Bank of Ghana Governor Johnson Pandit Asiama emphasised productive and responsible credit as a priority for translating wider financial access into better financial health for households and businesses. He delivered the keynote address at the Financial Health Leadership Roundtable during the visit of Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, the United Nations secretary-general’s special advocate for financial health. The address focused on improving financial outcomes beyond the access already provided by mobile money and interoperable payment systems. Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) continue to face financing barriers despite their role in employment and economic activity. Asiama called for greater use of technology and data to reduce information gaps and enable viable businesses to obtain credit on fair and sustainable terms. Priorities for the roundtable included expanding productive credit for MSMEs, women and smallholder farmers, alongside strengthening savings and insurance. This emphasis echoes the bank’s earlier assessment that digital transaction histories remain insufficiently connected to lending decisions, and its previously outlined plans to finalise open banking and open finance frameworks to improve small business credit access.
Bank of Ghana Governor urges wider access to responsible credit to improve financial health
Bank of Ghana Governor Johnson Pandit Asiama urged wider access to productive, responsible credit at a financial health roundtable. He highlighted technology and data as tools to reduce financing barriers for small businesses, with women and smallholder farmers also priorities for broader credit access. The message echoed the bank’s earlier focus on using transaction histories to improve lending on fair terms.