By Francis Ntow
Accra, Oct. 24, GNA – Professor Robert Darko Osei, Director of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), has called for affordable five-to-seven-year loans to help businesses expand, create jobs and sustain economic growth.
He said Ghana’s macroeconomic gains in 2025 needed to translate into stronger productive-sector growth and greater economic resilience.
Professor Osei made the call at the launch of ISSER’s 2025 State of the Ghanaian Economy Report in Accra.
He stressed the need to direct spending towards productive sectors, noting uneven performance across agriculture, industry and services.
“Services led growth and agriculture recovered, expanding by close to seven per cent. Industry slowed to about 2.3 from 7.2 per cent in 2024 as oil and gas contracted by roughly 23 per cent, with gold cushioning the fall. Without it, industry would have shrunk,” he said.
Professor Osei called for a rethink of infrastructure spending and improvements in financial intermediation to support economic diversification.
“There’s a need to diversify production so that we are less vulnerable and more resilient to adverse shocks,” he said.
Madam Belinda Boamah, Deputy Managing Director in charge of Business and Operations at the National Investment Bank (NIB), who also addressed the event, acknowledged Ghana’s economic gains in 2025, including growth, single-digit inflation, cedi appreciation and the completion of its US$3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
She, however, expressed concern about the cost of loans to businesses despite declining interest rates.
Figures from the Ghana Association of Banks (GAB) show that the Ghana Reference Rate, used by banks to price loans, fell from 29.72 per cent in December 2024 to 15.9 per cent in December 2025 and 10.04 per cent currently.
The average lending rate also declined from 30.5 per cent at the end of 2024 to 20.45 per cent in December 2025, before reaching 15.9 per cent in August 2026.
“Can a manufacturer, an agro-processor or a small contractor borrow for five or seven years at a rate that the business can carry? And can this same contractor expand and employ?” she asked.
Madam Boamah challenged the government and financial institutions to ensure that economic stability translated into affordable credit for productive businesses.
“Long-term affordable finance for the productive sector is the building we must put on the stability,” she said.
On mineral revenues, Madam Boamah called for the proceeds to support domestic businesses, create jobs and promote value addition.
She expressed concern that the country’s mineral wealth was not adequately reflected in public investment in education, service delivery and community development.
“Do these proceeds that we receive from the mining revenues reach our classrooms? Do they go into road constructions, our clinics? Do mining communities receive their shares on time? Are mineral proceeds helping to build the domestic capital that our businesses need?” she asked.
Madam Boamah said well-managed mineral revenues could help lower the cost of financing green businesses, ease pressure on interest rates and increase private-sector lending for value addition.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey