The World Bank has warned that Ghana’s business environment remains a major constraint to the country’s growth potential, with unreliable and costly connectivity increasing operating expenses, fragmenting markets and discouraging private investment.
The Bank said the challenges were particularly concerning for Ghana’s efforts to diversify its economy beyond extractive industries such as gold and cocoa.
Speaking at the launch of the 10th Ghana Economic Update in Accra, World Bank Division Director for Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia, Robert Taliercio O’Brien, said improving the business environment was critical to translating Ghana’s recent macroeconomic gains into sustainable and inclusive growth.
“The business environment is a further drag on growth potential, unreliable and costly connectivity raises the cost of doing business, fragments markets, and discourages private investment in the non-extractive sectors that Ghana’s diversification depends on,” he said.
The World Bank’s assessment comes as Ghana records a strong recovery in key macroeconomic indicators.
The economy grew by 6.0% in 2025, its fastest pace since 2019, before accelerating to 6.4% in the first quarter of 2026.
Inflation has also declined sharply, falling from 23.2% in February 2025 to 4.6%, while public debt dropped from 70.3% of GDP in 2024 to 49% at the end of 2025.
However, the World Bank cautioned that the gains could remain vulnerable if structural constraints affecting businesses and investment are not addressed.
Transport infrastructure remains a major constraint
The World Bank also identified Ghana’s transport sector as a critical area requiring reform, arguing that poor connectivity is limiting productivity, competitiveness and job creation.
Of Ghana’s approximately 94,200-kilometre road network, only 27% is paved, while more than half of the network is in fair to poor condition, with feeder roads particularly affected.
Taliercio said the transport sector should therefore be treated not simply as an infrastructure issue, but as a key driver of economic growth and competitiveness.
“This is not just an infrastructure story – it is a growth story, a competitiveness story, a jobs story,” he said.
The Tenth Ghana Economic Update assesses Ghana’s recent economic performance and outlines policy measures the World Bank believes are necessary to sustain the recovery and promote stronger and more inclusive growth.
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