• Login
NORVANREPORTS.COM |  Business News, Insurance, Taxation, Oil & Gas, Maritime News, Ghana, Africa, World
  • Home
  • News
    • General
    • Political
  • Economy
  • Business
    • Agribusiness
    • Aviation
    • Banking & Finance
    • Energy
    • Insurance
    • Manufacturing
    • Markets
    • Maritime
    • Real Estate
    • Tourism
    • Transport
  • Technology
    • Telecom
    • Cyber-security
    • Cryptocurrency
    • Tech-guide
    • Social Media
  • Features
    • Interviews
    • Opinions
  • Reports
    • Banking/Finance
    • Insurance
    • Budgets
    • GDP
    • Inflation
    • Central Bank
    • Sec/Gse
  • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    • Entertainment
    • Travel
    • Environment
    • Weather
  • NRTV
    • Audio
    • Video
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
NORVANREPORTS.COM |  Business News, Insurance, Taxation, Oil & Gas, Maritime News, Ghana, Africa, World
No Result
View All Result
Home Business Banking & Finance

Ghana’s Missing Middle: The Structural Shortfall in Domestic Investment Capital

3 months ago
in Banking & Finance, Business, Economy, Editor's pick, Features, General, highlights, Home, home-news, latest News, Markets, News, Trade
2 min read
0 0
0
100
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linkedin

Ghana’s Missing Middle: The Structural Shortfall in Domestic Investment Capital

As investors, fund managers, and policy advocates gathered under the bright chandeliers of the Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel in Accra for the Ghana Venture Capital and Private Equity Association’s (GVCA) 4th Annual Conference, a sharp voice from Washington, D.C., cut through the room via video.

Bright Simons, President of mPedigree and one of Africa’s most respected innovation thinkers, delivered a searing critique of Ghana’s capital mobilisation architecture. Speaking in a telecast interview with Norvan Acquah-Hayford of NorvanReports, recorded on the sidelines of the 2025 IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, Simons addressed the conference’s core theme: “Catalysts for Economic Growth: Domestic Capital Mobilisation in an Evolving Investment Landscape.”

His message, broadcast to stakeholders in real time, was both sobering and thought-provoking.

“Our local investors have not shown in any way that they are less risk-averse than foreign ones,” Simons said. “When global headwinds hit, they follow the retreat.”

It was a pointed diagnosis that left the room buzzing. As Ghana struggles to reduce its dependency on volatile external borrowing, Simons argued that the domestic capital landscape itself is structurally shallow, reactive, and externally orientated, a reality that could hamper national recovery efforts in the post-debt-restructuring era.

A Mirage of Capital Depth

RelatedPosts

Parliament Adjourns Sine Die After Intense Legislative Session Marked by Reform Calls and Tributes

GACL Terminates Evatex Revenue Assurance Contract Amid OSP Probe

Cyber Security Authority Flags Rising Mobile Data Scam, Cautions Public

On the surface, Ghana’s venture capital and private equity ecosystem appears to be expanding. Assets under management (AUM) among fund managers have grown over 1,000% since 2008. But Simons warned conference attendees against mistaking volume for sovereignty.

“Most of that growth is what I call ‘spillover capital,’” he explained during the interview. “These are funds from regional or pan-African sources that include Ghana only because it fits a broader investment thesis.”

Indeed, Simons highlighted that over 97% of all capital currently managed by Ghana’s licensed fund managers comes from non-Ghanaian sources, largely regional and global portfolio strategies. Local capital, the kind denominated in cedis and rooted in national priorities, accounts for just 2.5%, with cedi-denominated funds making up a paltry 1.5% of the total.

“We’re basically outsourcing our capital decisions,” Simons said pointedly in the pre-recorded session played to delegates. “Ghana gets funding not because our businesses are understood or believed in locally, but because we fit a regional diversification model.”

A Narrow Investment Funnel

This externally driven model has also shaped where capital flows. Over 90% of PE/VC investment is funneled into a narrow band of tech-enabled services, primarily fintech, healthtech, and platform businesses that resonate with global investors. But as Simons told NorvanReports in the exclusive interview, the most critical sectors for Ghana’s inclusive growth, agro-processing, light manufacturing, logistics, and fabrication, are being left behind.

“In Ghana, the opportunity landscape is deeply variegated,” Simons explained. “But these sectors don’t fit the global VC script. So they remain unfunded and underdeveloped.”

