Ghana plans to leverage fintech to spur growth of small-sized companies

Ghana is planning to leverage financial technology to drive access to capital for its small and medium-sized business sector, a segment that contribute 70% of economic growth.

The country’s fintech industry has blossomed with the introduction of new products into the market since Africa’s biggest wireless carrier MTN Group Ltd. started mobile-money transfers about 14 years ago. Today, mobile phone users can access bank loans, purchase an insurance policy and buy government bonds among other services via a tap of their mobile phones without having a bank account.

“The Ministry of Finance is finalizing a small and medium-sized enterprises financing strategy which has components such as direct lending to SMEs, providing guarantees to financial institutions, reducing the cost of borrowing and supporting skills and innovation in the SME ecosystem through fintechs,” Minister of Finance Mohammed Amin Adam, said Monday at the opening of a three-day Africa Fintech Summit in the capital, Accra.

The country signed a $200 million loan with Ecowas Bank for Investment and Development on May 10, that will be lent to small businesses to boost their growth, Adam said later Monday in a post on X.

Nairobi-based telecoms operator Safaricom pioneered the use of mobile-money with the very successful M-Pesa. Mobile-money transactions in Ghana grew 79% in 2023 to 1.9 trillion cedis ($135.2 billion), according to the Bank of Ghana. The number of registered customer accounts increased 19% to 65.6 million, it said.

“Many of the key components for a fintech ecosystem are falling into place in Africa,” Ravi Menon, a former managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said in Accra. “Fintech can demonstrate its true purpose and potential in Africa, by focusing on financial inclusion,” Menon, who is now the Asian nation’s ambassador for climate action, said.