Data from the 2024 Integrated Business Establishment Survey show that 92.3 per cent of business establishments in Ghana operate informally, while about 90 per cent are micro-sized. Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), meanwhile, account for more than 90 per cent of businesses.
The widespread nature of informality means that businesses expected to drive employment, entrepreneurship and domestic production are often operating with limited access to finance, business support, international certification and export opportunities.
The challenge becomes more pronounced when businesses seek to move beyond the domestic market and compete across regional and international markets. Many Ghanaian SMEs face gaps in certification, financing, production capacity and business systems, making it difficult to meet the requirements of larger and more competitive markets.
The International Labour Organization’s latest research adds another dimension to the problem: who gets heard when policies affecting these businesses are being designed?
In a research brief published in October 2026, the ILO said informal workers and small businesses “often have little opportunity to influence the trade and labour policies that directly affect their livelihoods.”
The organisation found that “formal exporting firms generally have greater access to policymakers,” while informal economy actors struggle to participate in consultations, raise concerns or even access information about measures intended to support them. Its research included consultations with stakeholders in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, and Uganda.
That creates a potential policy gap for Ghana.
If the majority of businesses operate informally, but the most established and formal firms have greater access to policymakers, policies may not always capture the constraints facing the wider business population. The issue is not necessarily that policymakers deliberately exclude informal businesses, but that existing consultation structures may not consistently reach them.
The ILO notes that “their interests are seldom reflected in trade policy decisions,” pointing to weak representation as a barrier that prevents informal enterprises from fully benefiting from expanding trade.
For Ghanaian SMEs seeking to expand beyond the domestic market, these gaps in policy representation could have practical consequences. Difficulties with financing, certification, taxation, compliance, digitalisation and access to market information can make it harder for smaller businesses to meet the requirements of regional and international markets.
The ILO argues that stronger links between informal businesses, cooperatives, business associations and established workers’ and employers’ organisations could give these enterprises a greater voice in policy discussions.
The focus, therefore, must extend beyond formalising the millions of businesses operating informally to ensuring that their concerns and experiences are reflected in the policies shaping their growth.
Policy design cannot treat a business sector that accounts for the overwhelming majority of establishments as an afterthought if Ghana expects its small businesses to move from local to global.
