Learn about barriers to market entry and local requirements, i.e., things to be aware of when entering the market for this country.
Last Published: 12/3/2018
The nation has a surplus of power capacity after several years of outages; however, debt remains high at 60 percent of GDP, and domestic revenue mobilization remains a challenge.
 
Access to financing remains a major challenge for local companies, commercial bank rates average around 33 percent. Exporters to Ghana without attractive financing options will find themselves at a disadvantage.
 
Because of historical connections to Europe and geographical proximity, European companies have tended to be relatively more successful in Ghana. As U.S. firms focus more on emerging opportunities in Sub Saharan African markets, however, an increase in the U.S. share of exports to Ghana has been noted.
 
Ghanaian buyers are price sensitive and thus, while U.S. products and services are perceived as high quality, cheaper (often Chinese) products are sometimes purchased for cost reasons. Although new U.S. equipment is bought by Ghanaian companies, re-conditioned U.S. goods (e.g. vehicles and equipment) have been particularly successful in the Ghanaian market.
West Africa has a well-deserved reputation for fraudulent business offers and commercial scams. Ghana is no exception. Recipients of unsolicited offers to participant in government procurement opportunities in Ghana should proceed very cautiously and require upfront payments prior to shipping samples or committing significant resources. Procurement tenders with the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) are particularly common. U.S. companies pursuing procurement deals in Ghana should consider utilizing the Commercial Service’s Due Diligence services.

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.