Ghana’s efforts to sustain its economic recovery and diversify beyond traditional exports such as gold and cocoa could be undermined by high business costs and inadequate transport infrastructure, the World Bank has warned.
The Bank said unreliable and expensive connectivity was raising the cost of doing business, fragmenting markets and discouraging private investment in sectors that are critical to Ghana’s long-term transformation.
World Bank Division Director for Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia, Robert Taliercio O’Brien, said improving the business environment was essential to ensuring that the country’s recent macroeconomic gains translated into sustainable and inclusive growth.
“The business environment is a further drag on growth potential, unreliable and costly connectivity raises the cost of doing business, fragments markets, and discourages private investment in the non-extractive sectors that Ghana’s diversification depends on,” he said.
He made the remarks in Accra at the launch of the World Bank’s 10th Ghana Economic Update, which examines Ghana’s economic performance and identifies measures needed to sustain the recovery.
Transport Infrastructure Emerges as Major Constraint
The World Bank identified the transport sector as one of the key structural challenges limiting Ghana’s productivity, competitiveness and ability to create jobs.
Of Ghana’s estimated 94,200-kilometre road network, only 27 per cent is paved, while more than half of the network is reported to be in fair or poor condition.
Feeder roads, in particular, remain significantly affected, limiting the ability of producers and businesses to efficiently connect to markets.
Mr O’Brien said transport infrastructure should therefore be viewed beyond the construction of roads and bridges, describing it as an important component of Ghana’s broader economic growth strategy.
“This is not just an infrastructure story – it is a growth story, a competitiveness story, a jobs story,” he said.
Recovery Shows Stronger Economic Indicators
The World Bank’s concerns come against the backdrop of significant improvements in Ghana’s macroeconomic performance.
The economy grew by 6.0 per cent in 2025, the fastest annual growth recorded since 2019, before expanding by 6.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2026.
Inflation has also fallen substantially, declining from 23.2 per cent in February 2025 to 4.6 per cent, while public debt dropped from 70.3 per cent of GDP in 2024 to 49 per cent at the end of 2025.
The Bank, however, cautioned that the gains could remain vulnerable if structural constraints affecting businesses, investment and productivity are not addressed.
It stressed that Ghana’s next phase of development would require improvements in the environment in which businesses operate, particularly in sectors capable of creating jobs and reducing dependence on extractive industries.
The 10th Ghana Economic Update therefore places transport connectivity and the wider business environment at the centre of the country’s efforts to convert macroeconomic stabilisation into stronger, more inclusive and sustainable growth.
