Ghana’s capital markets have expanded only marginally over the past two decades, trailing global peers even as developing economies experience rapid growth in equity and bond financing, according to a new International Finance Corporation report. The findings place Ghana behind several fast-moving emerging markets, though broadly consistent with broader Sub-Saharan African patterns.
The report, Financing Firm Growth: The Role of Capital Markets in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, draws on data from 80,000 firms worldwide, including 20,000 across 106 low- and middle-income countries. It shows that firms in these economies have generated more than US$4 trillion in cumulative net capital issuance since 1990, with financing expanding four-fold in middle-income countries and eight-fold in low-income countries between 2000 and 2022.
Much of the momentum came from the entry of more than 14,000 new issuers over the past two decades. “Financing expanded at different rates,” said Césaire Assah Meh, the IFC manager who led the analysis, noting that some countries implemented reforms that accelerated capital market development.
Ghana’s performance remains comparatively subdued. The country’s cumulative net issuance-to-GDP ratio is significantly below high-growth markets such as Vietnam, where issuance has risen sharply. Ghana’s trend is gradual and relatively shallow, though the report notes that several West African economies, including Benin, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, recorded no corporate issuances at all.
Across Sub-Saharan Africa, equity issuance remains more common than bonds, and most financing is raised domestically. Ghana’s market reflects this pattern, relying heavily on pension funds, insurers and banks. But despite this alignment, the Ghana Stock Exchange lists just over 35 companies, and the corporate bond market remains small, with only GH¢8.38 billion in outstanding securities compared with GH¢265.8 billion in government debt as of October 2025.
Mr. Meh said deeper equity and bond markets could boost productivity and private-sector expansion, but would require sustained reforms, stronger macroeconomic stability and more predictable investment conditions. The report comes as Ghana awaits its first initial public offerings since 2018.
