The business environment for entrepreneurs across Ghana’s 16 regions is diverging at an unprecedented rate.While some regions of the country are striving to strip away barriers for local business owners, others are sliding into deep regulatory and economic paralysis.
This geographical divide is the central takeaway of the newly released 2026 Regional Entrepreneurship Freedom Index (REF Index) Report, compiled by the Africa Centre for Entrepreneurship and Youth Empowerment (ACEYE) in partnership with the Atlas Network.
The index serves as a comprehensive diagnostic tool, ranking all 16 regions of Ghana to determine where it is easiest and hardest to start, operate, and grow a business.
At the absolute peak of the 2026 rankings is the Eastern Region, which has reclaimed its status as Ghana’s most business-friendly territory. At the opposite end of the spectrum is the Northern Region, which has plummeted to dead last, solidifying its position as the most repressed environment for entrepreneurs to operate in the country.
What the Index Measures And Why It Matters
According to ACEYE, the REF Index is not just a simple ranking. It is a direct reflection of the daily realities faced by Ghanaian business owners. It also evaluates each region on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being perfect freedom) across 14 distinct indicators. These indicators measure crucial factors such as:
Regulatory Burden: How easy it is to physically register and open a business
Fiscal and Trade Freedom: The severity of local tax burdens and the ease of importing or exporting goods
Access to Technology and Finance: The availability of stable internet, digital tools, and business credit
Corruption and Property Rights: How transparently entrepreneurs are treated by officials, and how securely they can own their assets
The final scores place each region into one of five categories: Free (8.00–10.00), Mostly Free (7.00–7.99), Moderately Free (6.00–6.99), Mostly Unfree (5.00–5.99), and Repressed (0.00–4.99).
A higher score means less red tape, lower operational costs, and more room for local businesses to create jobs. A lower score means bureaucratic bottlenecks, heavy taxation, and a hostile environment that pushes entrepreneurs into the informal economy.
The Top Performers: Ghana’s Economic Engines
In 2026, four regions successfully crossed the threshold into the healthier “Moderately Free” category.
Eastern Region (1st Place | Score: 6.82): Maintaining its reputation for business resilience, the Eastern Region climbed back to the number-one spot. It stands out as the only region in Ghana where Technological Freedom achieved a “Mostly Free” status (7.28), backed by robust trade and labor freedoms.
Volta Region (2nd Place | Score: 6.61): The Volta Region has established itself as one of Ghana’s most reliable economic climbers. It has executed an uninterrupted upward march over three consecutive index editions, rising from 5th place in 2021 to 2nd place today.
Greater Accra Region (3rd Place | Score: 6.48): The national capital region has achieved the single largest turnaround in the index’s history. Once trapped in the “Repressed” category in 2021 (3.84), deliberate local improvements have pushed Accra into the top three.
North East Region (4th Place | Score: 6.23): Though highly volatile in past years, the North East Region experienced a massive rebound in 2026 to secure fourth place, driven by strong local cultural and information freedoms.
The “Mostly Unfree” Middle
A majority of Ghana’s regions, nine in total, remain trapped in the “Mostly Unfree” category, struggling to convert individual strengths into overall economic freedom. This middle tier includes Ahafo (5.75), Upper West (5.55), Bono East (5.49), Western (5.48), Oti (5.43), Central (5.40), Savannah (5.35), Western North (5.18), and Bono (5.03).
Among these, the Oti Region is highly noteworthy. Oti sat at the absolute bottom of the nation in 2021 with a score of just 2.30. Through steady, consistent year-over-year gains, it has climbed seven spots to 9th place, signaling a highly successful, long-term recovery effort.
Conversely, Savannah proved the fragility of rapid progress; after shockingly ranking 1st in the country in 2024 (6.40), it crashed back down to 11th place (5.35) due to a failure to institutionalize its temporary policy reforms.
The Repressed Regions
At the bottom of the index, three regions remain severely “Repressed,” where doing business is a constant struggle against the system.
Ashanti Region (14th Place | Score: 4.70): In a worrying trend, the Ashanti Region, historically an economic powerhouse, has experienced a continuous slide from 2nd place in 2021 to 14th place today. Heavy state competition and regulatory bottlenecks have left 13 of its 14 index indicators in a “Repressed” state.
Upper East Region (15th Place | Score: 4.19): Trapped near the bottom, Upper East suffers from systemic low scores across nearly every single development metric.
Northern Region (16th Place | Score: 2.79): Now the weakest-performing region in Ghana, the Northern Region has declined in every single edition of the index. Except for Cultural Freedom, every single indicator in the region is classified as repressed. Local entrepreneurs are essentially locked out of the digital economy due to near-zero technological freedom, high tax burdens, and intense regulatory friction.
A Call for Systemic Reform
The divergence of these scores sends a strong message to Ghana’s policymakers. While regional initiatives can spark short-term gains, no single region has yet reached the coveted “Free” category (a score of 8.00 or above). According to the report, the entire nation is held back by three stubborn, systemic bottlenecks: Trade Freedom, Fiscal Freedom, and Regulation.
Until the central government enacts national legislative reforms, such as a Regional Entrepreneurship Freedom Act to decentralize administrative powers and streamline business registration, the chains binding Ghana’s entrepreneurs will remain unbroken.
