Ghana Strong on Regulations but Falling Behind in Market Competition - World Bank

The World Bank has commended Ghana for advances in its business regulatory environment but warned that weak operational efficiency and low market competition continue to hinder overall economic performance.

Speaking at a high-level B-READY working session in Accra on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, Subika Farazi, a Senior Economist with the World Bank’s Business Ready team, outlined Ghana’s progress while drawing attention to key structural challenges.

Findings from the B-READY 2026 assessment reveal wide variations in Ghana’s business readiness scores — from a high of 72 percent in financial services to a low of 34 percent in market competition. The results point to strong regulatory frameworks but difficulties in translating policies into efficient real-world outcomes.

Farazi explained that among peer countries in the region, Ghana performs best in regulatory quality.

“When compared with regional peers, Ghana’s regulatory pillar stands out as the strongest. Even in public service delivery, Ghana ranks just behind Togo while outperforming most other economies,” she noted.

Despite these gains, she cautioned that inefficiencies continue to undermine competitiveness. Ghana’s performance in operational efficiency trails behind countries such as Togo, Senegal, Cameroon and Cape Verde, which posted stronger results in that area.

At a sectoral level, Ghana shows solid results in financial services, labour systems and business entry procedures, placing it among the region’s stronger performers in those categories.

However, international trade remains a critical bottleneck. According to Farazi, export and import clearance in Ghana typically takes between 9 and 23 days — significantly longer than the 5 to 8 days recorded in countries like Cameroon.

The session brought together government officials, private-sector representatives and World Bank experts to examine barriers affecting priority sectors such as food processing, light manufacturing and trade facilitation under the government’s 24H⁺ economic programme.

The World Bank said the B-READY data offers detailed, evidence-based guidance to support Ghana’s reform efforts aimed at improving efficiency, boosting private-sector activity and strengthening the country’s competitiveness both regionally and globally.