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Ghana’s telecommunications industry is mostly driven by activity in the mobile segment. But the business also has a high level of competition that benefits from a liberalised market regime and a robust regulatory framework. The sector is crowded, with six operators in the lower to-middle-income country of 25m people, but this has not stopped operators from rolling out new infrastructure and services. While operators are confronted with cost and operational pressures, Ghana’s scope for growth in data and value-added services is high, and a clear and robust regulatory regime ensures an even playing field for the nation’s six operators. Meanwhile, the coming on-stream of five submarine cables has added considerable broadband capacity and allowed the operators to expand their networks and range of services. Indeed, access over the past half decade has dramatically improved with the landing of undersea fibre links and the introduction of wireless and 3G – and more recently 4G – technologies. This chapter contains interviews with Paarock VanPercy, Director-General, National Communication Authority (NCA); and Neal Hansch, Managing Director, Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) Incubator.

As the foundation of Ghana’s economy, agriculture employs more than half of the population and is a key focus for the country’s inclusive economic development agenda. Ghana has 13.6m ha of agricultural land, and cocoa and maize account for the largest areas planted, with 1.6m ha and 1m ha, respectively. Yet as the industrial and services sectors have strengthened in recent years, agriculture’s contribution to overall GDP has steadily declined, falling from 32% in 2009 to 22% in 2013. Moreover, the sector remains underdeveloped, with the majority of rural farmers (accounting for some 90% of all farming employment) lacking the proper techniques, inputs, financing and infrastructure, such as transport networks and irrigation and storage systems. New policy reforms, however, such as seed variation control and biosafety regulations, aim to both enhance yield quality and reduce waste. This chapter contains an interview with Anthony Pile, Founder and CEO, Blue Skies.

Mining and quarrying contributed 9.8% of Ghana’s GDP in 2013, up from 9.5% in 2012, according to the Ghana Chamber of Mines (GCM), the main industry association. Nevertheless, the sector had a subdued year in 2013 and was affected by a range of factors that hit the industry globally. So important is mining to Ghana’s economy that its slower performance fed through to lower GDP growth. Total revenue from minerals slid 12% to $4.79bn in 2013 from $5.45bn in 2012, led by the biggest slump in the price of Ghanaian gold in 30 years, according to the GCM. Although Ghana faces increasing competition from other countries in the region, its long history of mining, abundant resources, and security and stability remain significant competitive advantages. This chapter contains interviews with Nii Osah Mills, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources; and Johan Ferreira, Regional Senior Vice-President and Head, Newmont Africa, and President, Ghana Chamber of Mines.

The insurance sector is growing rapidly as a result of reforms, improved regulation and a better understanding of the relevant products on the part of Ghana’s consumers. Business has not only expanded along with the economy, but has outperformed it. The sector saw total premiums growth reach 23% y-o-y in 2013. However, the sector also faces challenges common to many of Africa’s frontier markets. Penetration rates and awareness remain low, and the sector is fragmented at a time when the regulatory framework is robust, but compliance and risk management are still being refined. There is certainly plenty of scope for further growth, even with the high levels of competition in the existing market. For those insurers that are able to expand the client base outside of the corporate, upper and middle-income segments, the likelihood for strong returns is significant.

This chapter contains an interview with Lydia Lariba Bawa, Commissioner, National Insurance Commission.

For a frontier market, Ghana’s banking system is very developed. The sector has expanded rapidly over the past 20 years, and a number of new banks have been licensed. Six domestic banks were established in that time, while in the 1990s several foreign entrants moved in. Though most of the fundamentals are healthy, there are still a number of challenges that limit overall efficiency and performance. The sector remains unusually fragmented. On the other end of the spectrum, despite the existence of specialist rural banks and non-bank financial institutions, much of the country remains unbanked. As the sector consolidates, banks will get stronger and will be better able to take on larger deals; as regulations are refined, it will be better able to withstand shocks.

This chapter contains interviews with Kofi Wampah, Governor, Bank of Ghana (BoG); and Archie Hesse, CEO, Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS).

For a frontier market, Ghana’s banking system is very developed. The sector has expanded rapidly over the past 20 years, and a number of new banks have been licensed. Six domestic banks were established in that time, while in the 1990s several foreign entrants moved in. Though most of the fundamentals are healthy, there are still a number of challenges that limit overall efficiency and performance. The sector remains unusually fragmented. On the other end of the spectrum, despite the existence of specialist rural banks and non-bank financial institutions, much of the country remains unbanked. As the sector consolidates, banks will get stronger and will be better able to take on larger deals; as regulations are refined, it will be better able to withstand shocks.

This chapter contains interviews with Kofi Wampah, Governor, Bank of Ghana (BoG); and Archie Hesse, CEO, Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS).