Vice President Bawumia Unveils $100 Million Fintech Fund to Propel Ghana’s Tech Sector
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, at the launch of his 2024 presidential campaign manifesto on Sunday, August 18, unveiled a series of ambitious initiatives aimed at transforming Ghana’s fintech landscape.
Central to his proposals is the establishment of a Fintech Fund with an initial $100 million in seed capital.
This fund is designed to attract private sector investment, particularly for startups focused on developing scalable payment and financial services solutions.
The initiative is part of a broader strategy to drive innovation, foster high-tech entrepreneurship, and create jobs within Ghana’s burgeoning tech ecosystem.
“We [His Government] will accelerate Ghana’s growth into a world-class digital economy and make Ghana the digital hub of Africa. We will do this through policies, competitive incentives, and investments. We will invest in developing local talent and tech start-ups, including establishing a Fintech Fund with a seed capital of US$100 Million to attract additional private sector funding to support Ghanaian startups developing payments and financial services solutions, specially focused on Region-wide, exportable solutions,” he quipped.
Dr. Bawumia also announced plans for a “live lab” initiative under a Matchmaking Programme, which will connect promising Ghanaian startups with established technology firms engaged in government projects.
This programme is intended to provide startups with the opportunity to test their innovations in real-world environments, thereby accelerating their product development cycles.
In a bid to solidify Ghana’s position as a fintech hub, Dr. Bawumia committed to working closely with the Bank of Ghana to significantly expand the country’s Regulatory Sandbox.
The expansion aims to admit a greater number of both Ghanaian and regional fintech firms, positioning Ghana as a Multi-Regulatory/Multi-Jurisdictional Sandbox for financial and payment interoperability across the continent.
Further reinforcing Ghana’s leadership in regional financial integration, Dr. Bawumia reiterated his commitment to advancing the African Union’s policy agenda on cross-border mobile money interoperability.
This initiative, he argued, would vastly improve the efficiency of intra-African trade, providing Ghanaian businesses and entrepreneurs with access to a market of 1.4 billion people.
Complementing these efforts, Dr. Bawumia proposed the introduction of a Digital Residency (e-Residency) programme, enabling tech companies and professionals to register and operate from Ghana.
Additionally, his government would implement a 5-Year Digital Nomad Visa and Work Permit, aimed at attracting global tech talent to live and work in Ghana, further bolstering the country’s status as a key player in the global digital economy.
“We will implement a Digital Residency (e-Residency) for businesses and individuals in tech firms, to register and operate from within Ghana. We will also implement a 5-Year Digital Nomad Visa and Work Permit to attract global tech talents to domicile and work from Ghana,” he remarked.
