By Ghana News
Copyright ghanamma
Bank of Ghana Governor Johnson Pandit Asiama has intensified pressure on commercial lenders to actively deploy risk-sharing mechanisms for small and medium enterprise financing, warning that continued underserving of SMEs threatens Ghana’s economic transformation goals.
Speaking at a high-level workshop on supporting SMEs into global value chains, Asiama declared that risk-sharing models including partial credit guarantees can eliminate banks’ traditional reluctance to lend to SMEs that typically lack sufficient collateral.
“In Rwanda, well-governed partial credit guarantees unlocked SME lending and drove job creation,” Asiama told banking executives gathered in Accra. “In Ghana, tools like GIRSAL must be more actively deployed.”
The governor specifically highlighted underutilization of the Ghana Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending, designed to encourage commercial banks to increase credit flows to agribusiness sectors but remaining significantly underused since implementation.
Asiama emphasized that improved transparency and governance structures could build essential lender confidence in risk-sharing platforms, enabling banks to expand SME portfolios without excessive exposure concerns.
SMEs represent approximately 90 percent of businesses globally and provide over half of worldwide employment, according to World Bank statistics, yet face a staggering US$8 trillion global financing gap despite contributing up to 40 percent of GDP in emerging markets.
Ghanaian SMEs encounter persistent challenges including inadequate affordable financing access, difficulties meeting international export standards, and fragmented logistics infrastructure that limit growth potential and global competitiveness.
The Bank of Ghana chief argued that risk-sharing mechanisms must combine with innovative financing approaches to create comprehensive solutions for SME credit expansion across priority economic sectors.
“Our banks must move beyond collateral-based lending,” Asiama declared during workshop proceedings. “Shift toward cash-flow lending, purchase-order finance and supply-chain finance as alternatives that have worked successfully in other regions.”
He urged Ghanaian financial institutions to structure financing arrangements around anchor buyer creditworthiness in sectors including cocoa, agro-processing, and light manufacturing where established value chains offer reduced risk profiles.
Development finance institutions including Afreximbank and the African Development Bank already provide blended finance and trade credit lines that could scale dramatically with enhanced bank participation, according to the governor’s analysis.
Asiama cited Bangladesh’s rapid garment sector expansion as demonstrating how strategic financing arrangements enable transformative SME growth when properly implemented with supportive regulatory frameworks.
The governor emphasized banks must adopt digital tools to reduce transaction costs and enhance transparency in SME lending processes, enabling real-time performance monitoring and expanded financial access.
Electronic invoicing, digital payment systems, and computerized trade documentation allow lenders to track SME operations continuously while reducing administrative burdens that traditionally limited small business financing availability.
Strategic partnerships with financial technology companies across Africa make such digital solutions increasingly viable for implementation in Ghana’s evolving financial ecosystem, creating opportunities for innovative SME support mechanisms.
Beyond traditional credit provision, Asiama encouraged banks to offer comprehensive advisory support helping SMEs meet sustainability requirements and international export standards that determine global market access.
International buyers increasingly demand verified ethical sourcing, complete traceability, and emissions standards compliance, creating new requirements that many Ghanaian SMEs struggle to meet without professional guidance and financing support.
“Banks can bundle financing with advisory services, supporting clients in certification, traceability and carbon reporting,” Asiama explained to industry stakeholders during workshop discussions.
These initiatives align with broader Bank of Ghana reforms strengthening the financial sector through raised bank capitalization, reinforced credit information systems, and expanded digital finance infrastructure development.
Recent foreign-exchange market reforms aimed at improving transparency and predictability will help SMEs manage trade transactions more effectively, reducing currency-related barriers to international business expansion.
Since assuming office as Bank of Ghana Governor in February 2025, Asiama has consistently emphasized SME financing as central to Ghana’s economic development strategy, linking improved access to the government’s 24-Hour Economy policy implementation.
“SMEs are the engines of jobs, innovation and inclusive growth,” the governor concluded. “Risk-sharing tools and innovative lending models are not optional, they are necessary to unlock their potential.”
