Guidance

Overseas business risk: Ghana

Updated 23 February 2022

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1. Overview

As a stable English-speaking country in West Africa, Ghana is a destination of choice for the regional headquarters of many companies and institutions. It is also host to the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

Ghana is well-positioned as a regional entry and exit point on trade routes, offering 2 large ports, with a recently completed expansion of capacity at Tema and a modern international airport serving Accra, which has direct air links to Europe, the Middle East, the US and the region.

Despite some challenges, British businesses continue to see Ghana as a valuable investment base for the region, and there are already many existing and flourishing flagship UK companies in the market across multiple sectors.

2. Political

Ghana stands out in West Africa for its democratic foundations and track record for stability and peace, rule of law and press freedom. There are numerous political parties, and leaders regularly express views and opinions. Although sometimes seen as “winner-takes-all”, there is a stable political settlement around 2 major parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Ghana has a flourishing Civil Society (including a vibrant media), who play an important role in holding the government to account. There are however growing concerns around political violence and perceived high levels of corruption.

On 7 December, 2020 Ghana held its eighth peaceful elections since the restoration of democracy in 1992. The incumbent President, Nana Akufo-Addo of the NPP was re-elected. The parliamentary election ended in a tie and parliament for the first time in Ghana’s political history elected a Speaker from an opposition political party.

The Government’s priorities include strengthening and transforming the economy (particularly as part of the COVID-19 recovery), generating jobs and increasing living standards. Akufo-Addo has also reiterated his vision for Ghana “Beyond Aid” and pursuing a national digitization programme to improve efficiency in the delivery of public services.

Akufo-Addo is Chair of ECOWAS where he is focused on regional security, continental integration and strengthening democracy. Ghana has taken up its seat as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2022 to 2023.

3. Economic

Ghana’s economic growth is projected at 5.8% in 2022, (from 4.4% in 2021 and 0.9% in 2020) driven by sustained growth in the services and agriculture sectors. The industrial sector is expected to rebound with a 6.3% growth predicted in 2022. This growth will be driven from recovery in the extractives subsector.

The government is implementing a 3 year GHC100 billion economic recovery plan (‘Ghana CARES’) programme to facilitate economic recovery post-COVID.

Despite this progress, the economy faces financing challenges, with a growing fiscal deficit and lower than expected revenue collections to finance the deficit. In the past 2 months, 2 of the ‘big three’ credit ratings agencies, Moody’s (in February 2022) and Fitch (in January 2022) have downgraded Ghana’s sovereign credit ratings, citing the increasingly difficult task the Government faces in addressing its fiscal and debt challenges.

The government’s 2022 budget targets an ambitious fiscal consolidation plan hinged on significant revenue increases (43% from 2021), including through the imposition of a levy on electronic transactions which has been difficult to legislate through Parliament.

Inflation is also increasing, reaching 13.9% in January 2022. Ghana’s dependence on relatively few commodities including gold, cocoa and oil exposes the economy to global price shocks such as those seen in 2020.

The Ghanaian currency has also come under pressure, depreciating 4.7% against the dollar since 1 January 2022. The Ghanaian Government are committed to creating more jobs through sustainable and broad-based growth.

4. Bilateral Trade

Total bilateral trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Ghana was £954 million in the 4 quarters to the end of quarter 3 2021, a decrease of 5.5% or £56 million from the 4 quarters to the end of quarter 3 2020. Of this £954 million:

  • total UK exports to Ghana amounted to £617 million in the 4 quarters to the end of quarter 3 2021 (an increase of 2.0% or £12 million compared to the 4 quarters to the end of quarter 3 2020)
  • total UK imports from Ghana amounted to £337 million in the 4 quarters to the end of quarter 3 2021 (a decrease of 16.8% or £68 million compared to the 4 quarters to the end of quarter 3 2020)

Ghana was the UK’s 78th largest trading partner in the 4 quarters to the end of quarter 3 2021 accounting for 0.1% of total UK trade. Ghana is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and recently agreed a new interim Ghana - UK Trade Partnership Agreement in March 2021.

Incentives for British businesses exporting to Ghana include:

  • English is the official business language and widely spoken
  • the judicial system is based on English common law principles
  • large consumer base with a growing middle class
  • the market for financial and legal services is well developed
  • comparatively well-developed infrastructure within the West African region
  • developing as a regional hub for opportunities in other West African markets

Market challenges include:

  • energy distribution and transmission challenges; regular power outages
  • obstructive bureaucracy
  • lack of infrastructure investment and limited implementation of PPPs, though an aspiration to do more.
  • high unemployment and poverty
  • underdeveloped capital market
  • agricultural base underdeveloped
  • local content requirements
  • minimum capital requirements when setting up a business
  • a lack of transparency of tenders, particularly in public procurement due to ‘sole sourcing’

Top exports from the UK to Ghana include: Textiles, specialised machinery, medicinal and pharmaceutical products, beverages, electrical machinery and appliances, petroleum products.

Top imports to the UK from Ghana include: Cocoa, canned fish, fruit & vegetables, petroleum products, metal scrap, coffee.

5. Business and Human Rights

Ghana has a good record on respecting human rights and is among Africa’s best human rights performers. Freedom House consistently ranks Ghana as “Free”. The Constitution is largely progressive and respected.

The Convention Eliminating All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has been ratified in Ghana and domestic violence legislation was passed in 2007. However, there remain some challenges especially for minorities, women and people with disabilities and the LGBTQ+ community. Women are less likely to hold a formal job and less likely to be in senior positions.

Discrimination against minorities, for example people with disabilities (including people with mental health issues) or those living with HIV/AIDS remains an issue. Homosexual acts are illegal and the LGBTQ+ community suffer from discrimination and often violence.

Currently, a Private Members’ Bill which seeks to criminalise LGBTQ+ activities is before parliament for consideration. The death penalty remains part of Ghanaian law and although the death penalty has not been used since 1993, the sentence itself continues to be handed down by Ghanaian courts.

In northern Ghana, poverty and inequality is increasing. Access to and quality of services is also worse in the northern regions. There are more out of school children, fewer hospitals, fewer teachers and health workers, and worse health and education outcomes (e.g. more children are stunted, fewer adults can read) than in the south. There are significant cultural differences between north and south with more child marriages and cases of FGM (although both are low compared to other countries in the region).

6. Bribery and Corruption

Bribery is illegal. It is an offence for British nationals or someone who is ordinarily resident in the UK, a body incorporated in the UK or a Scottish partnership to bribe anywhere in the world. In addition, a commercial organisation carrying out business in the UK can be liable for the conduct of a person who is neither a UK national or resident in the UK nor a body incorporated or formed in the UK.

In this case, it does not matter whether the acts or omissions which form part of the offence take place in the UK or elsewhere. In 2021, Ghana ranked 73rd out of 180 countries, in Transparency International’s corruption perception index (CPI), falling from the 70th in 2016, but an increase on 75th in 2020.

7. Terrorist Advice

Terrorist attacks in Ghana cannot be ruled out. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners. Further information is provided on our Terrorism threat page and our FCDO travel advice.

8. Protective Security/Organised Crime

Most visits to Ghana are trouble free, but criminal activity does occur and can range from incidents of petty crime to violent crime. There was an increase in robbery, burglary and serious assault in 2021, and such attacks can include the use of weapons.

There have been cases of violent robberies involving foreign nationals who have been attacked and robbed at gun-point. Street crime like pick-pocketing and bag snatching is on the increase in Accra. Take sensible precautions. Avoid carrying large sums of money or valuables, use a hotel safe whenever possible and be particularly vigilant when withdrawing cash from ATMs. Be particularly vigilant at night (after 6:30pm), and avoid travelling alone.

Further information is provided on our FCDO Travel Advice.

The ENACT Organised Crime Index ranks Ghana as 26/54 in Africa for criminality, with a score below the continental average. It ranks 16/54 for criminal markets, indicating several pervasive markets (notably, drugs and extractives, such as gold and precious metals). However, Ghana ranks 10/54 in Africa for overall resilience, having sufficient effective capacity to combat organised crime.

Further information is provided on our organised crime page.

One of the principal ways in which organised criminality affects businesses both in the UK and Ghana is through fraud.

Examples include:

  • procurement fraud (fake suppliers)
  • advance fee fraud
  • business email compromise, which may involve social engineering and as well as more sophisticated phishing attacks (i.e. fake websites made to look genuine)
  • romance fraud, particularly targeting senior executives through business social media sites such as LinkedIn
  • what is known as Recovery frauds (individuals usually claiming to be Ghanaian / international law enforcement / lawyers who can help reclaim lost fraud monies)

UK businesses should be aware of the existence in Ghana of criminals - acting both as individuals or companies - targeting foreign businesses in scams invariably requiring upfront payments. Some of recent scams reported to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) Ghana have involved the following:

  • contacts claiming to represent reputable institutions such as the British High Commission in Accra, the Ghana High Commission in London, ECOWAS or the African Union
  • fake registration fees for tenders to be paid to a bogus entity or for registration with Ghana’s Chamber of Commerce to be able carry out trade in/with Ghana (there is no such requirement under Ghanaian law)
  • individuals purporting to be from the bogus Pan-African Regional Development Commission and variations connotations

Be very wary of any requests for payment upfront, check company and individuals details out carefully and, if in any doubt about the integrity of any individuals or businesses you are in communication with, please contact the DBT team in Ghana.

For more generic business security advice please see the following resources:

9. Intellectual Property

Ghana’s National Intellectual Property Policy and strategy (NIPPS) was launched in January 2016 to contribute towards enhancing the competitiveness of Ghana by improving and increasing the use of intellectual property systems. The long term goal of NIPPS is to exploit intellectual property rights to accelerate technological and industrial growth in Ghana.

Copyright in Ghana is under 2 fully fledged independent offices, both under the Ministry of Justice: The Copyright Office and Copy Ghana. Over the past decade, Ghana has made a conscious effort to enact legislation that provides protection for IP rights (IPR). Current IPR laws in Ghana are:

Ghana is a member of or has ratified the following international agreements regarding copyright:

10. Contact

Contact the DBT team in Ghana for further information.

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