Ghana Economic Research Highlights

Key Analyses from The Report: Ghana 2022

How can the private sector help fund Ghana's economic development plans?

For many years Ghana has been one of Africa’s top investment destinations, ranking fifth on the continent for foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows between 2011 and 2020, according to World Bank data. The organisation’s figures show the country receiving $32.5bn in FDI over the period, the second most in West Africa after Nigeria, with $45.1bn. The Covid-19 pandemic, however, saw FDI flows fall worldwide, with Africa as a whole down 16% in 2020. Ghana was no exception: FDI declined from 4.4% of GDP in 2019 to 2.7%...

Will Ghana's new fintech office help boost financial inclusion?

Ghana is looking to leverage financial technology ( fintech) to boost participation in the banking sector, utilising digital services that are accessible and affordable to improve customers’ experiences. High levels of mobile phone penetration have facilitated this movement; Ghana boasts West Africa’s highest unique subscriber penetration rate, at 55% in 2020, above the sub-Saharan African average of 44.8%. The authorities are building on the momentum gained from the successful rollout of mobile money services in the...

Will Ghana's decade-long plan to drill additional oil wells be successful?

Oil and gas exploration in Ghana has come a long way since the West Africa Oil and Fuel Company dug the country’s first documented discovery well, WAOFCO-2, in the Takanita concession in 1896. Located onshore in the Tano River Basin in western Ghana, the well was approximately 35 metres deep and produced 5 barrels per day (bpd). By comparison, Jubilee Field, which lies 60 km out to sea from the mouth of the Tano River, produced 73,042 bpd, or 19.94m barrels, in January-September 2021. Since the field was...

How technology can solve agricultural issues in Ghana

With many of Ghana’s small farmers unable to afford their own tractors and other items of agricultural machinery, planting, harvesting and a variety of other essential tasks are often difficult and labour intensive. However, in recent years the sector has adopted innovative solutions to bridge gaps in mechanisation and financing, as well as facilitate wider growth and reduce costs. At the same time, digitisation is helping build comprehensive databases to support the more efficient targeting and effectiveness of government...

How Ghana seeks to bolster local manufacturing capacity

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was established in 2018 after an agreement between 44 member states of the African Union (AU) and was officially launched in January 2021. The pact aims to significantly reduce or eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers on the continent, facilitate a single continental market for goods and services, and enable the free movement of people and investment. Ghana’s capital, Accra, hosts the Secretariat of the AfCFTA, which was formally handed over to the AU in August 2020. Ghana aims...