5 Ghanaian businesses that have shut down due to economic hardships

In the space of two weeks or less, some businesses in Ghana have folded up.

Some of these businesses have shut down permanently, whiles others have closed down some of their branches.

Most of which are food businesses lamented the increasing cost of ingredients.

Inflation hit an all-time high of 37.2% according to the Ghana Statistical Service as of September 2022. Food inflation also recorded above the national average to hit almost 80%.

However, checks by GhanaWeb have revealed that food prices have more than tripled in the last few months.

A world bank report noted that Ghana has the highest food price increase of about 122% in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The cedi's depreciation has also compounded the woes of businesses who depend partly on imports.

Inflation and the high cost of imports have cause some businesses to shut down.

They are Soul by Villa Grace, Fatty, The Yellow Box, 12inchbaguette, and coppasotto.

One of the five businesses, Soul by Villa Grace explained to customers that: “‘Soul’ was designed to offer comforting and good quality food, at affordable prices. That has been the fundamental basis on which we operated and curated our menus. With the current global and domestic economic crisis, the cost of ingredients is far beyond our imagination. Current food prices, unfortunately no longer make sense for us to sell based on the business model under which we operate.”

“We believe that things will indeed get better, and we will find the stability required to be able to offer you the quality of food Soul was established to curate, once again,” it said.

Another catering business, Fatty has closed its retail space to the general public even though it noted that it will still provide catering services to its patrons.

Meanwhile, Yellow Box, also a food business has closed down two of its branches and is only operating at a single branch.

Reacting to these closures, customers have expressed their utmost disappointment with the outcome of the events.

They also bemoaned the rising cost of living in the country posing a threat to Ghanaian businesses.

SSD/FNOQ