Chief Executive Officer of Dalex Finance, Joe Jackson, has urged businesses seeking financing to strengthen their operations and documentation, saying banks are now placing greater emphasis on risk assessment before approving loans.

Speaking on TV3’s The KeyPoints on Sunday, July 26, 2026, Jackson said businesses should not assume that securing a contract is enough to obtain financing.

“The one thing that we cannot do is to give money out recklessly,” he said.

According to him, lenders now expect businesses to demonstrate sound management practices, proper documentation and viable business plans.

“Private Sector Ghana must understand that we are in a new dispensation. That new dispensation requires us to be better run. It requires us to be better documented. It requires us to think through what we’re doing and take legitimate risk,” he said.

Jackson noted that financing requests are assessed based on their commercial viability rather than simply on the existence of a contract.

“You may have the contract, but we need to make sure that it makes sense. We need to make sure that you have the collateral so that you’re not taking undue risk. You must have skin in the game,” he stated.

He added that businesses that meet those standards should be confident in approaching financial institutions for support.

“I assure you that anybody who has that kind of plan, anybody who has that kind of documentation, that knock is going to come from your bankers sooner than later,” he said.

Jackson further advised businesses whose loan applications are unsuccessful at one institution to explore opportunities with other financial institutions.

“If your bankers are not, move to another institution because I assure you the institutions are ready to lend, except that we will not lend recklessly,” he said.