A newly forged partnership between the State Housing Company Limited (SHC) and Republic Bank Ghana is being positioned by industry leaders as a pivotal intervention in expanding homeownership and tackling the country’s persistent housing deficit.
Ghana continues to face a profound shortage of decent housing. According to multiple housing market analyses, the national housing deficit remains around 1.8 million units, a gap driven by supply falling far short of the growing demand created by population growth and rapid urbanisation. Urban migration and demographic pressures are expected to push housing demand even higher in the coming decade.
Stakeholders have pointed out that one major underlying constraint has been the limited availability of formal mortgage finance. Mortgage penetration in Ghana is among the lowest globally: only a fraction of housing finance comes from formal mortgage products, with estimates indicating that less than 1% of households finance their homes with mortgages.
Against this backdrop, the SHC–Republic Bank collaboration is designed to do more than sell houses. It seeks to systematically connect housing supply with accessible financing, focusing on working Ghanaians who have historically been priced out of the mortgage market. Managing Director of SHC, John S. Bawah, publicly described the initiative as a response to both sides of the housing challenge: “We realised that housing was not only a supply problem but there were challenges on the demand side, and the biggest challenge was that of access to financing.”
Republic Bank Ghana’s Managing Director, Dr Benjamin Dzoboku, echoed this framing, describing the partnership as a strategic alignment between housing delivery and mortgage demand that could deepen Ghana’s formal housing finance market.
Under the partnership, improved access to home financing is expected to be one of the most direct benefits for Ghanaian families. For years, mortgage availability in Ghana has been constrained by high interest rates, short tenors and limited product options, leaving many working households unable to secure long-term financing. Arrangements such as the SHC–Republic Bank collaboration are intended to expand access to mortgage products offered on more favourable and structured terms, making it financially realistic for households that previously could not qualify for or sustain a mortgage to enter the formal housing market.
The initiative is also expected to contribute to efforts to narrow Ghana’s housing deficit by strengthening the link between housing supply and effective demand. By enabling more prospective buyers to afford completed housing units through structured financing, the partnership supports broader national housing strategies aimed not only at increasing the number of houses built but also at ensuring that those houses can actually be purchased by middle-income earners. Industry data continue to place Ghana’s housing deficit at about 1.8 million units, a gap that experts say cannot be reduced without improving access to long-term housing finance.
With Ghana’s urban population continuing to rise, the absence of financing options has often pushed families toward informal or incremental housing developments, many of which lack proper infrastructure, planning and security of tenure. Improved access to mortgages allows households to participate in the formal housing market, supporting better urban planning outcomes and more sustainable city development.
Homeownership is commonly associated with greater household stability, stronger community ties and improved economic participation. Over time, owning a home also allows families to build assets that can support long-term financial security and intergenerational wealth creation, reinforcing the broader developmental impact of initiatives that make housing finance more accessible.
