Ghana risks entrenching itself as a consumption-driven economy unless a significant share of the country’s diaspora remittances is redirected toward small businesses and productive investment, experts warned at a recent joint webinar hosted by the UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce (UKGCC) and Deloitte Ghana.
Amma Gyampo, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (GVCA), and Dr. George Obodum Kusi Asafo-Agyei, Director of Monitoring and Evaluation at the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), told participants that roughly 75% of remittances currently flow into household consumption, with less than 20% channelled toward small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or capital markets. The panel described this imbalance as a structural drag on Ghana’s economic transformation, warning that the country risks remaining heavily dependent on treasury bills and short-term instruments rather than building productive, scalable businesses.
The warning came despite a markedly improved economic backdrop. Peter Nii Charway, a Senior Manager at Deloitte Ghana, noted that inflation, which exceeded 50% in 2022, had fallen to approximately 3.3% as of February 2026, and that gross international reserves had reached $13.8 billion. The Ghana Cedi was also cited as one of the world’s strongest-performing currencies in 2025.
Panellists argued that better macroeconomic conditions alone will not deliver growth for SMEs without deliberate structural reform. Cedric McAddy, Head of Micro and Small Enterprises at GCB Bank PLC, called for a shift away from traditional collateral-based lending toward cashflow-driven credit assessments and flexible repayment structures. Gyampo separately identified weak business models and limited value chain integration as persistent barriers holding SMEs back from reaching their potential.
Cheryl Otoo, Senior Manager at Deloitte Ghana, noted that many SMEs remain unaware of available government incentives and support mechanisms, urging businesses to engage proactively with institutions including the GIPC to close the information gap.
The webinar, moderated by Deloitte Ghana’s George Annang, also examined diaspora engagement as an underutilised investment channel and questioned whether the government’s 24-Hour Economy policy is, on its own, sufficient to position SMEs for sustainable growth.
