- NorvanReports Hosts SEC Deputy Director-General Mensah Thompson for Exclusive Capital Market XSpace
NorvanReports will host Mr Mensah Thompson, Deputy Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission Ghana, for an exclusive one-on-one conversation examining the regulation of Ghana’s capital market, investor protection, ongoing reforms and the challenge of rebuilding and sustaining public trust.
The special edition of the NorvanReports Economic Governance Platform will take place live on XSpace on Sunday, August 23, 2026, at 7:00 PM GMT, under the main theme: “Inside the SEC: Regulating Ghana’s Capital Market, Protecting Investors and Building Trust.”
The discussion will be hosted by Norvan Acquah-Hayford, Managing Editor of NorvanReports, and will provide an opportunity for the SEC’s Deputy Director-General to address some of the most consequential questions facing Ghana’s securities industry and investment ecosystem.
The conversation comes at an important period for Ghana’s capital market as regulators, listed companies, fund managers, institutional investors and retail participants navigate a changing macroeconomic and regulatory environment.
The discussion will focus on how the SEC is balancing its responsibility to protect investors with the equally important task of encouraging innovation, attracting capital and supporting the development of a deeper and more sophisticated financial market.
A central issue will be investor protection and confidence. Ghana’s capital market has undergone significant reforms in recent years, with regulatory authorities seeking to strengthen oversight, improve governance and address weaknesses exposed by previous challenges within parts of the investment and fund-management industry.
The XSpace will examine what has changed within the SEC’s supervisory architecture, whether existing safeguards are sufficient and how quickly regulators can identify problems before investors suffer substantial losses.
Mr Thompson is also expected to address the Commission’s approach to enforcement, including how it deals with breaches by licensed market operators and the extent to which sanctions can serve as an effective deterrent against misconduct.
The conversation will further interrogate the relationship between regulation and market growth.
Ghana has ambitions to broaden participation in its capital market, attract more companies to raise equity and debt, deepen institutional investment and encourage greater retail participation. Achieving those objectives will require an environment in which investors have confidence in the integrity of market institutions while businesses are not constrained by unnecessary regulatory complexity.
The question for the SEC is therefore how to regulate firmly without suppressing innovation and investment.
Particular attention will be paid to the new SEC levy regime, which has generated considerable discussion within the investment community.
The one-on-one interview will provide the Deputy Director-General with an opportunity to explain the rationale for the levy, how it is expected to operate and the Commission’s response to concerns about its potential impact on investors, collective investment schemes and the broader cost of participating in Ghana’s capital market.
The issue is likely to be one of the most closely watched segments of the programme because it goes directly to the question of who ultimately bears the cost of stronger regulation.
Beyond the levy, the conversation will explore the wider reform agenda of the SEC and what the Commission considers the most important remaining weaknesses in Ghana’s securities industry.
The programme will also examine market development, including what needs to be done to increase listings, improve liquidity, expand the range of investment products available to Ghanaians and attract more domestic and international capital.
Another important area will be corporate governance. Effective capital markets depend on credible disclosure, responsible boards, transparent financial reporting and strong enforcement. The discussion will therefore consider how the SEC assesses governance standards among regulated entities and how it responds when institutions fail to meet those expectations.
The rapid growth of financial technology and emerging investment products is also changing the regulatory landscape.
As investors increasingly interact with markets through digital platforms and new asset classes develop, regulators globally are being forced to rethink traditional approaches to supervision. The XSpace will examine how Ghana’s SEC is responding to that evolution and whether the country’s regulatory architecture is sufficiently prepared for the next generation of financial products.
The exclusive interview forms part of the NorvanReports Economic Governance Platform, which seeks to create direct, substantive engagements with policymakers, regulators and business leaders on decisions affecting Ghana’s economy.
Unlike a conventional panel discussion, the one-on-one format will allow the conversation to move beyond broad policy statements and examine the SEC’s specific responsibilities, decisions and performance.
At its core, the discussion will attempt to answer a fundamental question: Can Ghana build a capital market that is simultaneously attractive to businesses, profitable for investors and sufficiently well regulated to command public trust?
The answer matters beyond the securities industry. A strong capital market can provide businesses with long-term financing, reduce excessive dependence on bank credit, mobilise domestic savings and direct capital towards productive investment.
But none of those functions can operate effectively without confidence.
For the SEC, therefore, protecting investors and developing the market are not competing objectives. They are ultimately dependent on each other.
The NorvanReports Economic Governance Platform — Exclusive One-on-One with Mensah Thompson will be live on @NorvanReports on XSpace at 7:00 PM GMT on Sunday, August 23, 2026.
The programme is expected to offer investors, businesses, market professionals and the wider public a rare opportunity to hear directly from one of Ghana’s senior securities regulators on how the Commission intends to protect investors, strengthen accountability and position the capital market for its next phase of growth.
