Financial stability: World Bank gives Ghana $30m support

The World Bank has approved a $30 million International Development Association (IDA) credit to support the Government of Ghana strengthen its financial sector stability.

The support is also to improve inclusiveness for users of formal financial services and the financially excluded, particularly women, rural communities and farmers.

Commenting on the gesture, the World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Henry Kerali said,

“This project will support Government’s plan to undertake reforms to deepen financial markets, promote inclusion, enhance the supervision and regulation of specialized deposit-taking financial institutions in line with Ghana’s National Financial Inclusion and Development Strategy.”

A statement from the World Bank to Citi Business News said: “The Ghana Financial Sector Development Project, is a key component of the World Bank Group’s comprehensive portfolio supporting financial stability, financial inclusion and private sector competitiveness.”

It added, “It is expected to help regulators strengthen their oversight of the financial sector for a sound and stable sector. This will enable ordinary Ghanaians develop trust in the sector and benefit from access to savings and financing for investments. It will also support the education of consumers on their rights and equip them with skills and knowledge to make informed choices in the use of financial services.”

Meanwhile the project will also promote financial inclusiveness by mainly supporting rural and community banks to expand financial services to rural areas and the underserved segments of Ghanaians.

For his part, World Bank Practice Manager for Finance & Markets, Douglas Pearce remarked, “The increase in access to financial services is expected to create economic opportunities and contribute towards ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity.”

The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, helps the world’s poorest countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives.

IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 75 poorest countries, 39 of which are in Africa.

Resources from IDA bring positive change to the 1.5 billion people who live in IDA countries. Since 1960, IDA has supported development work in 113 countries.

Annual commitments have averaged about $18 billion over the last three years, with about 54 percent going to Africa.