Joe Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of Dalex Finance, has urged a major rethink of Ghana’s approach to supporting Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs), arguing that current funding models are ineffective in driving real economic growth.
Speaking at a Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG) public engagement, Mr Jackson criticised the widespread practice of distributing resources across numerous small businesses, describing it as unsustainable and unproductive.
He noted that despite more than 60 SME-focused initiatives introduced over the past decade, many businesses remain informal, struggle with low productivity, and often collapse within a few years. According to him, this approach has failed to produce strong, competitive local firms capable of driving industrialisation and economic transformation.
Instead, Mr Jackson advocated for a targeted strategy that identifies and supports high-performing Ghanaian companies with the potential to scale and compete regionally and globally. He pointed to countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea as examples where deliberate investment in “strategic winners” helped accelerate economic growth.
He further warned that Ghana’s inability to build strong domestic firms has contributed to ongoing economic challenges, including currency instability and capital flight, as profits from key sectors are often repatriated by foreign-owned companies.
Mr Jackson also called for reforms to pension fund investment policies to channel long-term capital into productive local enterprises, rather than concentrating heavily on government securities.
His remarks add to growing calls for a more focused and strategic industrial policy aimed at strengthening Ghana’s economic independence and competitiveness.
