Ghana makes huge strides in access to credit

The World Bank/IFC ‘Doing Business Report’ indicates that interventions by managers of the Ghanaian economy to help improve access to credit for business are yielding some good results.

The report showed Ghana was up by 15 places to 23 out of 185 countries in the rankings.

The country has, over the past years, witness the introduction of a Credit Reference Bureau, collateral registry and incentives for banks to lend to small businesses.

Chief Executive of the Credit Reference Bureau, XDS Data George Ahiafo told JOYBUSINESS the report indeed reflects the true situation on the ground, because from where he sits, he could tell that credit to private business has witnessed some substantial increase over the years.

Mr. Ahiafo adds that some businesses are still complaining of difficulties in accessing credit because most of them do not process their document well.

Ghana however went down by 8 places when it comes to the time taken to start a business and property registration. The country was also rated poorly on payment of taxes as it went down by nine places to 80.

The Doing Business Report ranks countries where the environment for doing business is good and has improved for local businesses to thrive.

In the overall rankings Ghana dropped by one place to 64 out of 185 countries.

Meanwhile, some businesses and traders are skeptical about the findings of the report.

President of the Ghana Traders Union Association George Ofori told JOYBUSINESS he is surprised at the findings of the report because businesses are still having challenges with access to credit in Ghana.