Immediate past Minister for Finance, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam is urging the new government to ditch foreign-based fintech solutions for local ones in its quest to enhance domestic revenue mobilization.
This advice directed at his successor, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson seeks to promote the adoption of homegrown financial technology solutions over foreign ones.
Dr. Amin Adam who was contributing to a debate on the floor of parliament on Thursday, February 6, 2025, indicated that local fintech companies have demonstrated remarkable capabilities in the last three years. Their innovative solutions, the former minister says, have contributed significantly to the revenue achievements of the previous administration.
He touted that the former administration was able to double revenue collection from GH¢ 75 billion to GH¢ 154 billion between 2022 and 2024. This he says, represents a 3.2 percentage points increase in the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio.
“The measures that we implemented, the digital platform, the digital solutions that we implemented, we managed to double the revenue collection from GH¢ 75 billion to GH¢ 154 billion. That brought our tax-to-GDP ratio to 17%,” he proudly announced.
All these achievements, Dr. Amin Adam says were made possible by deploying solutions developed locally. Relying on foreign technologies he believes will undermine the growth and development of Ghana’s fintech industry aside from the high cost they come along with.
“I also want to encourage the government to ensure that we source digital solutions from the local market. There are local fintech companies that are producing solutions that we can use to achieve our digital objectives,” he said on the floor of parliament.
He added, “These local fintech companies have been used over the last three years and we have been able to implement those solutions they have produced to bring us this far.”
To solidify the use of local technology, Dr. Amin Adam further makes a case for a local content policy to be developed and implemented by the government to support indigenous fintech companies. He believes if implemented, such a policy would set clear guidelines on government contracts, procurement processes, and investment in local technology solutions, ensuring that Ghanaian companies play a leading role in the country’s digital transformation.
“I want to encourage them also to come up with a policy, a local content policy that will guide the utilization of local fintech companies rather than sourcing these solutions from abroad,” he recommended.
The recommendations of the former minister, if taken and implemented, analysts say can yield several benefits such as improving revenue mobilization, job creation, reduced capital outflows, development of local fintech industry, and cost efficiency.
It is expected that this recommendation will be considered by the new minister for finance to continue from what his predecessor left off and promote local fintech firms.
