The construction sector has the potential to drive Ghana’s GDP growth for years to come. Indeed, it contributed an annual average of 7.5% to GDP between 2013 and 2020. However, this could be impaired in the short term due to the pandemic’s negative impacts on already declining global commodity prices. Nonetheless, the country’s political stability and the activation of the African Continental…
Ghana’s ICT sector has proven to be one of the country’s fastest-growing industries in recent years, with key market players offering more innovative products as data traffic surged amid the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Indeed, the sector had increased its contribution to GDP from $900m, or 2.3% of the total, in 2014, to $1.7bn and 3.6%, respectively, in 2017. The expansion of telecoms services has…
With an estimated 44.7% of the workforce employed in the agriculture sector, farming, forestry and fisheries are not only central activities to Ghana’s economy but are key components of society. However, the strengthening of the sector was brought into stark relief by the Covid-19 pandemic, during which local food prices increased in some parts of the country. While the country is a key producer…
Mining is a key component of Ghana’s national economy; the country is Africa’s largest gold producer. The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the mineral’s prominent role, as gold is seen as a safe investment during uncertain times. While the mining sector faces challenges in terms of modernising practices, diversification efforts are forging ahead. Industrial minerals including bauxite and manganese…
International oil and gas prices dropped dramatically in early 2020 when countries around the world, including Ghana, enacted measures to curb the spread of Covid-19. Rising oil prices continued into early 2022, engendered in part by geopolitical tensions involving some of the world’s largest producers. The turbulent context poses challenges for Ghana’s hydrocarbons sector, which is still in its…
The authorities have worked in recent years to increase the depth and breadth of the country’s capital markets, introducing fixed-income, commodity and small business-focused exchanges. Although trading activity was suppressed in 2020, as investors shifted from equities to comparatively lower-risk options such as government bonds, it experienced a healthy rebound in 2021 as the wider economy entered…
Moves prior to the Covid-19 pandemic to shore up the banking sector proved prescient, as they put local institutions in an advantageous position to face the unique challenges posed by the health crisis. After a sector clean-up, both assets and deposits rose as asset quality improved, and higher minimum capital requirements ensured that banks were more resilient to shocks. This positive trend continued…
In the years preceding the pandemic, Ghana recorded robust GDP growth, which jumped from 2.1% in 2015 to a high of 8.1% in 2017 at constant 2013 prices. Responsibility for the economy ultimately belongs to the government, and the country’s economic health in the coming years depends greatly on its ability to implement further fiscal consolidation. While Ghana weathered the Covid-19 pandemic better…
With its tropical climate and overall low elevation due to the Volta Basin covering almost half of the country’s land area, Ghana has vast cocoa and gold resources. Its population is diverse, with a total of 75 ethnicities dispersed around the country due to increasing levels of human mobility. Ghana has witnessed robust urbanisation in recent years, with 58% of the population living in cities.…
