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ACCRA, Ghana – January 16, 2026: West African economies are rapidly advancing their digital financial infrastructure as a cornerstone for broader economic inclusion and modernization. Across the region, especially in Ghana and Nigeria, authorities are enacting forward-looking policies and partnerships to digitize banking services, strengthen payment systems, and extend financial access to underserved populations. These moves – backed by new regulations, collaborations with t

ACCRA, Ghana (January 16, 2026) – African central banks are increasingly shifting from monetary tightening to easing as inflation rates fall to multi-year lows across the continent. After aggressive interest rate hikes in 2022–2023 to tame price surges, policymakers in countries from Ghana to Kenya have begun cutting benchmark rates in response to sharply lower inflation. The trend signals a new phase of monetary policy aimed at supporting growth now that earlier inflationar

Accra, January 15, 2026  – Ghana’s central bank is moving decisively to reinforce the country’s currency after an unprecedented year of gains. The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has announced plans to inject up to $1 billion  into the foreign exchange market in January 2026 to stabilize the cedi  following its remarkable 40.7% appreciation  against the US dollar in 2025. The intervention – the largest in recent memory – aims to dampen volatility  and sustain the cedi’s historic gains  a

For decades, a simple rule defined African trade: If a Kenyan company wanted to pay a supplier in Zambia, or a Ghanaian importer needed to settle a bill in Rwanda, the money went on a long, expensive detour through the U.S. dollar and a chain of foreign correspondent banks. In 2025, that rule is being rewritten. Africa’s cross-border payments market is already worth around US$329 billion a year and is projected to more than triple to US$1 trillion by 2035 , according to a ne

Three years ago, Ghana was the cautionary tale of African finance. After years of heavy borrowing and external shocks, the country defaulted on its international debt in 2022 and scrambled into a $3 billion IMF programme in 2023. Eurobond coupons went unpaid, inflation blew out, the cedi plunged and confidence evaporated. Fast-forward to late 2025 and the headlines look very different. Ghana has: Completed the restructuring of its Eurobonds (around $13 billion) in October 202

Most investors start at home. It’s familiar: you understand the banks on your high street, the telco you use every day, the government securities your adviser talks about. In many African markets, those local instruments also offer attractive nominal yields. But the last decade has shown how fragile that comfort can be: Currency shocks  can wipe out years of returns when measured in hard currency. Inflation spikes  can quietly erode the real value of cash, deposits and even s

When Ghana’s finance minister, Cassiel Ato Forson, stood up to present the 2026 budget, one line cut through the usual noise of deficits and debt targets: after 25 years, the government would abolish the 15% VAT on mineral exploration and reconnaissance . For most Ghanaians, it sounded technical. For the mining industry, it was seismic. For a quarter of a century, companies prospecting for gold and other minerals have paid VAT on high-risk, upfront spending – drilling, assayi

In October 2025, the International Monetary Fund upgraded its growth forecast for sub-Saharan Africa to 4.1 percent , reflecting modest optimism amid persistent headwinds. That figure underscores a region balancing between promising reform momentum and foundational structural risks. Key pressures loom large: rising debt service costs, tightening external financing, inflation pressures, and weak fiscal buffers. During the IMF’s African Department press briefing, Director Abebe

The World Bank has called on the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to scale back its frequent interventions in the foreign exchange market, warning...

After two years of battling inflation, debt pressures, and tight liquidity, Ghana has just delivered a bold and unexpected signal: it’s...