The Ghana Financial Inclusion Conference gathered fintech industry leaders and regulators who recognised the country’s progress in financial inclusion.

Chief Director at the Ministry of Finance, Eva Mends, emphasised that financial inclusion is a global agenda aimed at leaving no one behind.

She noted that the development of Ghana’s interbank payment and settlement systems, along with achievements like mobile money interoperability, has been crucial in this effort.

“Today we celebrate surpassing our national goal with a 96 percent rate of financial inclusion exceeding our targets of 85 percent. With rapid technological progress and a diverse range of financial services and products, we must continue to enhance financial inclusion to drive our country’s economic growth and development.”

Although Ghana achieved 96% financial inclusion in terms of access to financial services, the 2022 Composite Financial Inclusion Index, which provides an overall assessment of financial inclusion by combining the three dimensions of access, usage, and quality, shows that about 52.76% of the population are multidimensionally financially included.

Meanwhile, Deputy Finance Minister Dr. Alex Ampaabeng, representing Finance Minister Dr. Amin Adam mentioned that economic challenges are easing and additionally highlighted the role of mobile money in increasing financial inclusion.

“This call also concise with the period on the global and our national economy, we all believe is bouncing back strongly from the multiple shocks the country suffered in recent years. I believe these conditions are what underpinned the expectations that we can and should as a nation accelerate the scale and quality of financial inclusion in the era of the fourth republic.”

Professor George Yaw Gyan-Baffour, in his keynote address, stressed the importance of a well-functioning financial sector for economic growth.

“It is without doubt that the financial sector is the accelerator of growth for every economy. A well-functioning financial sector is a catalyst for economic growth and economic development.”