ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
A stable and resilient banking environment boosts investor confidence, making it easier for businesses and individuals to engage with financial institutions and access banking services.
Again, as the regulator and supervisor of the banking system in the country, the Bank of Ghana ensures that RFIs implement and comply with regulatory 4 of requirements, such as Corporate Governance and Risk Management directives.
This aims to ensure RFIs implement robust corporate governance and risk management practices , preventing individual bank failures from adversely impacting the financial system (systemic risk).
Ultimately, by safeguarding the health and stability of the banking system, we directly support the 24-hour policy by ensuring businesses have access to credit and other essential financial services to expand their businesses.
The Bank of Ghana also regulates the payment system infrastructure of the country, which seeks to ensure that funds flow smoothly and trading activities are carried out efficiently.
Payment systems, which allow transactions to be completed safely and in a timely manner, are a vital part of a country’s financial infrastructure.
A safe and efficient payment system is essential to support the day-to-day business of an economy and to sett le transactions in its financial markets.
The use of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and other online banking payment platforms reduces transaction costs for businesses and enhances liquidity management .
This is key to the successful implementation of th e 24-hour policy, as industry players should be able to access funds easily and around-the-clock without hinderances.
Furthermore, the Bank of Ghana collaborates with development finance institutions to improve access to credit, particularly in critical sectors such as, Agriculture, Manufacturing as well as Oil and Gas.
Despite the supporting role of banks and Speciali sed Deposit -taking Institutions (SDIs), there are shortcomings in the financial landscape which has a direct bearing on growth.
Banks and SDIs focus on short -term financing for commercial purposes with little support for long term financing needed to accelera te economic development and transformation.
The Development Bank Ghana (DBG) which was established to provide long- term lending to relevant sectors, is one of the key financial institutions, needed in the successful implementation of the 24-hour policy.
As a central bank, we are poised on implementing the appropriate regulatory frameworks for development finance institutions, such as, DBG, to ensure activities undertaken by the financial institution is in line with international best practices.
In this vein, the Development Finance Institutions Act, 2020 (Act 1032) was passed to serve as a legal framework for Development Finance Institutions.
Act 1032 also contains provisions on sound and prudent banking principles to guide effective operations of Development Finance Institutions, such as capital and reserve requirements, liquidity requirements, ownership 5 of and control, corporate governance, restrictions on lending and investments, and financial reporting, amongst others, to ensure they are operationally efficient.
The Ghana Incentive -Based Risk -Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (GIRSAL), was established by the Bank of Ghana to reduce the risks associated with agricultural lending and encourage financial institutions to increase their financing of the agricultu ral and agribusiness sectors through credit risk guarantees and technical assistance.
It is important to note that t he Bank of Ghana in 2022, granted approval for GIRSAL’s Agricultural Credit Risk Guarantee (CRG) to be accepted as collateral for lending to agribusinesses.
This initiative was aimed at boosting GIRSAL’s credibility as a credit guarantee provider and make the CRG scheme more appealing for financial institutions to rely on, resulting in more lending to the agricultural sector.
With the implementation of policies such as this, GIRSAL can also serve as a key institution in the promotion of the 24-hour policy.
Conclusion 17.
In conclusion, let me reiterate that the Bank of Ghana is keen on supporting this laudable policy by the Government of Ghana.
As indicated earlier, there is a bi-directional relationship between the real sector and the banking sector.
Hence the success of the 24 -Hour policy will ultimately boost the banking sector through the increased utilisation of financial services by industr y players.
Furthermore, the safety and soundness of the banking sector will provide a conducive environment for investors and indu stry players to participate in the financial market.
We can achieve this by fostering a stable macroeconomic environment, promoting financial stability, ensuring access to affordable credit, and regulating payment systems to facilitate smooth and secure financial transactions.
Through effective monetary policy, financial supervision, and innovation in payment infrastructure, the Bank of Ghana creates the right conditions necessary for businesses to thrive, investments to grow, and employment to expand, ultimately driving the 24 -hour policy and sustainable economic development.
Thank you, God bless us all.
126 MPC Meetings Opening Remarks by Dr.
Johnson Pandit Asiama Governor, Bank of Ghana Monday, 15 September 2025 Good morning, colleagues.
Distinguished guests, colleagues from government, captains of industry, the financial press, and fellow Ghanaians.
Allow me to set the context for our discussions today.
Ghana’s recovery is gaining momentum even as the global environment remains uncertain.
Worldwide, growth is easing, and financial conditions are still tight amid trade tensions and geopolitical risks; yet domestically, improved fundamentals have strengthened confidence in our outlook.
Real activity has firmed.
Provisional data show GDP growth accelerated to 6.3 percent in Q2 2025, led by services and agriculture, with non -oil GDP expanding by 7.8 percent.
High -frequency indicators confirm this momentum: the Bank’s Composite Index of Economic Activity was up 6.1 percent year -on-year in July, and recent PMI readings alongside our business and consumer surveys point to improving sentiment.
On the price front, headline inflation fell further to 11.5 percent in August, its lowest since Octobe r 2021 supported by a tight monetary stance, fiscal consolidation, and better food supplies; core measures and expectations continue to re-anchor.
External buffers have strengthened.
For the first eight months of the year, Ghana recorded a trade surplus of US$6.2 billion, underpinned by robust gold exports and higher cocoa receipts.
Gross international reserves stood at US$10.7 billion in August, cov ering about 4½ months of imports.
Despite seasonal pressures and a moderation in remittance inflows in recent weeks, the cedi remains among the strongest currencies globally year-to-date, appreciating by about 21 percent as of September 12.
It now ranks alongside high performers such as the Russian ruble, Swedish krona, Norwegian krone, Swiss franc, Euro, and British pound.
This outperformance reflects prudent monetary policy, effective liquidity management, fiscal consolidation, and inc reased foreign - exchange inflows.
The banking sector remains stable and improving, with the capital adequacy ratio (without reliefs) rising to 19.5 percent in July; while NPLs remain elevated at 21.7 percent, they drop to 8.4 percent when fully provisioned losses are excluded, underscoring ongoing resilience as recapitalisation and strict underwriting continue.
On the fiscal side, execution in the first half of 2025 signalled consolidation: the deficit on commitment basis was contained at 0.7 percent of GDP, below target, contributing, together with cedi strength and external restructuring to a decline in the public debt ratio by mid-year.
Against this backdrop of easing inflation pressures, anchored expectations, and stronger buffers, the MPC in July reduced the policy rate by 300 basis points to 25.0 percent, while reiterating our readiness to adjust as the disinflation process evolves and risks, such as global trade disruptions or prospective utility tariff adjustments are assessed.
Our commitment remains firm: maintain price stability, sa feguard financial stability, and create the conditions for inclusive, sustainable growth.
Workshop on Supporting SMEs to (Sustainable) Global Value Chains Organized by Ghana Association of Banks (GAB) in collaboration with Afreximbank, Trade and Development Bank (TDB), and African Development Bank (AfDB) Keynote Address by Dr.
Johnson P. Asiama Governor, Bank of Ghana Date: September 11–12, 2025 Venue: Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel, Accra Introduction Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, Representatives of the Ghana Association of Banks, Afreximbank, the African Development Bank, the Trade and Development Bank, policymakers, development partners, and captains of our private sector, It is a privilege to join you this morning for this important workshop.
I thank the Ghana Association of Banks and its partners for convening us around the timely theme: Supporting SMEs to Sustainable Global Value Chains.
Ghana is emerging from a period of macroeconomic turbulence with encouraging stability .
Disinflation is taking hold, reserves have strengthened, and investor confidence is returning.
This creates the foundation on which our SMEs must now thrive.
Across the world, SMEs are the backbone of economies, representing about 90% of businesses and over half of global employment.
In emerging markets, they contribute up to 40% of GDP.
Yet access to finance remains a major constraint.
The World Bank and IFC estimate a financing gap of up to $8 trillion globally for MSMEs.
That is not just about missed loans, it’s about lost innovation, jobs, and exports.
This is where global value chains matter.
Nearly half of world trade flows through GVCs.
For Ghana, integrating our SMEs into these networks is not a peripheral ambition – it is central to building higher incomes, decent jobs, and greater resilience.
Today, I want to reflect on how we can help our SMEs move from survival to competitiveness, by entering global value chains, by building the right support systems, and by ensuring our financial architecture is aligned with this goal.
Moving SMEs into Global Value Chains The question before us is simple: how do we move Ghana’s SMEs from the margins of local markets into the heart of global production systems?
Despite their economic importance, our SMEs remain underrepresented in international trade.
Few are exporters, and fewer still are integrated into structured supply chains in agribusiness, manufacturing, digital services, or the green economy.
The logic of global value chains is clear: prosperity comes from plugging into broader networks where firms specialize, scale, and compete globally.
SMEs that succeed in this space gain access to larger demand, better standards, and financing opportunities.
Many countries have shown how this can be done.
• Chile paired capability -building with long -term anchor contracts to boost SME productivity.
• Malaysia developed competitive electronics clusters by linking SMEs, multinationals, and research institutions.
• Morocco’s auto sector leveraged supplier development policies to connect local firms to global OEMs.
In Ghana, the barriers are well known: lack of affordable finance, difficulty meeting export standards, fragmented logistics, and currency volatility.
These structural hurdles demand deliberate policy responses.
That is why we must also think regionally and locally.
Local value chains, such as those in supermarket supply networks, telecoms, pharmaceuticals, and logistics, offer SMEs structured relationships, volume-based demand, and opportunities to scale incrementally.
These linkages are often the first step to building operational capacity and formalization.
Regional value chains, particularly under the African Continental Free Trade Area, provide a powerful platform for Ghanaian SMEs to expand beyond national borders while still operating within familiar regulatory and logistical environments.
Sectors like agro -processing, textiles, light manufacturing, and digital services offer immediate potential.
Regional markets come with more flexible standards, faster learning cycles, and lower compliance thresholds than global markets, making them the most pragmatic training ground for global competitiveness.
Colleagues, the path to global value chains starts at home.
If we are serious about transforming Ghanaian SMEs into global players, we must invest first in domestic capability, scale them through regional ecosystems, and then project them outward.
That journey begins with deliberate policy, collaboration with bank s and anchor firms, and the right enabling infrastructure Yet even within regional and domestic markets, the bar is rising.
Buyers are increasingly demanding evidence of sustainable practices , whether in emissions, traceability, or ethical sourcing.
For Ghanaian SMEs, staying competitive will depend not only on productivity and quality, but also on their ability to meet these evolving standards.
And this shift is not just a regulatory challenge – it is also a credit challenge, and therefore a banking challenge.
What Banks Can Do to Assist Distinguished participants, If we want our SMEs to scale and integrate into sustainable value chains, then our banks must be at the centre of this effort.
Finance remains the oxygen of enterprise.
So what can our banks do differently?
First, move beyond collateral-based lending.
Many SMEs lack fixed assets, but models like cash-flow lending, purchase -order finance, and supply -chain finance have proven effective elsewhere.
In Asia and Latin America, SMEs leverage anchor buyers' creditworthiness to access lower-cost working capital.
Ghanaian banks can do the same – especially for sectors like cocoa, agro-processing, and manufacturing.
Second, make better use of risk -sharing tools.
In Rwanda, well -governed partial credit guarantees unlocked SME lending and drove job creation.
In Ghana, tools like GIRSAL must be more actively deployed, with stronger transparency and governance to build lender confidence.
Third, partner with development finance institutions.
DFIs like Afreximbank and the AfDB are already offering blended finance and trade lines.
In Bangladesh, such arrangements helped the garment sector scale rapidly.
Ghana can draw on similar innovations – especially in light manufacturing and pharmaceuticals.
