A New Era for Ghana’s Economy: From Deficit to Net Lending
In the first quarter of 2025, Ghana achieved a significant economic milestone by recording a net lending position to the rest of the world. This accomplishment marks a turning point from years of persistent deficits and external vulnerabilities. The combined surplus of $2.2 billion in the current and capital accounts, along with a net acquisition of financial assets totaling $2.1 billion, reflects growing investor confidence, trade dynamism, and Ghana’s emerging role as an economic force in the region.
This shift is more than just numbers; it signals renewal, resilience, and readiness across the national ecosystem. It impacts government programs, structural reforms, corporate strategies, public services, and even the daily lives of ordinary citizens.
Governmental Initiatives: Policy Credibility and Fiscal Room
The net lending position enhances the Government of Ghana’s creditworthiness, lowering sovereign risk premiums and reducing borrowing costs on international capital markets. With the last Eurobond issued in 2021 at a high interest rate of 8.875%, this improved performance opens the door for more affordable financing in the future.
Domestically, the surplus provides greater fiscal space. The Medium-Term Revenue Strategy (2024–2027), which focuses on mobilizing non-tax revenues and cutting unproductive expenditures, now has a cushion to protect social sector investments. Programs like Agenda 111 (health infrastructure) and YouStart (youth entrepreneurship) can now be accelerated as macroeconomic buffers strengthen.
Additionally, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved Ghana’s second review under the $3 billion Extended Credit Facility (ECF) in April 2025. This development underscores the importance of maintaining strong external balances for continued support and potential adjustments in disbursement timelines.
Ghana’s Reset Agenda: Laying Foundations for Structural Transformation
Launched in 2023, the “Ghana Reset Agenda” aims to restructure the economy towards export-led growth, digital transformation, and industrialization. The $2.2 billion surplus in the current and capital accounts, driven by exports of cocoa, gold, crude oil, and remittance inflows, confirms that the agenda is gaining traction.
Key contributors to this success include:
- Gold Exports: Ghana remained Africa’s top gold producer, exporting $2.9 billion in Q1 2025 alone.
- Non-Traditional Exports: These increased by 18% year-on-year, showing progress in the National Export Development Strategy.
- Remittance Inflows: A 12% rise in diaspora remittances indicates restored global confidence and a resilient diaspora economy.
This improved external posture gives the Reset Agenda the financial legitimacy and narrative momentum needed to shift from crisis management to growth activation and transformation.
Public Sector Growth: Productivity, Investment, and Digital Expansion
The public sector, traditionally burdened by inefficiencies, stands to benefit significantly from the improved external performance. With reduced external financing risks, the Public Investment Programme (PIP) can expand to include infrastructure renewal, digitisation, and public sector capacity development.
This could accelerate initiatives such as:
- gov Platform Enhancements: Supporting e-revenue collection, which rose by GH₵1.4 billion in Q1 2025.
- Digital Public Service Delivery: Enabling Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to adopt cloud infrastructure and biometric systems with enhanced budgetary support.
- Transport and Utility Modernisation: Thanks to improved access to concessional loans and bilateral agreements, such as the Ghana-Germany Green Transition Agreement signed in March 2025.
Macro stability also allows the government to address wage arrears, promote performance-based appraisals, and rationalise personnel to improve service delivery in education, health, and local governance.
Corporate Ghana and SMEs: Breathing Space for Growth
For Corporate Ghana, particularly Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), the impact of this external sector boom is twofold: stability and affordability.
- Exchange Rate Stability: The cedi appreciated by 3.4% against the dollar between January and April 2025, stabilising input costs for firms reliant on imports.
- Lower Interest Rates: With declining inflation and positive external balances, the Bank of Ghana has room to cut the Monetary Policy Rate, potentially lowering commercial lending rates.
- Access to Capital: The net acquisition of financial assets suggests stronger capital flows into the private sector. Banks like CalBank and Fidelity Bank have announced new export credit lines and SME financing schemes.
This improved climate enables companies to invest in technology, training, and production capacity, especially in priority sectors like agribusiness, fintech, and light manufacturing.
Households in Ghana: Relief, Stability, and Renewed Confidence
For the average Ghanaian household, macroeconomic improvements may feel distant, but their effects are real and measurable:
- Reduced Inflation Pressure: Food price inflation eased from 28.3% in December 2024 to 17.6% in May 2025, allowing households to plan consumption with more certainty.
- Employment Opportunities: Industrial stability and renewed public investment create jobs in construction, logistics, and services. Over 15,000 new MSME jobs were created in Q1 2025.
- Cedi Strength: A stronger cedi reduces imported inflation, improving purchasing power. For example, the price of imported rice declined from GH₵680 per 50kg bag in January 2025 to GH₵590 in May 2025.
- Remittance Recipients: Nearly 20% of Ghanaian households receive remittances, which now offer better transfer rates and increased support for education, health, and housing.
Conclusion: From Surplus to Sustainability
Ghana’s net lending status in Q1 2025 is more than a statistical footnote—it is a signpost of economic resilience and recovery. Sustaining these gains requires fiscal discipline, export competitiveness, and inclusive growth.
The opportunity is clear: translate macro success into real sector transformation, fueling government reform, empowering businesses, strengthening the public service, and improving household well-being. As Ghana recalibrates its trajectory under the Reset Agenda, this external sector breakthrough must serve as a foundation for economic dignity, national confidence, and generational prosperity. The time is now—not just to celebrate a surplus, but to build on it with purpose.