Why Ghanaian companies were missing from Forbes' 900 best employers list

Ghanaian companies were not represented in the latest Forbes World’s Best Employers 2026 ranking, despite the list featuring 900 companies from 52 countries. The absence means Ghana has no representative among the large multinational employers recognised by Forbes for their workplace environment, employee benefits, talent development and training opportunities. Cedi records mixed performance against dollar, pound and euro The ranking is based on a survey of employees who assessed their employers on several aspects of the workplace, including whether they would recommend their companies to family and friends. Respondents also considered areas such as working conditions, benefits, opportunities for talent development and training. The methodology also allowed respondents to rate former employers they had worked for within the previous two years, as well as companies they knew through their industry or personal networks. This means the ranking largely reflects how employees and people familiar with the companies perceive them, rather than providing a general assessment of workplace culture across every country. Ghana’s absence is also notable when compared with other African countries that secured places on the global list. South Africa dominated Africa’s representation, with nine of the top 10 African-ranked companies coming from the country. These include Nedbank, Standard Bank Group, Absa Group and FirstRand. Several of the South African companies ranked among the best employers have significant operations in Ghana, including Standard Bank through Stanbic Bank Ghana, Absa and First National Bank. MTN and Sanlam also have a presence in the Ghanaian market. Nedbank was Africa’s highest-ranked company, placing 26th globally, followed by Standard Bank Group at 54th. Absa Group ranked 98th, while FirstRand placed 104th. Nigeria had two companies in the full 900-company ranking, with Guaranty Trust Bank ranking 277th and Access Bank at 704th. The global ranking was led by major international companies, with Microsoft emerging as the highest-ranked US company. It was followed by Delta Air Lines and Canada’s Shopify. Other companies in the global top 10 included Costco, NVIDIA, Adobe, Apple, Sony, Alphabet and Lego Group. The ranking covers multinational companies with more than 1,000 employees, suggesting that the absence of Ghanaian firms may also reflect the international and multinational focus of the survey. However, the results highlight the limited presence of Ghanaian-headquartered companies in a global ranking that measures employee perceptions of large international employers. The ranking also shows the strong position of South African financial institutions on the continent, with six of Africa’s top 10 companies coming from the banking and financial services sector. ANAS/MA Inside Ghana’s Abandoned Engineering Powerhouse: What Went Wrong? Source: www.ghanaweb.com
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