Bank of Ghana’s data is telling a worrying story, a story of how Ghana’s private sector credit growth is not only shrinking, but also heavily tilted toward the capital.
This was the revelation from the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Asiama, who says the central bank is determined to change the narrative and make credit more accessible to businesses owned by women and the youth across the country.
Dr. Johnson Asiama, who was speaking on the Governor Talks series at the ongoing World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings in the United States, admitted that Ghana’s private sector credit levels remain the lowest among its peers, despite the country’s growing entrepreneurial population.
Women and youth-led businesses are also left out in the financial sector’s distribution of credit. The governor says such a trend is worrying, considering the agenda of the government to expand the economy through the private sector.
The Governor’s revelation confirms the longstanding concern within Ghana’s business ecosystem, where access to capital remains largely urban-centric. For many small business owners outside Accra, getting a bank loan can feel like a distant dream.
Rural and peri-urban entrepreneurs often face stricter collateral demands, higher interest rates, or outright rejection due to perceived risks.
“We have seen the rate of private sector credit growth decline. But that aside, it is a fact that compared to our peers, private sector credit is the lowest among our peers. It’s one of the things we are looking at. I was surprised when last week I decided to look at the data. We have it disaggregated in terms of women-owned businesses, in terms of the geographical distribution of credit. What is clear is that it’s all concentrated around the capital,” he recounted.
Amid this challenge, Dr. Asiama noted that while the central bank is mindful of the need to expand credit to the private sector, it is equally cautious about maintaining financial stability given the threatening levels of Non-Performing Loans (NPLs).
He emphasized that the BoG’s renewed focus goes beyond just lending; it’s about equity, inclusion, and the long-term growth of the real economy.
“Non-performing loans ratio for banks, which we came to meet at a very high level. And so, we are controlling that as well. We are urging banks to enhance their risk management frameworks so that even as we scale up private sector credit delivery, we do not worsen that angle. But it’s something that we are tackling. And then, women-owned businesses need to have more such, not to talk about the youth front,” he indicated.
Dr. Asiama hinted that the return to macroeconomic stability provides the right environment for such reforms to take root. “This is something we’ll be working on together with the fiscal authorities to take forward,” he affirmed.
For Ghanaian businesses, especially women and young people outside Accra, this could be the beginning of a fairer financial landscape where there will be easy access to cheap capital to grow and expand their businesses if done right.
