G20 Compact with Africa: The Case of Ghana

This case study examines Ghana's participation in the G20 Compact with Africa (CwA), evaluating the relationship between the country's reform commitments and the resulting foreign direct investment (FDI). It analyzes the effectiveness of the CwA framework, the role of the IMF, and the gaps between government-led reforms and the needs of the domestic private sector.

• Ghana's reform commitments under the CwA were largely aligned with existing requirements from its International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extended Credit Facility Programme, making many of them "low hanging fruits".
• While FDI in Ghana generally increased between 2015 and 2018, there is little evidence that this was caused by G20 efforts or CwA reforms; notably, top investors in 2017 and 2018 included non-G20 countries like China and India.
• Ghana struggled to meet its reform targets in the business and finance frameworks compared to the macroeconomic framework, primarily because these areas involved more stakeholders and required longer implementation periods.
• The domestic private sector believes the government's reform areas are insufficient to attract FDI, arguing that critical issues such as public sector corruption, contract sanctity, and physical infrastructure must be addressed.
• G20 member involvement at the country level is described as minimal, with many members simply re-packaging existing programmatic support as new CwA commitments.
• Ghana has seen an increase in portfolio investments, likely due to IMF-supported improvements in economic fundamentals, but this introduces risks including high debt servicing costs and potential capital outflows.

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} }