A newly launched digital marketplace is seeking to bring Ghana’s largely informal business sector online while addressing escalating concerns about online fraud, according to its promoters who held a media briefing in Accra this week.
Golden Dreams Events and Promotions Management announced that its platform, GHKonect.com, aims to digitize local businesses across the country, connect them directly with customers, and improve trust in online commercial transactions through verification systems and customer reviews. The initiative comes at a time when Ghana faces mounting losses from cyber fraud and growing public skepticism about online commerce.
Speaking at the media briefing, Paul Osei Assibey, chief executive officer (CEO) of Golden Dreams, said the initiative was designed to respond to both the growing need for digital visibility among small businesses and increasing public concern about fraudulent online operators. Assibey described GHKonect.com as intended to serve as a digital front door for businesses in Ghana, helping consumers identify verified enterprises while giving businesses tools to operate credibly online.
Founded in 2022 and officially registered in Ghana during 2025, Golden Dreams operates in both Ghana and Belgium and focuses on technology driven business solutions, according to company statements. The platform seeks to integrate businesses from all 16 regions onto a single, searchable directory offering detailed business profiles, advertising options, event promotion tools, job listings, and performance analytics.
Consumers will benefit from access to verified information, customer reviews, and location based search tools, Assibey explained. The platform is open to businesses across multiple sectors, including mining, manufacturing, finance, hospitality, education, food and beverages, entertainment, and professional services. Businesses can join via a free listing, with paid options available for advertising and enhanced visibility.
The launch of GHKonect.com occurs against a backdrop of dramatic escalation in online fraud in Ghana. The Cyber Security Authority (CSA) reported that financial losses from online fraud surged to GH₵4.4 million between January and March 2025, nearly doubling from the GH₵2.4 million recorded during the same period in 2024. The authority documented 350 cases of cyber fraud in the first quarter of 2025 alone.
Ghana’s broader cyber fraud landscape reveals the scale of the challenge. In 2023, the Cybercrime Unit of the Ghana Police Service recorded 7,250 cases of mobile money fraud, representing a 32 percent increase from 2022. The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications estimates that GH₵346 million, approximately 28.5 million dollars, was lost to such scams in 2023. Analysis by the E Crime Bureau found that 65 percent of mobile money users have either fallen victim to or been targeted by fraud.
Online commerce has expanded rapidly in Ghana over recent years, driven by increased smartphone penetration and social media marketing. Mobile money transactions surpassed GH₵3.3 trillion in 2024, exceeding the previous record of GH₵1.9 trillion, according to Bank of Ghana data. However, authorities and consumer groups have raised persistent concerns over a surge in online scams targeting both buyers and small traders.
The CSA has identified three major tactics employed by fraudsters. Fake online shops represent the most common approach, where criminals create counterfeit online stores or impersonate legitimate businesses on social media platforms, luring victims with heavily discounted prices. Victims send money for purchases that never arrive. Phishing scams involve fraudsters sending deceptive emails or messages to trick users into revealing sensitive information such as passwords, credit card details, or Ghana Card numbers. Investment fraud schemes promise unrealistic returns to lure victims into transferring money to fraudulent accounts.
Ghana’s informal business sector, which comprises a substantial portion of the economy, faces particular challenges in establishing credibility online. Many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) lack professional websites, verified business registration information, or established online reputations that would enable customers to distinguish legitimate operators from fraudulent ones. This vacuum creates opportunities for scammers to exploit consumer uncertainty.
GHKonect.com said its review and reputation system will allow customers to provide feedback on businesses, helping to build accountability and reduce fraud risk. The platform’s verification mechanisms aim to confirm business legitimacy before listing, though specific verification procedures were not detailed in the media briefing. The company envisions the platform evolving into a broader data and engagement tool for policymakers and development partners seeking insights into business activity, particularly among SMEs.
Assibey emphasized that the company’s focus centers on trust, transparency, and community. He stated that digitization should work for everyone, including businesses, consumers, and institutions. GHKonect.com is positioning itself as long term infrastructure for Ghana’s digital business ecosystem, as competition intensifies among platforms seeking to formalize and monetize online trade.
