For many years, economists, policymakers, and development partners have bemoaned the developmental gap between Ghana’s coastal, southern areas and its northern territories.
Now, the newly released 2026 Regional Entrepreneurship Freedom Index (REF Index) Report has provided clear, data-driven confirmation that this divide is deeply entrenched, even within the entrepreneurial freedom ecosystem.
The latest REF index, published by the Africa Centre for Entrepreneurship and Youth Empowerment (ACEYE) in partnership with the Atlas Network, reveals a stark geographic reality that while southern regions are steadily dismantling barriers to establish thriving, “Moderately Free” business hubs, parts of the north are sliding into severe and continuous economic repression.
The South Dominates the Summit
At the top of the 2026 REF Index, southern regions sweep the podium, proving that deliberate regulatory improvements yield consistent results.
Eastern Region (1st Place | Score: 6.82): Reclaiming its crown at the very top of the national rankings, the Eastern Region continues to showcase remarkable consistency and stability in its entrepreneurial environment.
Volta Region (2nd Place | Score: 6.61): Representing a model of steady progress, Volta has executed an uninterrupted upward climb across all three editions of the index, rising from 5th place (4.67) in 2021, to 3rd place (5.78) in 2024, and now clinching 2nd place nationally.
Greater Accra Region (3rd Place | Score: 6.48): The capital region has orchestrated the most dramatic turnaround in the index’s history. Previously languishing in the “Repressed” category in 2021 with a score of 3.84, Accra has successfully climbed into the “Moderately Free” bracket.
For entrepreneurs in these southern hubs, doing business is becoming progressively smoother, characterized by stronger regional momentum and relatively better administrative environments.
The North Slump to the Bottom
In sharp contrast to the South’s upward trajectory, the Northern Region tells a deeply concerning story of continuous, edition-by-edition decline. For instance, in 2021, the Northern Region held a respectable 6th position with a score of 4.38. However, by 2024, it had tumbled to 15th place (4.29).
Today, in 2026, the region has bottomed out entirely, scoring an abysmal 2.79 and landing dead last at 16th place nationally. Having declined in every single edition of the index, the Northern Region is now officially the weakest-performing region in Ghana for private enterprise, highlighting a severe lack of support for local entrepreneurs in the north.
Declaring the Outliers: The Exceptions to the Rule
While the North-South divide is clear, the 2026 REF index features two fascinating northern outliers that break the general trend of stagnation.
The Rebound Outlier — North East Region (4th Place | Score: 6.23): Defying the general northern depression, the North East Region has secured a highly impressive fourth-place spot.
However, its path has been anything but stable. The region has experienced massive, unpredictable swings, moving from 3rd place in 2021 (5.25), crashing to 14th place in 2024 (4.33), and surging back to 4th place today. This extreme volatility makes its progress difficult to read as a stable trend.
The Fragile Outlier — Savannah Region (11th Place | Score: 5.35): In 2024, Savannah shocks the nation by staging a spectacular rise from 9th place (4.00) in 2021 to claim 1st place nationally with a score of 6.40. But this rise was short-lived. In 2026, the region crashed back down to 11th place (5.35).
The report notes that this rapid rise and fall points directly to the “fragility of rapid improvement without sustained follow-through,” proving that Savannah’s early policy wins were never fully institutionalized.
The Bottomline
Despite these regional disparities, the report reveals a critical unifying factor. While high-performing regional strengths fluctuate wildly and fail to converge around a shared blueprint, the national weaknesses are highly stable and uniform.
In every single edition of the index, Trade Freedom, Fiscal Freedom, and Regulation remain stuck at the absolute bottom for all regions, whether they are high-performing southern hubs or struggling northern territories.
