Ghana is sitting on nearly US$12 billion in unrealised export potential, the World Bank has warned, even as the country records strong macroeconomic gains, including a historic trade surplus of US$13.6 billion in 2025 that signals recovery without yet delivering structural transformation.
The assessment came at a joint seminar organised by the World Bank, the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), and the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) in Accra on May 7, themed “Rethinking Trade for Growth and Jobs in Ghana.”
World Bank Regional Director Seynabou Sakho acknowledged the global headwinds facing developing economies but urged Ghana to treat them as an opening rather than an obstacle.
“You should never let the risk prevent you from seizing on the opportunities,” she told participants.
Sakho pointed to Ghana’s role as host of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretariat as a strategic asset the country has not yet fully converted into export growth. She said deepening regional value chains and diversifying into agribusiness, manufacturing and digital services could help Ghana capture a larger share of intra-African trade, which World Bank research shows is more manufacturing-intensive and employment-generating than Africa’s trade with the rest of the world.
World Bank Senior Economist Rami Galal reinforced the underperformance diagnosis, attributing Ghana’s trade gap to an undiversified production base, weak trade facilitation and persistent non-tariff barriers that raise the cost of doing business across borders.
Sakho also commended the government’s 24-hour economy agenda as well-aligned with the challenge, arguing that a more dynamic, export-oriented private sector will be the engine that converts Ghana’s macroeconomic stability into sustained job creation. She noted that Ghana could potentially double its exports by addressing known structural constraints, a goal she described as both achievable and urgent.