The challenge of online fraud extends beyond individual consumers to affect business confidence and economic development. Surf Shark, a cybersecurity research firm, ranked Ghana ninth among ten African countries with the most data breaches in 2024. The country recorded a 997 percent breach increase in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, resulting in 1.2 million total breaches. Ghana has experienced over four million breaches since 2004 and ranks 92nd globally among countries with the most data breaches.
The U.S. Embassy in Ghana maintains ongoing warnings about procurement fraud and advance fee schemes targeting international businesses. In October 2024, Ghana’s Ministry of Trade and Industry verified to the U.S. Embassy that 16 entities purporting to represent government procurement organizations were fraudulent. These organizations maintained elaborate websites mimicking government and international organization sites, including using official coats of arms and symbols.
Digital literacy gaps contribute significantly to Ghana’s fraud vulnerability. Despite rising smartphone usage, many Ghanaians lack foundational knowledge about digital safety, according to cybersecurity experts. Concepts like phishing and two factor authentication remain unfamiliar to large population segments, particularly the elderly, rural dwellers, and first time mobile money users. Fraudsters systematically exploit this knowledge gap.
Regulatory frameworks have struggled to keep pace with the speed of digital financial growth in Ghana. Telecom companies have been criticized for slow responses in blocking fraud prone numbers or reporting scams to authorities. The Cybersecurity Act remains under enforced, with few publicized successful prosecutions of mobile money fraud cases. Some scams rely on insiders within telecom companies or mobile money vendor networks, complicating enforcement efforts.
The CSA has urged the public to adopt protective measures when engaging in online commerce. Recommendations include using reputable e commerce platforms and checking reviews before making purchases, avoiding advance payments by only paying after inspecting and receiving items, ensuring mobile money transactions are made to official business accounts, being skeptical of unsolicited messages promising massive discounts, and protecting personal information by never sharing Ghana Card details, bank account numbers, or credit card information with unknown sources.
The authority operates a 24 hour helpline for reporting suspected cyber fraud incidents. Citizens can contact the CSA by calling or texting 292, messaging via WhatsApp at 0501603111, or emailing [email protected]. Despite these resources, many fraud cases go unreported due to victim embarrassment or lack of awareness about reporting mechanisms.
Economic pressures contribute to both the supply and demand sides of Ghana’s fraud problem. Young people facing limited employment opportunities in an economy struggling with high inflation and youth unemployment have increasingly turned to cybercrime as a means of survival. Some teenagers earn substantial sums through scams while operating from bedrooms or small kiosks with internet connections, particularly in working class communities where legitimate opportunities remain scarce.
The prevalence of online fraud has damaged consumer confidence in digital commerce, potentially undermining the growth of legitimate e commerce businesses. Small businesses attempting to establish online presences face uphill battles convincing skeptical consumers of their legitimacy. This trust deficit creates barriers to digital transformation that platforms like GHKonect.com aim to address through verification and review systems.
Whether GHKonect.com can effectively distinguish itself from existing online marketplaces and successfully build the trust infrastructure Ghana’s digital economy needs remains to be seen. The platform enters a crowded field where numerous Ghanaian and international e commerce sites already operate. Success will likely depend on the rigor of its verification processes, the effectiveness of its review systems, and its ability to provide genuine value to both businesses and consumers in an environment where trust has been repeatedly violated.
Assibey’s vision of GHKonect.com as evolving into a data tool for policymakers suggests ambitions beyond simple business listing services. Access to comprehensive, verified data about Ghana’s informal business sector could provide valuable insights for economic planning and development programs. However, realizing this vision requires first establishing the platform as a trusted intermediary that businesses and consumers actively use.
The broader challenge Ghana faces involves building digital infrastructure that enables commerce while preventing fraud, a balance that requires coordination among government regulators, law enforcement agencies, telecommunications companies, financial institutions, and platform operators. No single platform can solve systemic challenges, but initiatives like GHKonect.com represent efforts to create trusted spaces within Ghana’s increasingly digital economy.
As Ghana’s digital transformation continues, the tension between expanding access to online commerce and managing fraud risks will likely persist. Platforms that can credibly address trust deficits while providing genuine utility to businesses and consumers may find significant opportunities. Whether GHKonect.com can deliver on its promise to digitize Ghana’s informal sector while curbing scams will become clearer as the platform gains users and establishes its operational track record.
