MTN Ghana, Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) and Kola Market launched “Wo Nkɔsoɔ” in Kumasi on Wednesday to equip informal sector workers with digital financial tools and access to credit.
The initiative, whose name translates from Twi as “Your Progress,” opened at the Garden House near the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Great Hall on May 13, bringing together traders, artisans, dressmakers, beauticians and smallholder farmers for practical financial literacy and digital skills training. Organizers have confirmed the Kumasi event is the first stop on a nationwide tour, with subsequent workshops planned for Accra, Takoradi and Tamale.
Charles Osei Owusu, Senior Manager for Business Development at Mobile Money Fintech Limited (MMFL), a subsidiary of MTN Ghana, told participants the full potential of mobile money remained largely untapped by small operators. “Mobile money has evolved beyond peer-to-peer transfers,” he said.
He explained that the platform now connects users to credit, insurance and pension products, services most traders still overlook in favour of basic fund transfers.
The programme addresses a structural gap that has long constrained Ghana’s informal economy. According to data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the informal sector employs more than 80 percent of the country’s workforce, yet most operators lack the formal bookkeeping records that commercial lenders typically require before approving credit.
Kola Market’s contribution targets precisely that barrier. The technology company is equipping traders with inventory management systems and digital sales tracking platforms. As operators record transactions consistently, they build verifiable financial histories that improve their standing with formal lenders.
Edem Knight-Tay, Head of Corporate Communications at UMB, said the bank’s “SpeedUp” product offers flexible credit lines to small entrepreneurs who fall outside conventional lending criteria. She described the partnership’s core mission as serving the “missing middle,” a segment that drives economic activity but rarely qualifies for mainstream financing. Knight-Tay added that bridging the financing gap in the informal economy required financial institutions and digital service providers to operate as genuine partners rather than parallel actors.
The Kumasi launch arrives at a significant moment for MTN Ghana’s mobile money arm. MMFL formally separated from MTN Ghana’s core telecoms operations on March 31, 2026, following regulatory approval, and now functions as an independent digital finance platform. Its strategy has since pivoted toward deepening financial inclusion through expanded credit, insurance and payment services.
The programme’s reach will be tested as it moves beyond Kumasi. With more than 80 percent of Ghana’s workers operating outside the formal financial system, the scale of what “Wo Nkɔsoɔ” is attempting is significant. Whether a workshop series can translate into lasting creditworthiness for thousands of small operators will ultimately depend on how consistently the digital tools take root once the trainers leave.
