Ghana

The proliferation of insurance companies in Ghana in recent years is indicative of the growth potential of the industry, but has also hindered its maturation. As with many financial sectors in Africa’s frontier markets, fragmentation has limited growth. Larger, heavily capitalised companies are needed to take on the scale of risk inherent in...

Regulators are aiming to use higher capital requirements as a means of encouraging consolidation in the Ghanaian banking sector, in a bid to repeat the success of neighbouring Nigeria. In 2004 the Central Bank of Nigeria’s then newly appointed governor, Charles Soludo, faced a weak and thinly spread financial sector that failed to meet the...

In 2007 Ghana became the first West African nation to issue a eurobond. Demand for the $750m issuance – a 10-year bond with a yield of 8.5% – exceeded supply by a factor of four, prompting other African nations to follow suit. This means that in 2018 nearly $25bn worth of sovereign debt in the region is set to mature. Since its first foray...

As a founding member of both ECOWAS and the African Union (AU), and an early champion of decolonisation, pan-Africanism and the principles of the Non-Aligned Movement, Ghana has long played a central diplomatic role on the continent.

Long one of the continent’s success stories, Ghana is the birthplace of pan-Africanism and was one of the loudest advocates for independence during the continent’s colonial days. More recently it has promoted regional integration as an active participant in bodies such as the African Union and ECOWAS. The country has also established a strong...

With a constitutional presidential system that outlines a number of checks and balances, Ghana is widely considered to be a healthy democracy. Since its current constitution came into effect in 1992 the country has experienced three peaceful transfers of power. The most recent handover was the result of elections in December 2016, leading to...