Accra, April 1, – Mr Joe Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of Dalex Finance, has warned that Ghana’s approach to funding Small and Medium‑Scale Enterprises (SMEs) has largely become economic charity rather than a deliberate growth strategy.
Speaking at a Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG) public engagement themed “Ananse Stories About the Ghanaian Economy,” Mr Jackson argued that while SMEs are important, most operate informally, struggle with productivity, and rarely scale.
“SME funding in its current form is economic charity, not a growth strategy. We have over 60 SME initiatives in just 10 years, yet firms remain informal, productivity is low, and many collapse within three years. If launching programmes alone created growth, Ghana would be an economic superpower by now,” he stated.
He stressed that the absence of strong, productive domestic firms has left Ghana unable to anchor industrialisation, dominate regional markets, or retain value from local resources. He called for a targeted model that backs high-performing firms capable of driving national growth.
“Countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea intentionally nurtured strategic winners, not thousands of micro-businesses. Growth comes from exceptional firms, not blanket support. We must select champions regardless of politics,” Mr Jackson said.
Linking the issue to broader economic challenges, he noted that capital leakages, currency pressures, and foreign dominance in key sectors persist because profits continue to be repatriated.
He urged policymakers to restructure pension fund rules to direct long-term domestic capital into productive Ghanaian companies rather than primarily government securities.
Mr Jackson cautioned that dependence on external capital, limited value addition in extractives, and weak enforcement of local content laws continue to undermine Ghana’s economic sovereignty.
GHBUSS
1 April 2026
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