Ghana’s regulatory framework, others among top 5 positive indicators of doing business in Ghana – UKGCC Business

The UK- Ghana Chamber of Commerce (UKGCC) has released the 3rd edition of its annual Ghana Business Environment and Competitiveness Survey Report for the year 2021.

The survey captured the sentiment of businesses operating in Ghana at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic persisted, and businesses were making efforts to recover from the effects and remain resilient.

The survey identified some components of the business environment that have seen improvements in their ranking since UKGCC began tracking them in 2019.

The top 5 of these components are the availability of advanced technology which improved by 67%; availability of telecom facilities which improved by 61%; availability of power supply and availability of universities and training facilities, both of which improved by 57%; and sophistication in firm management and strategies which saw a 53% improvement.

Respondents expressed some positive sentiments about doing business in Ghana, citing Ghana’s regulatory framework, availability of water, availability of power, effectiveness of the legal system and availability of telecom facilities as the top 5 indicators.

Despite these considerable improvements and positive sentiments in the business environment in Ghana in the past year, the survey findings reveal that several constraints to business growth and potential remain.

According to the report, which surveyed 47 respondents from among UKGCC’s member companies, 80% of businesses perceived cost of capital as the highest impediment to business growth. This was followed by corruption, access to capital, cost of land and government bureaucracy at 68%, 66%, 65%, and 60% respectively.

The survey also indicated that businesses are generally unprepared for AfCFTA as an opportunity, while 82% of them prioritised ‘expanding digital competencies’ as a top focus for doing business in the new normal.

The Chamber’s Executive Director, Ms. Adjoba Kyiamah, remarked that “there is clearly a need to address these challenges through reforms to sustain Ghana’s growth and create the enabling environment for the business community."

Abeku Gyan-Quansah, Tax Partner at PwC Ghana, collaborators of this survey, added, “We trust that government along with other stakeholders will take the findings of this survey with the seriousness it deserves and use it to inform policies and programmes that will eventually lead to a further improvement in the country’s business climate. We will be looking to assess – and will be delighted to find – such improvements in subsequent business climate surveys produced by the UKGCC”.