The latest analysis of Middle East and African (MEA) countries examines West African countries in Ghana and reveals recent developments in FinTech.
It is estimated that the population without a bank account in Ghana is still less than 60 per person. Cent, It offers opportunities for Ghana’s generally low- and middle-income economies, especially mobile money and telecommunications companies.
The Bank of Ghana Last year we released a circulation Summary of economic and financial dataEmphasized that the number of active mobile money accounts increased to 17.5 million in February last year (compared to 14.7 million in the previous year in 2020. Circular has grown 465,000 active mobile money agents over the same period. (Compared to the previous 235,000) Year).
Like many other parts of Africa, FinTech in Ghana is best known to the general public, especially with respect to the popularity of mobile devices and mobile money. The Bank of Ghana also reports that there were 40.9 million registered mobile money accounts and 17.5 million active accounts in 2021 (the UN population in 2021 was slightly over 31 million). Man).
Ghana is one of the fastest growing and important markets for mobile in the world. money..
In 2020, during the pandemic, Ghana’s mobile money became even more popular. Bank of Ghana has imposed regulations to promote onboarding of small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) merchants that may not meet the KYC (Know-Your-Customer) requirements thresholds set out in payment systems and payment laws. Introduced.
Much of the digital transformation these days has come from the top through the diversification of the government’s own economic development and the promotion of the digital economy.It initially had its own national strategy titled Ghana Vision 2020 When it comes to digital, much of the development to promote the ecosystem Ghana Digital Agenda..
It is estimated that there are about 100 fintechs in Ghana’s fintech outlook. It is dominated by a wider range of payment solutions (especially as previously highlighted by the popularity of mobile money). In addition to payment providers, other fintech subsectors active in the ecosystem include insurance, annuities, blockchain, security trading and wealth management, agriculture, buy now, postpay (BNPL), loans, property..
For this year’s exciting announcement, National Insurance Committee Implementation of Innolab Insurtech Accelerator Program Innovate insurance products and services.Funded by German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ), Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FDSAfrica) When UKaidThis program inspires innovative digital insurance product solutions, MSME and public.. Overall, most of Africa’s insurance coverage, including Ghana, is very low.
April, World Bank To help the Government of Ghana increase access to broadband, increase the efficiency and quality of selected digital public services, strengthen the country’s digital innovation ecosystem and create better employment and economic opportunities 2 Approved $ 100 million.
Digital is one of the highest performing sectors in Ghana. Between 2014 and 2020, the sector grew on average 20% shy (19). This funding will help remove key bottlenecks that will help further accelerate Ghana’s digital transformation, as Ghana is a major sub-Saharan digital leader. Africa..
Earlier this year, controversial Ghanaian parliament passed a “fintech tax.” It imposed a 1.5% tax on digital financial services known as e-levy. This puts Ghana, along with something like Zimbabwe, imposing one of the highest taxes on FinTech compared to other African neighbors who generally limit mobile money. .. Illustration..
Finally, in June Bank of Ghana Payment System (GhIPSS) Introduced the launch of the entire bank GhanaPay A mobile wallet that promotes the rise of a country’s cashless and economically inclusive ecosystem. The mobile money service was launched as an open application and is widely available at all incumbent and regional banks in the country, including various savings and loan companies.
Bank of Ghana Governor Dr. Ernest Addison Ghana’s progress in the transition to electronic payments was commendable. In less than a decade, GhIPSS instant pay transactions were worth GH 420,000 ($ 52,755). In 2016, 31.4 billion in 2021. It surged to gigahertz ($ 3.94 billion). At the same time, the value of both mobile money transactions and registered mobile money agents also increased 13-fold and 4-fold in 2021, respectively. “
Ghana’s cash use is also declining. Another important development, according to Dr. Addison, is that Ghana’s cash usage as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) in distribution currencies fell from 6.8% in 2016 to 4.7% last year. In addition, per capita check usage in Ghana, which was 25.67 in 2016, dropped to 18.9 last year. “
Investment in broader ecosystems can be seen in the private sector, including: African data centerPart of Cassava Technologies Group. The Pan-African Technology Group announced this year that it will build a 30 MW data center facility in Accra, Ghana. The new facility lays the foundation for the company’s mega-partners to expand digital services and solutions to more countries in West Africa, making Africa’s data center the largest provider in West Africa, with facilities in Nigeria, Togo and now Ghana. Hold. This complements other FinTech-specific announcements, such as the Bank of Ghana’s announcement of FinTech.
Finally, the Bank of Ghana has also launched an innovation and regulatory sandbox to help evaluate solutions that pursue financial inclusiveness. Target..It is understood that it may also be in its final stages E-cedi (Ghana’s digital currency business).
In summary, Ghana offers unique opportunities in the growing economic, digital and fintech sectors.