Opportunity Assessment & Pipeline Development for Ghana's Services Sector
2025
Ghana’s services sector powers the economy, contributing 42% to GDP and employment.
With strengths in information and communication technology (ICT), professional services, tourism, logistics, and finance, the sector aligns with fast-growing global demand for traded services, including the $280B business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, expanding at ~10% annually. The government’s proposed “24-hour economy” aims to enhance competitiveness through service-led growth and infrastructure development, creating a timely opportunity for deeper UK-Ghana collaboration.
Growth Gateway led the intervention, aimed at advancing global investment and trade in Ghana’s services sector by identifying high-potential subsectors and projects, tackling policy and regulatory barriers, and designing an accelerator model to transform opportunities into investable pipelines.
Key Highlights
Investment Pipeline
~£500M
Investment required across key services
Job Creation Potential
142k
Job creation potential including 57k for women
Opportunity Unlock
~£10B
Size of potential market opportunities
To unlock the potential of the sector, Growth Gateway worked with several stakeholders, including local businesses, potential investors, UK partners (e.g., UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce), and HMG to assess and develop targeted investment cases for five high-potential subsectors. The intervention identified critical barriers and mobilised cross-government action to unlock £300–500M in investment, projected generation of over 142k jobs (including ~57k for women), while driving inclusive, sustainable growth. This effort reinforced the UK’s commitment to advancing trade, investment, and development partnerships across Africa.
Support Provided
Baselined Services In Ghana & Identified High Priority Subsectors
- This sector has contributed to 45% of overall employment growth and 55% of women’s employment
- Ghana’s services sector comprises ~50 sub-sectors under 12 broad categories. Using three dimensions (1) Ghana’s right-to-play; (2) UK comparative advantage; and (3) impact potential, five subsectors were prioritised
- Fintech, e-commerce, agri-tech, BPO and arts, music and film were identified as having the clearest trade and investment potential
Developed Investment Cases For 5 Priority Sectors
The initiatives focused on developing structured investment cases for priority subsectors which included:
- Analysis on current state, key drivers, business models, and policy influences shaping the subsector
- Definition of market potential and investment opportunity pipeline
- Assessment of structural, regulatory, and market barriers that may hinder scalability
- Recommendation and actionable steps for the Government of Ghana (GoG) and HMG to unlock opportunities
Investment opportunity identified to create ~142k total and ~57k jobs for women
Outlined Recommendations For GoG & HMG To Unlock Opportunities
Across subsectors, several barriers & constraints were identified:
- Barriers: Outdated and unsupportive regulations, uncompetitive incentives and burdensome taxes
- Constraints: Limited market liquidity for investors, poor infrastructure, low digital adoption and restricted access to skilled talent
Recommendations were outlined to address these:
- GoG: Incentive investments, strengthen digital and physical infrastructure, review regulations, and build talent through training and public awareness campaigns
- HMG: Facilitate UK-Ghana investor matchmaking, provide technical assistance for regulatory review, co-develop training programmes to upskill talent, and promote international partnerships
Impact Achieved
5
high priority services subsectors identified
~£300-500M
investment opportunity identified across 5 priority sectors
Enablers
Actionable recommendations to address barriers and constraints
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