{
  "id": 4214739,
  "title": "Ghana’s MSME $4.8 billion credit gap is an information problem",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/ghanas-msme-4-8-billion-credit-gap-is-an-information-problem-4214739",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-29T14:48:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Joy Business",
    "slug": "joy-business",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/ghanas-msme-4-8-billion-credit-gap-is-an-information-problem/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Matilda Asante-Asiedu, highlighted a significant credit gap among small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana during the Distinguished Digital Finance Lecture. She noted that the gap, estimated at around $4.8 billion, is one of the most severe in Africa. This comes as the country boasts one of the most advanced financial systems on the continent. Asante-Asiedu proposed that access to credit on fair terms should be the primary metric for measuring financial inclusion, and open banking reforms should focus on lending to businesses lacking conventional collateral. She emphasized that the missing piece is not capital but the ability to assess creditworthiness. Regulated financial service providers (FSPs) must recognize that transaction history, including cash flow, merchant activity, and income predictability, can serve as a credit record. Failure to convert existing data into credit assessment has shifted from a commercial choice to a supervisory concern. The regulator has acknowledged this need, and every institution in Ghana should question why the five-year cash flow records of existing customers are not sufficient for lending. The majority of MSMEs are constrained by collateral dependence, with around 95% unable to pledge land and buildings. Open banking must be judged based on credit extension, not just API publication. This is the most crucial idea in the agenda, ensuring that compliance with open banking directives leads to actual lending rather than just API development. Regulating by risk instead of license category and promoting collaboration among the Bank of Ghana, the National Information Communications Technology Authority, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the National Payments Corporation of Ghana is essential. The MSME finance gap is not just a shortage of money but a lack of information. Lenders cannot accurately price the risk of small businesses, so they rely on collateral as a substitute. This creates a vicious cycle where no collateral means no loan. Most banks have not developed risk models due to the unique challenges MSMEs face, such as seasonality in cash flows and the difficulty in distinguishing legitimate patterns from genuine risks. Additionally, most banks lack a risk assessment model, instead relying on automated systems that reinforce existing credit policies biased towards collateral. To address this, institutions should leverage existing transaction data to build early warning systems for cash flow deterioration. By analyzing live transaction flows, businesses showing signs of deteriorating cash flow can be identified early, allowing for restructuring or collection efforts. Declines must be explained clearly, providing actionable insights to borrowers rather than simply denying credit. This approach aligns compliance requirements with inclusion objectives, turning exclusion into a coaching opportunity. The broader ecosystem should respond by coordinating efforts across regulatory bodies to tackle the MSME credit gap effectively, starting with the data institutions already possess.",
  "summary": "“We built extraordinary payment rails. Now we build the credit rails.” At the Distinguished Digital Finance Lecture, held during the National ICT Week, our Deputy Governor Matilda Asante- Asiedu mentioned this in her remarks. The Bank of Ghana has put a number on something the market has felt for years: an #SME financing gap of […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
        "title": "Ghana’s MSME $4.8 billion credit gap is an information problem",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/ghanas-msme-4-8-billion-credit-gap-is-an-information-problem",
        "published": "2026-08-29T14:48:35.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}