Ghanaian small and medium-sized enterprises received GH¢3.85 billion in secured credit in the second quarter of 2026, down 48.2% from the previous quarter, according to Bank of Ghana data.
The decline came after SMEs recorded GH¢7.43 billion in secured credit in the first quarter, making the Q2 figure the sharpest quarterly contraction among the main identified borrower categories.
Despite the quarterly fall, SME secured credit was 28.9% higher than the GH¢2.99 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2025.
SMEs accounted for 12.2% of the GH¢31.48 billion in secured credit registered during the quarter, compared with 37.2% in the first quarter.
Large enterprises remained the largest identified recipients, securing GH¢13.76 billion, up 65.8% from Q1 and 18.3% from a year earlier.
Credit to micro businesses, meanwhile, increased 69.9% quarter-on-quarter to GH¢290.8 million, while individual borrowers received GH¢3.28 billion, marginally below the GH¢3.32 billion recorded in Q1.
The movement in SME credit came despite a broader expansion in registered secured lending. Total secured credit rose 57.5% quarter-on-quarter to GH¢31.48 billion, with banks accounting for GH¢19.86 billion.
Construction recorded the largest increase among sectors, with secured credit rising 147.3% from Q1 to GH¢9.89 billion. Mining and quarrying followed with a 645.8% increase to GH¢3.34 billion, while electricity, gas and water rose 716.1% to GH¢1.13 billion.
On a year-on-year basis, the construction sector recorded the most significant increase, with secured credit rising 900.1% from GH¢989.2 million in Q2 2025.
The Bank of Ghana’s Collateral Registry recorded 92,033 security interest registrations during the quarter, down 4.5% from Q1 and 32.2% from the same period last year.
The Registry data covers credit backed by registered security interests, providing a view of lending secured through collateral rather than the broader volume of credit extended to SMEs.
