BoG Governor Pushes for Sustainable and Inclusive Financing

By Praisebell Rosemond Larbi

Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. John Asiama, has called on business leaders and financial sector stakeholders to play an active role in advancing a financial system that is inclusive, resilient, and sustainability-driven, stressing that the future of Ghana’s economic transformation depends on an industry-wide commitment to ethical and innovative financing models.

Delivering a speech on his behalf at the ACCA Business Leaders’ Forum in Accra, Professor John Gatsi, Technical Advisor to the Governor, said the domestic financial system has made significant progress in recent years owing to strengthened supervisory frameworks, digital adoption, and sound regulatory reforms. However, he cautioned that maintaining stability would require continuous adaptation in response to fast-evolving local and global dynamics.

The forum, organised by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), under the theme “Sustainability and Non-Interest Banking in Ghana”, focused on how Ghana’s financial architecture can transition into a model that promotes inclusive growth while safeguarding long-term macroeconomic and environmental stability.

According to Dr. Asiama, the forum’s theme could not have been more timely, as banks and businesses around the world are increasingly responding to stresses from global financial uncertainty, climate change, and technological disruption. He stressed that Ghana’s response must incorporate efficiency, ethics, and long-term shared value, across the financial ecosystem.

The Governor pointed to non-interest banking as one of the emerging models capable of broadening participation in the financial system. Unlike conventional interest-based financing, non-interest banking promotes shared risk, transparency, asset-backed transactions, and value-aligned investment. He added that the model has the potential to expand financial access to segments of the population historically excluded due to cultural or religious considerations.

He emphasised that financial stability and economic development are mutually reinforcing pillars, noting that stable financial institutions enable long-term savings and investment, while robust economic growth strengthens the financial sector. Ensuring this balance, he said, requires policies that build confidence while also encouraging innovation.

To support this transition, Dr. Asiama stated that the Bank of Ghana is developing a secular and market-neutral regulatory framework that recognises both conventional and non-interest banking models. This will include deeper collaboration with financial sector regulators, supervisory reforms, and strengthened industry capacity-building programs.

Touching on sustainability, the Governor underscored the growing threat of environmental and climate-related risks to banking sector stability. Bad weather patterns, climate shocks and environmental degradation can directly affect loan portfolios, particularly in agriculture, real estate, energy and construction. In response, the Central Bank has rolled out Sustainable Banking Principles and the Climate-Related Financial Risk Directive to support banks in risk identification, mitigation and reporting.

He stressed that aligning non-interest banking with sustainable finance reforms offers an opportunity to build a financial ecosystem that is not only stable, but also ethical, inclusive and transformative. He called on policymakers, regulators, business leaders and professional bodies to demonstrate collective commitment to these reforms.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Jamil Ampomah, ACCA’s Africa Director, praised Ghana’s planned rollout of a national non-interest banking framework in 2026, describing it as a defining step in reshaping the country’s financial landscape through fairness, partnership, transparency and value-based financing. He commended the Bank of Ghana for providing leadership and regulatory clarity ahead of the launch.

Mr. Ampomah noted that ACCA has spent more than two decades developing expertise in Islamic and non-interest finance and has integrated key principles such as profit-and-loss sharing and asset-backed financing into professional training programmes. This, he said, ensures that practitioners and future accountants are prepared to operate under the evolving banking landscape.

He added that Ghana could leverage non-interest banking to expand financing for manufacturing, agriculture, SMEs, youth-led enterprises, infrastructure and green investment, strengthening the private sector while supporting climate adaptation and sustainable development. He pledged ACCA’s readiness to support the transition through training modules, disclosure guidelines, supervisory templates and public sensitisation ahead of the 2026 implementation.

Mr. Ampomah concluded that the shift toward sustainable and non-interest finance represents far more than a regulatory milestone, but an opportunity to redefine the banking sector into one that supports long-term national prosperity while ensuring ethical and equitable access for every Ghanaian.