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The domestic financial sector has been fairly dynamic recently, with a number of mergers and new players arriving on the scene. However, approximately 70% of the population remains unbanked, and increasing access to financing is a government priority, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Given the large informal market, the size of the unbanked population and the challenge of integrating lower-income customers into the formal financial system, microfinance is taking off. However, some medium-term challenges will need to be navigated, including fragmentation at the lower end of the market, and ensuring equal implementation of good governance and data collection measures. This chapter contains an interview with Kofi Wampah, Governor, Bank of Ghana, and a roundtable with Charles Cofie, Board Chairman, Barclays; Samuel Adjei, Managing Director, Ecobank; Simon Dornoo, Managing Director, Ghana Commercial Bank; and Kweku Bedu-Addo, CEO, Standard Chartered.

Outperformance remains the key feature of Ghana’s economy, seven years after the discovery of oil prompted new optimism in the country, which was then celebrating the golden jubilee of its independence. In real terms, GDP grew by 7.9% in 2012. This follows revised GDP growth of 15% in 2011, which was largely driven by the start of commercial oil production at the Jubilee field. Ghana is also the world’s second-largest exporter of cocoa beans and products, which accounted for 20.9% of export revenues in 2012. With growth in 2013 forecast to remain at a little under 8%, its oilfields set to expand and its gas infrastructure rapidly developing, Ghana’s future looks bright. Nevertheless, the country will need to tackle a number of challenges, notably in improving its infrastructure and dealing with poverty, as well as budgetary pressures that the government must face to enable it to achieve its medium-term goals of building stability and prosperity. This chapter contains a viewpoint from Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, Vice-President of Ghana, and an interview with Mawuena Trebarh, CEO, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre.

This chapter, written in conjunction PKF Bouresli, provides a detailed review of the rules and regulations that are applicable to foreign entities doing business in Kuwait. This chapter also contains an interview with Tariq M Bouresli, Managing Partner, PKF Bouresli.

This chapter, written in conjunction with Al Tamimi & Co., contains a rundown of the recently issued New Companies Law (NCL). In line with the reforms being implemented in various economies throughout the world, Kuwait, through the introduction of the NCL, is introducing new provisions and amending previous ones to allow more flexibility in establishment and operations, facilitate the incorporation process, make it more efficient, and alleviate other hurdles placed by the Old Law on new and existing investors who are interested in establishing and operating companies in Kuwait.

The Ministry of Education is moving ahead with plans to develop schools on a public-private partnership basis in order to deal with pressure from the country’s rapidly expanding youth population. Kuwait’s health care industry is also on the verge of a major period of development and expansion. The planned establishment of an independent regulatory body in the near future is a sign of market maturation. While the Ministry of Health will likely continue to play a central role for years to come, particularly in terms of health care provision for nationals, the private sector is increasingly active, and could potentially serve as a major foreign direct investment draw over the course of the coming decade. This chapter contains an interview with: Adnan A Shihab-Eldin, Director-General, Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences.