Basenord opens in East Legon to connect Ghanaian businesses with Nordic and International firms

Story by Eugene Nyarko Jnr. l Accra l Friday, October 16, 2026 —

Basenord, a new business hub in East Legon, Accra, has opened with a mission to connect Ghanaian businesses with international companies, particularly Swedish firms seeking investment and partnership opportunities in Ghana.

The hub, which aims to provide a platform for networking, collaboration and business development, is designed to bring international companies, local start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) together under one roof.

Chief Executive Officer of Basenord, Nickie Akosa, said the initiative was inspired by the growing interest among Swedish companies in exploring business opportunities in Ghana.

Speaking in an interview with the media during the hub’s grand opening on Friday, October 16, 2026, Ms Akosa said her four years of experience at the Consulate of Sweden had exposed her to the increasing interest of Swedish businesses in the Ghanaian market.

“I’ve really seen a growing interest from Swedish companies, especially those looking at and exploring opportunities in Ghana,” she said.

According to her, some of the companies already have operations in other African countries and are considering expanding their presence into Ghana.

She explained that Basenord was established to create an environment where international businesses could interact and collaborate with local entrepreneurs, helping both groups establish meaningful connections and explore new markets.

“I want to create a hub where it’s a mix of international companies, but who can also work in the same space as local Ghanaian start-ups and SMEs. We want to be a connector between companies and people, and between local and international markets,” she stated.

Ms Akosa stressed that Basenord was intended to be more than a conventional office facility, describing it as a platform for building business relationships between Ghanaian and Swedish companies.

Opportunities in green transition and digital transformation

Ms Akosa identified sustainability, the green transition and digital transformation as key areas in which Ghanaian and Swedish businesses could explore partnerships.

She said Sweden had considerable strengths in these sectors, presenting opportunities for Swedish companies to introduce expertise, technologies and business solutions into the Ghanaian market.

She also encouraged Ghanaian businesses seeking international partnerships to explore opportunities within the Nordic countries, particularly in sectors where local products and expertise could meet international market demand.

According to her, agriculture, beauty products and the food industry were among the areas Ghanaian businesses could explore when seeking to expand their commercial relationships with Swedish and other Nordic partners.

She expressed optimism that closer engagement between businesses from the two markets could create opportunities for investment, trade and knowledge exchange.

Flexible workspace for businesses

Beyond its role as a business networking platform, Basenord offers a range of workspace and meeting facilities designed to meet the needs of freelancers, remote workers, entrepreneurs, start-ups and established businesses.

Ms Akosa said the facility had a co-working area with flexible packages for individuals and businesses requiring workspace for a day, a week or a month.

The arrangement, she explained, would enable entrepreneurs and small businesses to access professional working environments without incurring the full cost of establishing and maintaining their own offices.

Users would also have access to meeting rooms where they could receive clients and conduct business meetings.

The hub also provides private offices for long-term rental, targeting SMEs and businesses that require dedicated physical working spaces without necessarily needing an entire office building.

In addition, Basenord has conference rooms available to external organisations for board meetings, training programmes, workshops and other corporate activities.

Ms Akosa said the facility would also feature an outdoor event space as part of efforts to create an environment where businesses and professionals could interact beyond their regular office activities.

She further disclosed that the planned opening of Riverhouse, the hub’s café, would introduce catering services for daytime conferences and related corporate events.

Monthly events to build business community

Ms Akosa said Basenord would organise monthly events featuring invited speakers and other activities aimed at bringing professionals, entrepreneurs and businesses together.

She explained that the events would help build a business community, encourage the exchange of ideas and create opportunities for participants to establish relationships that could support their commercial activities.

The initiative, she added, was intended to complement the hub’s physical facilities by creating an active network of businesses and professionals with shared interests in entrepreneurship, investment and international collaboration.

Reducing barriers to international business

Reflecting on the challenges associated with establishing a business in a foreign market, Ms Akosa said navigating administrative procedures and bureaucratic processes could be difficult for international companies without reliable local networks.

She recounted her experience as the first employee on the ground in Ghana for a previous company that was preparing to establish operations in the country.

Ms Akosa explained that she met the company’s founders while pursuing her master’s degree in Sweden, at a time when they were planning to commence operations in Ghana but lacked a representative on the ground.

She subsequently took on the task of helping to establish the business locally.

Although she had spent considerable time in Ghana while growing up and continued to visit the country while living in Sweden, she said setting up a business presented challenges that went beyond cultural familiarity.

She noted that understanding administrative requirements, navigating bureaucratic procedures and building the necessary local networks could be demanding for companies entering the market for the first time.

“If you don’t have a local network on the ground, that can be very difficult,” she said.

Ms Akosa said her experience had helped shape Basenord’s approach to supporting businesses seeking to establish themselves in Ghana.

She confirmed that helping international companies overcome such barriers was one of the key objectives of the hub.

“Definitely, yes,” she said when asked whether Basenord intended to provide support to Swedish companies interested in investing in Ghana.

She added that the hub sought to reduce some of the challenges faced by foreign businesses entering the Ghanaian market by connecting them with local companies and networks.

Bridging local and international markets

The establishment of Basenord comes amid efforts to strengthen business relationships between Ghana and international markets and create more opportunities for local enterprises to expand beyond domestic operations.

By bringing international companies and Ghanaian businesses into a shared working and networking environment, the hub aims to facilitate partnerships, encourage knowledge exchange and help businesses identify opportunities for growth.

Its focus on Swedish companies also presents a potential avenue for collaboration in areas such as sustainability, green technologies and digital transformation, while Ghanaian businesses could explore opportunities to promote local products and services in Nordic markets.

For Ms Akosa, the broader objective is to create an environment where businesses can access not only workspace but also the relationships and connections needed to navigate new markets.

Basenord is positioning itself as a link between Ghanaian entrepreneurs and international businesses, with the expectation that stronger networks and easier access to local support will help companies explore opportunities and build sustainable commercial relationships.