Accra: The Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Matilda Asante-Asiedu, has announced the central bank’s intention to amend existing financial regulations to tackle a significant challenge faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). During the Distinguished Digital Finance Lecture, she highlighted the disparity between Ghana’s advanced digital payment systems and its underdeveloped credit systems.
According to Ghana Web, Asante-Asiedu explained that while SMEs can receive payments instantly through the country’s digital infrastructure, securing a working-capital loan can take months. She emphasized that lenders are not fully utilizing the financial information generated through digital transactions, which contributes to an estimated US$4.8 billion annual financing gap for Ghanaian SMEs. This shortfall is seen as a major hurdle to economic growth.
Asante-Asiedu pointed out that Ghana’s financial system does not suffer from a lack of capital but rather from structural issues. She criticized the traditional reliance on tangible assets like land and buildings as collateral, suggesting that alternative assets such as confirmed purchase orders and long-term service agreements should also be considered valid for loan applications.
She further highlighted the need for legal and financial regulations to evolve, allowing lenders to use these alternative assets in their assessments. Encouraging financial institutions to leverage digital payment records, she argued that such records can offer valuable insights into a borrower’s financial habits and creditworthiness.
Asante-Asiedu cited the example of a market woman with consistent mobile money usage and savings patterns as a demonstration of how transaction data can be used to evaluate creditworthiness. She stressed that addressing the SME financing gap is crucial for the success of financial system reforms in Ghana.
She concluded by stating that the success of digital finance should not be measured solely by technological developments but by the increased accessibility of credit for businesses. Asante-Asiedu advocated for a broader definition of digital financial inclusion, one that includes access to credit, insurance, and investment on fair terms.