The microfinance sector’s share of Ghana’s overall banking industry has shrunk from around 15% in 2017 to just 8.0% by 2024, according to the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
This drop signals more than just financial strain it’s undermining financial inclusion, development efforts, and public trust in the sector. BoG highlighted ongoing issues like heavy fragmentation, weak capital foundations, poor governance, operational bottlenecks, sky-high interest rates applied without care, and a drift from core missions.
“These problems hit harder because microfinance relies on public deposits,” the central bank noted.
BoG called for urgent, targeted reforms to halt the decline. In a key move, it issued fresh guidelines effective today, February 9, 2026 mandating microfinance institutions, community banks, and credit unions to boost their minimum capital to GH¢50 million by year’s end.
Story by : Mercy Addai Turkson#ahotorfmonline.com