Development Bank Ghana (DBG): Focus, Funding, Priorities

The Government of Ghana has established the Development Bank Ghana (DBG), a development finance institution (DFI) with the mandate to support economic transformation in Ghana. The DBG is expected to ease the constraints of long-term financing at competitive rates for entrepreneurs, thereby propelling economic growth, creating jobs, and expanding the domestic revenue base. Having received its operational license from the Bank of Ghana (BoG), the DBG is set to be operational by the end of December 2021.

In this report, we examine the need for and potential impact of the DBG in transforming the Ghanaian economy. First, we review the literature to understand the operational context, features, and framework for which development banks are established by governments. Second, we highlight the market failures in the Ghanaian financial market that the DBG must address to unlock sustained long-term investments in critical sectors of the economy. Third, we discuss the sectors that should be prioritized by the DBG in its early years of operations to accelerate Ghana’s economic growth.

We conclude the report with a set of recommendations based on our research and deliberations from the IPPG Policy Forum held on December 2, 2021.

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