The Ghana Investment Support Programme (GhISP) has secured Norfund as its newest co-funder, adding Norwegian development capital to a technical assistance initiative that has already helped 15 local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) unlock $9 million in investment deals.
The announcement, made in Accra on May 22, 2026, comes just months after Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) joined the programme. The back-to-back additions signal growing international confidence in GhISP’s approach to making Ghanaian businesses investor-ready. The programme is powered by British International Investment (BII) and targets SMEs that face persistent barriers to growth despite strong commercial potential.
Norfund’s entry into GhISP runs alongside a deeper financial commitment it has already made to Ghana’s private sector. Last month, the Norwegian development fund invested $15 million in Growth Investment Partners (GIP), an investment platform established by BII, as part of a combined $20 million commitment that also included local fund manager Axis Pension Trust. GhISP works directly with GIP to deliver pre- and post-investment technical assistance to businesses, connecting them to capital and helping fund managers strengthen their deal pipeline.
Naana Winful Fynn, Norfund’s Regional Director for West Africa, said GhISP is key to “building a stronger pipeline of businesses for institutional investors.”
With Norfund now backing the programme, GhISP can extend its technical advisory reach to more businesses across the country. To date, the programme has delivered technical assistance to 15 SMEs and helped facilitate six investment deals, bringing its total facilitated investment to $9 million. Those numbers are set to grow as the expanded funder base increases capacity.
The impact already extends beyond deal volumes. A BII report released in April 2026 credited GhISP with helping to shape the institution’s global market-building strategy for 2026 to 2030. Among the programme’s contributions cited was a partnership it brokered between the Ghana Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (GVCA) and Ghana’s four major accounting firms, which triggered a 50 to 70 percent reduction in advisory fees for SMEs.
That kind of structural change matters in a market where access to affordable advisory support remains a key obstacle. According to the SME Finance Forum, around three quarters of Ghana’s SMEs face some level of financial constraint. GhISP’s growing coalition of international funders reflects a bet that sustained technical support, not just capital injection, is the most reliable path to closing that gap.
