- Ghana Needs Deeper Capital Markets as CSD Launches InvestorConnect – Governor
Ghana needs a deeper and more inclusive capital market to finance long-term economic growth, the Bank of Ghana has said, as the Central Securities Depository launches a new digital platform designed to give investors more direct access to their securities accounts and transaction records.
Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, said the country cannot rely indefinitely on short-term deposits and conventional bank lending to meet the financing needs of businesses, government and the wider economy.
Speaking at the official launch of the Central Securities Depository’s InvestorConnect platform at the Ghana Stock Exchange on Thursday, September 17, Dr Asiama said stronger capital-market infrastructure would be critical to mobilising longer-duration savings and broadening access to investment opportunities.
“Ghana cannot finance long-term growth from short-term deposits and conventional bank credit alone,” the Governor said.
He argued that while banks would continue to play a central role in the economy, deeper capital markets could provide businesses and government with access to a broader pool of long-term capital while supporting savings, investment and sustainable economic growth.
InvestorConnect forms part of the CSD’s broader digital-transformation programme and is intended to move the depository beyond its traditional role of primarily serving brokers, custodians and other market intermediaries towards more direct engagement with investors.
The platform is available through the web and mobile applications on both iOS and Android, allowing investors to open securities accounts directly, verify their identities in real time using the Ghana Card, view securities held in their names and review transaction histories.
For the central bank, the ability of investors to independently verify their holdings is an important part of building confidence in the market.
Dr Asiama said investors who cannot easily access their own records are heavily dependent on information periodically provided by intermediaries, while direct visibility allows them to verify what they own and monitor transactions more conveniently.
The Governor stressed, however, that InvestorConnect does not replace brokers, custodians or investment advisers, whose respective roles remain within Ghana’s regulated capital-market structure.
Nor does the platform by itself resolve broader barriers to investment, including product availability, affordability, financial literacy, access to investment advice and the ability to execute trades.
“What InvestorConnect removes is one real barrier: the difficulty an ordinary investor faces in seeing, promptly and conveniently, what they own,” he said.
The platform also forms part of a wider effort to reduce the geographical concentration of participation in Ghana’s capital market.
Dr Asiama said investors outside major commercial centres should increasingly be able to access market information without location becoming a significant obstacle.
Whether an investor is in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, Zabzugu or elsewhere in the country, digital infrastructure should reduce the disadvantages associated with physical distance from the country’s main financial centres, he said.
The same infrastructure could also help strengthen links between Ghana’s capital market and Ghanaians living abroad, as well as the wider international investment community.
That objective comes as policymakers and market institutions increasingly look for ways to broaden the domestic investor base and channel more savings into productive investment.
A deeper pool of investors could help companies raise equity and long-term debt, reduce overdependence on bank financing and create additional options for businesses seeking capital for expansion.
For government, deeper securities markets can similarly broaden funding sources, although the Governor emphasised that market development ultimately depends on investor confidence, transparency and understanding.
“[The] market will deepen only if investors can see, understand and trust what they own,” Dr Asiama said.
That confidence will also depend heavily on cybersecurity and investor protection as more financial-market services move online.
The Governor said the CSD must ensure the integrity and confidentiality of investor records, establish reliable authentication and account-recovery systems and maintain service continuity when technical incidents occur.
Investors must also have clear channels for correcting errors and resolving complaints, while the platform itself should be simple enough for first-time users to navigate without unnecessary complexity.
Digital access, he added, must be accompanied by stronger financial education.
The central bank’s position is that greater technological access without sufficient understanding of investment products and their risks could leave new participants vulnerable.
“Financial inclusion must go hand in hand with financial literacy and investor protection,” the Governor said.
InvestorConnect represents the latest stage in the development of Ghana’s securities-market infrastructure, which stretches back more than two decades.
The Bank of Ghana established the country’s first securities depository in November 2004 after forming an implementation committee in 2003. The Ghana Stock Exchange subsequently established its own securities depository in 2008 to support automated trading and the dematerialisation of share certificates.
The two systems were later consolidated, with the merger taking effect on January 1, 2014. The surviving Central Securities Depository is currently owned 70% by the Bank of Ghana and 30% by the Ghana Stock Exchange.
The CSD now supports the issuance and settlement of government and Bank of Ghana securities, corporate bonds and equities, while also facilitating primary-market auctions, repo transactions and corporate actions.
Dr Asiama urged the institution to treat InvestorConnect as a foundation rather than the end point of its digital transformation.
He called for the platform to remain secure, reliable and increasingly accessible while evolving in response to feedback from investors and developments in international market standards.
The wider test will be whether improved digital access translates into deeper participation.
InvestorConnect can give investors more visibility over their holdings, but Ghana’s capital market will deepen only if that transparency is accompanied by attractive investment products, strong regulation, financial literacy and a growing pipeline of businesses capable of raising long-term capital.
For the Bank of Ghana, the objective is ultimately larger than digitising account access: it is to help build a market capable of mobilising savings into the long-term investment required to support Ghana’s next phase of economic growth.
