Ghana is making progress towards securing a geographical indication (GI) for its shea, distinguishing it as a unique product linked to its origin while enhancing economic opportunities. On 4 July 2025, EUIPO under the framework of its cooperation project AfrIPI, organised a workshop that brought together key stakeholders, including producers, policymakers and experts. The workshop discussed the findings from a prospective study guiding the GI application.

Shea butter is a versatile product with growing global demand. It is prized in cosmetics for its moisturising properties, used in food as a cocoa butter alternative and valued in pharmaceuticals for its healing benefits. A GI certification would allow Ghana to communicate better on its specificities linked to its Ghanaian origin and differentiate it from other shea products on the market.

The workshop reviewed the GI prospective study, highlighting Ghana’s strengths for shea protection as a GI, such as women-led cooperatives and established export markets. However, the workshop also addressed several challenges, including competition from large industrial processors, standardisation issues, government investment requirements, the presence of many producing countries and the relevance of local uses.

The EUIPO, as an international registration authority on geographical indication (GI) and the world's largest provider of GI capacity-building services, builds on years of cooperation in the areas of GIs with the European Commission (DG AGRI), and international and regional Intellectual Property (IP) offices.