G20 Compact with Africa: The Case of Ghana

The document examines Ghana's engagement with the G20 Compact with Africa (CwA), noting that while the country has a strong appetite for reform, many commitments were already part of IMF programmes. It finds that while FDI generally increased between 2015 and 2018, there is little evidence that this was caused by the CwA, and the level of investment has not been commensurate with the reforms required. The author argues for a more inclusive, all-government approach and stronger engagement with the domestic private sector to unlock meaningful investment.

• Ghana's reform commitments under the CwA were largely redundant as they overlapped with existing requirements of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extended Credit Facility Programme, making many of them "low hanging fruits".
• While FDI in Ghana increased from $2.4 billion in 2015 to $3.6 billion in 2017 (dipping to $3.3 billion in 2018), there is no clear causal link between these inflows and the CwA, as many top investors were non-G20 countries such as India, France, and China.
• The CwA appears to have contributed more to an increase in portfolio investments and Eurobond issuance (totalling $5 billion between 2018 and 2019) than to FDI, though this introduces risks including high debt servicing costs and potential capital outflows.
• Ghana struggled to achieve reforms in the business and finance frameworks compared to the macroeconomic framework, primarily because these areas involved multiple stakeholders and required more time than a one-year cycle allows.
• The Ghanaian private sector believes the current reform areas are insufficient to attract FDI and argues that issues such as public sector corruption, contract sanctity, and the absence of a PPP law must be addressed.
• G20 member involvement at the country level is described as minimal, with many members simply re-packaging existing programmatic support as CwA commitments rather than providing new funding.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2020). G20 Compact with Africa: The Case of Ghana. https://saiia.org.za/research/g20-compact-with-africa-the-case-of-ghana/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. G20 Compact with Africa: The Case of Ghana. 2020. https://saiia.org.za/research/g20-compact-with-africa-the-case-of-ghana/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=G20 Compact with Africa: The Case of Ghana |date=9 January 2020 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/g20-compact-with-africa-the-case-of-ghana/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2020g20, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{G20 Compact with Africa: The Case of Ghana}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2020}, month = jan, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/g20-compact-with-africa-the-case-of-ghana/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }