World Bank warns Ghana’s business environment threatens growth prospects
By Amoako Kwame The World Bank has warned that Ghana’s business environment remains a major constraint to the country’s growth potential, with unreliable and costly connectivity driving up operating costs, fragmenting markets and discouraging private investment. The Bank said the challenges are particularly concerning for Ghana’s efforts to diversify its economy beyond extractive sectors such […]
The World Bank has cautioned that Ghana's business environment poses a significant threat to the nation's growth prospects. Reliability and affordability of connectivity remain major challenges, driving up operational costs and deterring private investment. These issues are particularly concerning for Ghana's efforts to diversify its economy beyond extractive industries like gold and cocoa, where private-sector participation is crucial for maintaining growth.
Speaking at the launch of the 10th Ghana Economic Update in Accra, Robert Taliercio O'Brien, World Bank Division Director for Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia, emphasized that reforms to enhance the business environment are vital to transform recent macroeconomic gains into sustained and inclusive growth. "The business environment is a further drag on growth potential," he stated.
Ghana's economy expanded by 6.0% in 2025, its highest rate since 2019, and continued to grow by 6.4% in the first quarter of 2026. Inflation has dropped significantly, from 23.2% in February 2025 to 4.6%, and public debt has decreased from 70.3% of GDP in 2024 to 49% by the end of 2025. However, the World Bank remains vigilant that these gains could be at risk if structural constraints affecting businesses and investment are not addressed.
The bank highlighted Ghana's transport infrastructure as a critical concern, noting that the country's 94,200-kilometre road network is largely unpaved, with only 27% paved and more than half in poor condition. Mr. Taliercio emphasized that transport infrastructure is not merely an infrastructure issue but a crucial element of Ghana's broader economic development strategy.
"This is not just an infrastructure story – it is a growth story, a competitiveness story, a jobs story," he asserted. The 10th Ghana Economic Update assesses the country's recent economic performance and outlines policy measures the World Bank believes can help sustain the recovery, tackle structural bottlenecks, and foster stronger, more inclusive, and private-sector-driven growth.
Written by urgent.news from GBC Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