Fourth, embrace digital rails.
Tools like e -invoicing, digital payments, and electronic trade documentation reduce friction, improve trust, and allow banks to monitor SME performance in real time.
Fintech partnerships are making this possible across Africa and beyond.
Finally, provide more than capital, provide knowledge.
Many SMEs struggle to meet export, documentation, or sustainability standards.
Banks can bundle financing with advisory services, supporting clients in certification, traceability, and carbon reporting.
In Kenya, commercial banks already do this for horticulture exporters.
Ghanaian banks must follow suit.
What the Bank of Ghana is Doing to Support the Role of Banks Distinguished colleagues, As we challenge our banks to innovate in support of SMEs, let me also underscore the measures the Bank of Ghana has taken , and continues to take to create the enabling environment and a strong financial foundation.
First, financial sector reforms.
Over the past few months, we have worked deliberately to strengthen bank capital, improve supervisory frameworks, and enhance risk management.
These reforms were not always easy, but they were necessary.
Today, Ghana’s banking system is more resilient, better capitalized, and more cap able of absorbing shocks.
This resilience is what enables banks to take on the calculated risks required to support SMEs.
Second, innovation and digital finance.
The Bank of Ghana’s regulatory framework supports digital financial services and expands inclusive finance rails.
Mobile money, interoperable payments, and e -wallet services are not just conveniences , they are the digital infrastructure that allows SMEs to transact, to build track records, and to access formal finance.
We are now moving further to design guidelines for open banking and virtual asset service providers, ensuring that our financial system remains modern, secure, and innovation-friendly.
Third, credit infrastructure.
To address the structural barriers that have long undermined SME lending, we have strengthened the ecosystem around credit information.
Ghana now has active credit bureaus, a functional Collateral Registry, and ongoing reforms aimed at reducing non-performing loans.
These tools give banks the data they need to lend based on risk, not just on collateral.
Fourth, collaboration through the Financial Stability Council.
Recognizing that financial stability is a shared responsibility, the Bank of Ghana has worked with government and other regulators to establish the Financial Stability Council.
This platform allows us to monitor risks collectively, to coordinate responses, and to safeguard the integrity of the system.
When stability is assured, banks can confidently extend their intermediat ion role to SMEs and the wider economy.
Finally, green and transition finance.
We are also encouraging banks to align with global trends in climate -conscious finance.
Across the OECD, financial institutions are already integrating climate considerations into SME lending – through green loans, credit guarantees, and tailored advisory services.
Ghana cannot afford to lag behind.
As sustainability becomes a prerequisite for global market access, we are promoting financial products that enable SMEs to adopt energy -efficient tec hnologies, meet interna tional certifications, and integrate into sustainable value chains.
Distinguished guests, these measures reflect our conviction that a strong, modern, and inclusive banking system is indispensable for SME growth.
What Our Recent Forex Market Reforms Seek to Achieve Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, No discussion on SME competitiveness and value chains is complete without addressing the foreign exchange market.
For SMEs importing machinery, exporting goods, or planning investments, FX stability and transparency shape pricing, determine competitiveness, and often decide whether a business survives.
That is why the Bank of Ghana has implemented a new wave of FX reforms.
These are not just technical changes – they are about building a fairer, more predictable market that serves the real economy.
First, we are deepening transparency and interbank activity.
For too long, the FX market relied heavily on central bank support and was dominated by informal, cash-based transactions.
This encouraged speculation and distorted price discovery.
By enhancing inter bank trading, enforcing reporting requirements, and improving transparency, we aim to ensure that exchange rates reflect real supply and demand.
For SMEs, this means less volatility and greater confidence when pricing exports or securing inputs.
Second, we are curbing speculative and cash-driven demand.
Excess pressure from large cash withdrawals and over-the-counter deals made the market harder to monitor and more prone to instability.
Our updated guidelines on large transactions – together with strengthened AML and KYC rules – are shifting flows into formal channels.
This protects the market’s integrity and ensures FX is available for genuine trade and productive uses.
Third, we are supporting SMEs with more predictable access to FX.
Through clearer FX auction mechanisms, businesses will be able to plan with greater certainty.
Countries like Nigeria have seen benefits from similar liberalization.
Ghana’s approach is context-specific but anchored in the same principle: a rules -based, transparent FX market supports trade, investment, and sustainable growth.
Fourth, our reforms are aligned with a broader dedollarisation agenda.
Ghana, like many African economies, has long been exposed to currency mismatches – businesses transacting in dollars but earning in cedis.
By promoting cedi -based instruments, encouraging cedi - denominated trade products, and tightening discipline around foreign currency usage, we aim to build a system where SMEs can confidently transact in their own currency.
Finally, all of this is anchored in a commitment to stability.
FX stability is not a luxury – it is a prerequisite for investment and competitiveness.
Ghana’s external position improved notably in the first half of 2025, with reserves strengthening and the cedi appreciating significantly.
The recent modest depreciation reflects the market adjusting to reforms and seasonal trade patterns – not a reversal.
We expect continued interbank activity and fiscal discipline to restore balance and reinforce long-term stability.
Distinguished guests, the purpose of these reforms is not simply to defend the cedi.
It is to equip Ghanaian enterprises, especially SMEs, with a transparent, predictable FX environment that enables them to compete confidently in regional and global markets.
Conclusion Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, Ghana’s future competitiveness will depend on how effectively we empower our SMEs.
They are not peripheral actors, they are the engines of jobs, innovation, and inclusive growth.
But to fully play this role, they must be integrated into regional and global value chains, where standards are higher, but the rewards are greater.
To our banks, I urge you to reimagine SME finance.
Move beyond traditional collateral-based lending and embrace innovative approaches, including supply-chain finance, risk-sharing tools, and partnerships with development finance institutions.
Our SMEs are not risky outliers; they are the future growth drivers of your portfolios.
To our SMEs, I encourage you to embrace formalization, digitization, and global standards.
Compliance is no longer just a regulatory requirement , it is your passport to larger, more profitable markets.
With inflation declining, the cedi more stable, and reserves improving, the conditions are now right to grow with confidence.
To our development partners and policymakers , we ask that you continue to walk this journey with us.
Let us deepen trade facilitation, support supplier development, and invest in the digital and financial infrastructure that will allow our entrepreneurs to thrive.
At the Bank of Ghana, we will continue to play our part.
We will safeguard macroeconomic stability, strengthen the financial system, and build the digital and regulatory rails that make inclusive growth possible.
If we succeed in enabling Ghanaian SMEs to step into global value chains, we will not only transform enterprises, but transform lives, create decent jobs, and build lasting prosperity.
I thank you for your kind attention.
11th Women in HR Conference Theme: “Beyond HR – Elevating Women to Lead Culture, Strategy, and Innovation” Speech by Mrs.
Matilda Asante-Asiedu Second Deputy Governor Bank of Ghana Wednesday, 27th August 2025 Accra The President, Ghana Employers' Association, Industry leaders, Distinguished guests, Friends from the media, All protocols duly observed.
I bring you warm greetings from the Bank of Ghana.
It is truly an honour to join you at this important gathering.
Let me begin by acknowledging the Ghana Employers’ Association, which for 75 years has been at the forefront of advocacy , shaping labo ur policy, promoting industrial harmony, and supporting business growth.
Your role as a partner in national development is undeniable, and today’s conference is another testament to your enduring impact.
I am deeply grateful for the invitation to speak on the theme, “Beyond HR – Elevating Women to Lead Culture, Strategy, and Innovation.”
It is both a privilege and a responsibility I do not take for granted.
Personal Disclaimer & Storytelling Let me begin with a small disclaimer.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with women excelling in Human Resources, Communications, or Corporate Social Responsibility.
These roles are essential and deserve recognition.
Yet, we must also remember that true leadership is not limited to certain departments; it can emerge from any corner of an organization when courage and preparation meet opportunity.