Ghana is seeking to anchor its trade relationship with the United Kingdom on digital financial infrastructure, moving the bilateral partnership beyond tariff arrangements toward interoperable systems and coordinated regulation, High Commissioner Sabah Zita Benson has said.
Speaking at a London forum tied to the launch of Neofingo, a digital trade finance protocol designed to bridge Ghana’s estimated $7 billion annual trade finance shortfall, Benson outlined a vision in which cross-border commerce is increasingly governed by shared digital platforms and harmonised regulatory standards rather than physical logistics alone.
“The future of trade will increasingly be defined not only by physical connectivity but by digital interoperability,” she said. “Trade’s future is digital.”
Her remarks reflect a deliberate reorientation in Ghana’s economic strategy. The government is pushing to transition from raw material exports toward value-added, export-led growth, a shift the High Commissioner described as necessary against the backdrop of global supply chain disruptions and geopolitical realignments.
Benson identified accessible digital trade finance tools as critical to closing a persistent financing gap that constrains small and medium-sized enterprises from participating in cross-border trade. She called for closer cooperation among regulators, central banks and private sector institutions to build secure, transparent and harmonised financial infrastructure capable of reducing transaction costs and expanding access to credit.
She also cautioned against fragmented regulatory environments, warning that institutional incoherence undermines investor confidence and weakens a country’s credibility in international markets.
On domestic reform, the High Commissioner said Ghana is aligning internal policy with this digital trade agenda, pointing to improvements in the business environment, governance reforms and expansion of digital infrastructure as supporting pillars.
Benson said the UK-Ghana relationship should evolve into a strategic and future-oriented partnership centred on co-investment in agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, digital services and fintech.
Trade between the United Kingdom and Ghana reached 1.5 billion pounds last year, with services accounting for more than half and Ghana maintaining a trade surplus, according to figures cited at the same forum.
Neofingo is envisioned as shared digital public infrastructure that would give Ghanaian small and medium enterprise exporters access to letters of credit and international trade finance systems, including the entrepreneurial Ghanaian diaspora.
