliament Ras Mubarak and supported by Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the campaign is being described as “a living symbol of Africa’s unity.”
“This represents a movement to reclaim Africa’s narrative through open borders and shared prosperity,” Mubarak told The Gazette before the trip began. “To deny Africans the right to move around their continent is to deny history itself.”
Yet behind the celebrations and speeches lies a risky test. Ghana has become the first real-world experiment for whether African integration can succeed through free movement. The policy comes at a time when trust in African governments is low. According to Afrobarometer, 58% of Africans believe corruption has grown worse in their country, and only 31% think their governments are doing well in fighting it. Without trust, experts warn, cooperation among states may collapse.
The Bold Vision
Months before the new visa policy began, the Pan-African Progressive Front (PPF) met in Accra to write what they called the “Theses That Will Change Everything.”
Their Accra Declaration described visa-free travel as “the logical conclusion for our common goal of African renaissance.”
The PPF’s wider plan goes far beyond travel. It calls for Africa to stop being “a consumer of foreign goods” and instead “produce for its own needs.” The group wants regional industrial corridors, African control over natural resources, and an African Logistics Authority to manage transport and trade systems.
“Africa’s freedom begins with control over its roads and railways, ports, and digital infrastructure,” the document states. The goal is to “reverse the colonial model that connects Africa only to external markets.”
Major Ghanaian companies are backing this new vision. The list includes Afrimex Gold in mining, GLICO Insurance in finance, Telecel Ghana in telecommunications, and the National Investment Bank. Their involvement signals that Ghana’s visa-free policy is also seen as a serious business opportunity.
Early Adopters and New Business Waves
The impact is already visible in Accra’s business districts.
Chinedu Nwankwo, a tech entrepreneur from Nigeria, arrived on one of the first visa-free flights from Lagos. Within two weeks, he had rented office space for his new fintech company. “Before this policy, I’d have spent months just applying for a visa,” he said. “Now I can act as fast as I think.”
Hotels are also benefiting. Ama Serwah, who manages a mid-range hotel in Adabraka, says her occupancy rate has gone up by 22% since the policy started. “We’re seeing more guests from Francophone countries like Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, and Benin,” she said. “They used to avoid Ghana because our visa process was too stressful.”
Big companies are adjusting too. Telecel Ghana, which recently took over AT Ghana, says its growth plan now includes building stronger regional links. In an October 2025 statement, the company said its donations of medical equipment to hospitals form part of a “longstanding commitment to social investment across Africa.”
GLICO Insurance, known for quick claim payments – including a ₡389 million payout to Ghana Telecom families in 2003 – is also positioning itself as a key player in managing cross-border business risks.
Implementation Problems and System Pressure
But while the vision sounds bright, implementation has not been easy.
At the Aflao border, immigration officers told Ghanaian Watch that they are “overwhelmed” by the growing number of travelers. “We need more staff, better technology, and clear instructions,” one officer said anonymously. “The system we’re using was built for an older time.”
The Ghana Immigration Service faces these issues amid wider public distrust in government. Across Africa, 47% of people think most or all police officers are corrupt, and 71% fear retaliation if they report corruption. These numbers make it harder to build confidence in open-border management.
The visa-free policy has also affected housing and services. Rent in places like Roman Ridge and East Legon has risen by 15–20% due to new arrivals from other African countries. Some clinics report longer waiting times, though no full data is available yet.
Meanwhile, Ghana’s shadow economy is already struggling with law enforcement. The National Lottery Authority (NLA) recently clashed with KGL Technology Limited over its operation of the NLA’s 5/90 lottery. A probe revealed that the required weekly revenue reconciliations between both organizations had never been done, leaving the NLA unaware of how much money was actually being made.
The Ghana Gold Board also continues to fight gold smuggling. One investigation discovered that more than 100 kilograms of gold worth GH₵100 million had been smuggled in just two months. With such gaps in oversight, experts worry whether Ghana can effectively monitor increased cross-border trade.
A Continental Test Case
Ghana’s policy is being closely watched across Africa. The African Union’s Agenda 2063 dreams of a borderless Africa, but progress has been slow. Ghana’s sudden move could speed things up—or expose deep flaws.
“The eyes of Africa are on Accra,” said Kofi Adjei, a political risk analyst. “If Ghana proves that visa-free movement creates more trade, jobs, and innovation, other countries will follow. But if it turns chaotic, it could delay the AU’s free movement plan by ten years.”
Security experts are more cautious. Former immigration officer Abena Security told Ghanaian Watch: “Open borders require real-time intelligence sharing and regional cooperation. We’re not seeing enough of that yet, and criminals could exploit the gaps.”
Another major issue is what analysts call the remittance paradox. The visa-free policy might encourage Africans to move within Africa instead of heading to Europe, but it could also shift migration pressures rather than solve them.
The Pan-African Progressive Front has suggested an African Solidarity Fund, financed by mineral royalties and customs revenues, to balance these inequalities. But for now, the idea remains on paper.
Ghana’s High-Stakes Gamble
As the Trans African Tourism & Unity Campaign travels from capital to capital, it carries Ghana’s message of unity across the continent. Letters are being delivered to African leaders urging them to follow Ghana’s example and open their borders too.
The campaign’s backers—from Afrimex Gold and National Investment Bank to the Ghana Gold Board—reflect a broad alliance of business and policy interests that see regional integration as the future. The Gold Board, set up in early 2025 to regulate Ghana’s gold trade and reduce smuggling, is also part of this broader effort to reclaim economic sovereignty.
Back home, the results are mixed. Nigerian entrepreneur Chinedu Nwankwo has already hired three Ghanaians and plans to expand his business to Abidjan next year. “Africa is learning to do business with itself,” he said. “And Ghana is writing the textbook.”
At the same time, hotel manager Ama Serwah says the boom has exposed deeper problems. “We now face water shortages during peak occupancy,” she said. “The government’s vision is great, but they must fix our basic infrastructure.”
For now, Ghana has opened its doors to the continent, gambling that unity and prosperity will outweigh the risks. The coming months will reveal whether this dream of a borderless Africa becomes reality—or fades like many bold ideas before it.