Ghana Hits 81% Financial Inclusion Rate as Mobile Money and Agent Networks Drive Growth — BoG

Ghana’s financial inclusion rate has risen to 81 percent, with the Bank of Ghana (BoG) attributing the achievement to the growing use of mobile money agent networks and basic phone based financial transactions.

The central bank revealed this at the 2026 3i Africa Summit 2026 in Accra, where Matilda Asante-Asiedu explained how Ghana’s strategy for expanding financial access could serve as a model for other developing countries.

According to her, Ghana’s progress is built on a simple but effective idea, financial inclusion does not depend on advanced technology.

Anyone and everyone can send money from a phone with no internet connection, no smartphone, no app, no data plan, just a basic phone and a USSD code, she said.

Referencing World Bank data, she noted that Ghana’s 81 percent financial inclusion rate was achieved by building systems around technology that ordinary people already use. This has enabled farmers, traders in rural communities, and low income households to access formal financial services such as payments, savings, and insurance without needing internet access or expensive smartphones.

Asante-Asiedu highlighted three key factors behind Ghana’s success. These include the use of basic mobile networks for transactions, the expansion of mobile money agent networks to improve access to cash nationwide, and interoperability between different mobile money platforms.

She explained that interoperability has transformed digital payments into a national infrastructure rather than isolated services run by competing private networks.

Speaking on attracting investment into Africa’s digital economy, she stressed the need for reliable and trusted systems.

To attract more investment into Africa’s digital economy, we must build the architecture that allows innovation to grow. That includes payment systems that are trusted, digital public infrastructure that supports identity and access, consumer protection that builds trust, and regulatory coordination that allows businesses to expand across the continent, she stated.

She also encouraged African policymakers to move beyond policy discussions and focus on implementing practical digital infrastructure, while promoting stronger cross border integration across the continent.

Trust is at the heart of every financial transaction. Coordination and the discipline to build systems that are inclusive by design, that is what building on Africa’s terms looks like. And that is the foundation on which our digital future must be built, she added.