“When a business founder gets a stroke, his business also gets a stroke, and when he dies, his business also dies with him.” This is a quote from a business leader at an event to highlight one major challenge with many indigenous Ghanaian businesses.
Businesses founded and nurtured locally in Ghana hardly grow beyond the lifespan of their founders. More sadly, they are unable to grow, expand, and spread beyond the shores of Ghana to become multi-million-dollar multinational corporations with the exception of a few that can be counted on the tip of fingers.
Ghana’s peers, Nigeria and South Africa, have been able to overtake Ghana in this aspect, building generational and multinational businesses that transcend borders. The footprint of Nigeria and South Africa businesses can be found in critical sectors such as banking, telecommunication, mining, among others, across the continent.
For Ghana, generational businesses are very few; if they exist, they are stunted and stagnated, often remaining either a small or medium-scale enterprise.
The Challenge
The question many concerned Ghanaians ask is, Why can’t Ghanaian entrepreneurs and business owners also nurture generational and multinational corporations? The answer is not far but very close.
From the perspective of business owners and entrepreneurs, the major challenge is the inadequate or lack of cheaper and long-term financing. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which constitute about 80% to 90% of Ghana’s businesses, often struggle to obtain “patient” loans. The go-to institutions are the commercial banks with high interest rate and huge collateral demands. This lack of access to affordable, long-term credit hampers their ability to invest in expansion and innovation hence remaining a corner shop or small business until it eventually dies.
Another critical factor is the unwillingness of business owners to become partners by sharing ownership. In Ghana, many business owners prefer to be “sole owners of a small pie than to own a fraction of a bigger pie.”
Growing a business beyond a certain size usually requires more than one person’s ideas, skills, and financial resources. By refusing to take on partners or investors, the owner keeps full control, but also bears all the risk and limits access to fresh capital and diverse expertise. This can slow down innovation, restrict expansion into new markets, and reduce the business’s ability to scale operations.
Where Does the Ghana Stock Exchange Come In?
It is for the above challenge in accessing patient and affordable long-term financing that the GSE exists. The Exchange exists to facilitate easy access to capital by both private and public enterprises, especially businesses that want to expand, cross borders, and become generational and multinational businesses.
Managing Director of GSE, Abena Amoah, says this mandate, they take seriously to ensure that struggling businesses become profitable enterprises.
Using Ghana’s indigenous beverage giant, Kasapreko Company Limited, as a case study, Abene Amoah touted the significant transformation of the company, transitioning from a struggling entity into a profitable powerhouse. Central to this transformation is a strategic decision by the company to tap into the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) for long-term, patient capital.
From near losses and low turnovers, Kasapreko surged to GHS 2.7 billion in revenue in 2024 with profit after tax reaching GHS 138 million. This turnaround, according to GSE Managing Director Abena Amoah, is a testament to the power of long-term financing and the corporate governance that comes with public listing.
“We’ve seen Kasapreko attract strong board members and directors. Their performance has improved remarkably, even in Q1 2025. This is what access to long-term capital can do for our businesses,” Ms. Amoah stated.
The Promise of the GSE: Capital, Governance, and Resilience
For many Ghanaian entrepreneurs, access to capital remains a critical hurdle. But Abena Amoah stresses that there is capital freely floating on the exchange searching for businesses to invest in. She debunks the claims that there is no capital in the country to fund businesses.
“There is money in Ghana. Our pension funds say we have money. Too many Ghanaian entrepreneurs say we don’t have money. Our biggest problem is access to capital. People are saying we have money. If you are a government and you don’t have money to invest in commercial infrastructure, we have money to give you. Organise yourself in a manner that you can make sure you have a better chance of being successful,” the MD of GSE recounted.
She further explains that a public listing is not just about capital; it is about instilling a culture of transparency, accountability, and good governance. These elements are essential for building businesses that outlive their founders and can weather economic shocks. The GSE provides the framework for such transformation.
For many businesses overwhelmed by debt, the GSE offers a lifeline through equity investment. Equity capital is patient and long-term; it does not demand immediate repayments but instead invests in the future of a business.
“If you are drowning in debt that you can’t repay, investors say we are looking for equity investment, long-term, patient investment. We have the money. Work with us to structure you so we give you that money and help you hire thousands of people,” Abena Amoah noted passionately.
The GSE further envisions a Ghana where state-owned enterprises (SOEs), start-ups, and even public infrastructure projects can be financed through the capital markets.
“If you’re a government or an SOE, the money is here. Organise yourself, and we will work with you to ensure successful fundraising. This is how we solve problems like unemployment and economic stagnation,” she added.
GSE’s Invitation to all Ghanaian Enterprises
The Managing Director is calling on entrepreneurs, businesses, and investors to consider the Ghana Stock Exchange as a partner in building the next Ghanaian business giants. The Exchange, she says, stands ready to assist both local and private enterprises to move to the next level and take advantage of AfCFTA. The success of Kasapreko, she further adds, is not an isolated story but a replicable model. The GSE is not only ready to facilitate this transformation. It is actively seeking out businesses to support.
“We are happy to come to you. Kasapreko is ready to talk to you about their journey and how they grew. And so that’s our contribution as the GSE. Working with all the capital market players, the pension funds, the advisors, and the banks to make sure that this is one big problem that companies say they don’t have access to capital,” she appealed.
It is clear that as Ghana seeks sustainable solutions to economic growth and employment, the GSE stands out as a critical catalyst. The quest to turn local enterprises into continental champions could be the game-changer the nation has been waiting for.