This misalignment has implications not just for economic diversification but for job creation and resilience. It also calls into question whether Ghana can achieve the kind of structural transformation it aspires to without first securing control over its own investment channels.

A Recovery Window and a Wake-up Call

While the telecast touched on the recent signs of macroeconomic recovery, improving reserves, slowing inflation, and a tentative primary surplus, Simons urged caution. Recovery alone does not equate to transformation, he warned, especially if domestic capital continues to mirror global volatility.

“Maybe, just maybe this weak recovery can be the signal for Ghanaian investors to break the mold,” he told NorvanReports. “To invest in our story, not just track global sentiment.”

At the GVCA Conference, where policymakers and fund managers debated how to anchor growth in local systems, Simons’ intervention served as a timely provocation: Ghana’s biggest obstacle to capital mobilisation may not be scarcity, but structure, incentive, and imagination.

Time for Domestic Boldness

Simons concluded the broadcast interview with a bold call to action: Ghana must move beyond dependence on government-seeded funds and attract real domestic institutional capital, pension funds, mutual funds, corporate investment arms, that are willing to take long-term bets on the country’s productive sectors.

“Until our domestic capital pool becomes truly risk-bearing and sector-diverse, we will keep chasing the illusion of sovereignty,” he said.

As the GVCA Annual Conference closed with panel debates and pitch sessions, the replay of Simons’ remarks lingered in the room. His challenge was clear: To unlock Ghana’s economic potential, capital must not only flow, it must believe. And to believe, it must first belong.

Tags: 2025 IMF and World Bank Spring MeetingsGhana Venture Capital and Private Equity Association’s (GVCA) 4th Annual ConferenceGhana’s Missing Middle: The Structural Shortfall in Domestic Investment CapitalSpeaking in a telecast interview with Norvan Acquah-Hayford of NorvanReports

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

No Result
View All Result

Highlights

Gov’t Reopens Talks With PayPal to Restore Full Service Access in Ghana

Financial Sector Assets up 34.6% in 2024 to GHS 525.59 Billion

Banking Sector Soundness Remains Robust in 2024 Amid Strong Profitability, Adequate Capital Buffers

Sha’Carri Richardson Withdraws from US Trials Following Arrest

From Singuluma to El Kaabi: Can CHAN 2024 Unleash the Next Hat-trick Hero?

Ghana to Welcome King’s Baton Relay on August 8 Ahead of 2026 Commonwealth Games

Trending

Features

Parliament Adjourns Sine Die After Intense Legislative Session Marked by Reform Calls and Tributes

August 2, 2025

Parliament Adjourns Sine Die After Intense Legislative Session Marked by Reform Calls and Tributes Parliament has adjourned...

GACL Terminates Evatex Revenue Assurance Contract Amid OSP Probe

August 2, 2025

Cyber Security Authority Flags Rising Mobile Data Scam, Cautions Public

August 2, 2025

Gov’t Reopens Talks With PayPal to Restore Full Service Access in Ghana

August 2, 2025
Bank of Ghana

Financial Sector Assets up 34.6% in 2024 to GHS 525.59 Billion

August 2, 2025

Who we are?

NORVANREPORTS.COM |  Business News, Insurance, Taxation, Oil & Gas, Maritime News, Ghana, Africa, World

NorvanReports is a unique data, business, and financial portal aimed at providing accurate, impartial reporting of business news on Ghana, Africa, and around the world from a truly independent reporting and analysis point of view.

© 2020 Norvanreports – credible news platform.
L: Hse #4 3rd Okle Link, Baatsonaa – Accra-Ghana T:+233-(0)26 451 1013 E: news@norvanreports.com info@norvanreports.com
All rights reserved we display professionalism at all stages of publications

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
    • Agribusiness
    • Aviation
    • Energy
    • Insurance
    • Manufacturing
    • Real Estate
    • Maritime
    • Tourism
    • Transport
    • Banking & Finance
    • Trade
    • Markets
  • Economy
  • Reports
  • Technology
    • Cryptocurrency
    • Cyber-security
    • Social Media
    • Tech-guide
    • Telecom
  • Features
    • Interviews
    • Opinions
  • Lifestyle
    • Entertainment
    • Sports
    • Travel
    • Environment
    • Weather
  • NRTV
    • Audio
    • Video

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
NORVANREPORTS.COM | Business News, Insurance, Taxation, Oil & Gas, Maritime News, Ghana, Africa, World
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.