Economy
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Banking the Unbanked: Mobile Finance as a Lifeline
By Kwame Bolgatanga, Ghana — Under a baobab tree in the Upper East Region, 60-year-old Adiza Ibrahim punches numbers into her Nokia phone with focus. Seconds later, a text confirms her receipt of ₵150 via mobile money. The sender? Her son in Accra. “I don’t have a bank account,” she says in Mampruli through a translator. “But I can receive money on my phone.” Adiza is one of millions of Ghanaians who are part of a quiet financial revolution — where banks are not branches and wallets are not leather. Mobile finance has leapfrogged traditional banking, giving the unbanked unprecedented access to money services. The Unbanked Majority According to the…
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The Hidden Costs of White-Collar Jobs
By Kwame Accra, Ghana — On the surface, Kwaku Badu’s life looks ideal. He wears polished shoes, clocks in at 8:00 a.m. at a bank in Ridge, and eats lunch from a tidy pack at his mahogany desk. He’s what many Ghanaians call a big man in the city. But the 33-year-old junior account officer says there’s a reality few see. “I make ₵3,200 a month,” he says. “By the time I pay rent, contribute to family bills, commute, and dress the part, I’m broke before mid-month.” Beneath the air-conditioned offices and crisp button-down shirts, Ghana’s white-collar workforce faces a quiet financial and emotional squeeze. While such jobs offer prestige,…
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Borrowing to Survive: Inside the World of Mobile Loans
By Adoma Accra, Ghana — When the notice for her rent renewal arrived, 27-year-old Sandra Nyarko did what she always does in emergencies — she opened her mobile loan app. With three taps and an automated selfie, ₵600 landed in her mobile wallet. She exhaled in relief. “I told myself I’ll repay in two weeks,” she says. “But it’s been three months now, and I owe twice that amount.” Sandra is part of a growing wave of Ghanaians turning to mobile loan platforms to cover daily expenses — not business investments, not luxury items — but rent, food, medicine, and school fees. While fintech innovations promise inclusion, critics argue that…
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Can You Live on Minimum Wage in Ghana?
By Nomako Tema, Ghana — At 6:00 a.m., John Tetteh is already walking the dusty road to the construction site where he mixes concrete six days a week. His daily pay? ₵14.88 — Ghana’s official minimum wage as of 2024. “That’s if the contractor doesn’t ‘forget’ to pay me,” he adds dryly, adjusting the second-hand boots he bought from Kantamanto market for ₵35. John is part of a silent majority of Ghanaians living on or below the minimum wage. As prices continue to rise, the question looms large: can anyone truly survive on such a figure in today’s Ghana? Understanding the Minimum Wage Ghana’s daily minimum wage is set by…
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What It Takes to Build a Business in Ghana Today
By Jasmine Accra, Ghana — On a humid Tuesday afternoon, 29-year-old fashion designer Sheila Ofori sits at her compact sewing table in Osu, surrounded by bright fabrics, thread, and unfinished garments. She’s been running her boutique for four years — and every day, she says, feels like starting from scratch. “People think owning a business is glamorous,” she says, adjusting her glasses. “But they don’t see the sleepless nights, the rent increases, the electricity outages, and the taxes.” Sheila is part of Ghana’s growing small business community, which contributes more than 70% to the nation’s GDP and employs about 80% of the workforce, according to the Ghana Enterprises Agency. But…
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The Decline of Cash: Is Africa Ready for a Fully Digital Economy?
Byline: By Kwame Accra, Ghana — At a bustling roadside fruit stand in the suburb of Adabraka, 32-year-old trader Abena Owusu expertly arranges bunches of bananas and pineapples while checking her smartphone for mobile money alerts. “I hardly use physical cash anymore,” she says. “Most of my customers prefer to pay via Momo. It’s quicker, and I don’t have to keep too much change on me.” Once a luxury for the tech-savvy elite, digital payments have become a fixture of everyday life in many African cities. From market vendors to taxi drivers, the decline of cash is visible — and irreversible. But the rapid shift has also exposed deep gaps…
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The Cost of Commuting: How Rising Transport Prices Affect Everyday Workers
By Nomako Accra, Ghana — When Lydia Mensah leaves her two-bedroom home in Kasoa at 5:30 a.m. each morning, the first thing she does is check the contents of her purse. On most days, there’s enough for transportation. But lately, that hasn’t always been the case. “I used to spend GH₵8 total for trotro from home to work and back,” she said, referring to Ghana’s shared minibus taxis. “Now it’s closer to GH₵14. It may not sound like much, but it adds up, especially with school fees, rent, and food.” Lydia is one of thousands of working-class Ghanaians bearing the brunt of surging transportation costs, a ripple effect of global…