How to borrow for your business in Ghana

A Ghanaian business owner looking for credit is told an interest rate. That rate is not what the loan costs, and the gap between the two is larger than most borrowers expect.

Here is what the regulator's own figures show, and how to use them.

The one figure to ask for

Ask for the APR, not the interest rate.

The interest rate is one component. The annual percentage rate includes everything else — arrangement fees, commitment fees, processing charges, insurance — expressed as a single annual figure.

Bank of Ghana requires every bank to calculate and report it. So it exists, it is already worked out, and any bank can quote it. A bank that will only give you an interest rate is giving you the smaller half of the number.

How much smaller? Bank of Africa's one-year SME loan is reported at a minimum of 13.70% and a maximum of 23.42%. Nearly ten percentage points of that range is fees.

What the market actually charges

Twenty-two banks report. For a one-year business loan in May 2026:

The cheapest and the dearest are 22.55 percentage points apart — for the same product, in the same market, in the same month.

On GH₵100,000 over one year that is roughly GH₵22,550. More than the entire cost of borrowing from the cheapest lender.

Why the range within a single bank matters as much

Every bank reports a minimum and a maximum, and the spread is often wide. Bank of Africa's runs from 13.70% to 23.42%.

Both figures are real. Some borrowers get the lower one — usually those with security, a trading history with the bank, or a stronger balance sheet.

So the question to ask is not just "what is your APR" but "where in your range would I fall, and why". A bank reporting a ten-point spread knows the answer before it lends. Getting it before you apply tells you whether you are being offered the advertised rate or the other end of it.

What almost no Ghanaian bank publishes

We checked the websites of every bank we track. Three mention a rate. The rest publish product descriptions, eligibility criteria and application forms with no figure at all.

That is not a regulatory failure — Bank of Ghana collects the data and publishes it. It is a gap between the regulator's publication, which few borrowers read, and the bank's own material, which they all do.

Also usually missing: the arrangement fee as a separate figure, whether security is required, how long a decision takes, and what happens if you repay early.

Before you apply

Compare on APR, across at least four banks. The spread is too wide to take the first offer. Our comparison covers twenty-two.

Ask for the fee breakdown in writing. Arrangement, commitment, processing, insurance — each as a cedi amount, not a percentage of something unspecified.

Ask what security is needed, and whether the rate changes without it.

Ask how long a decision takes. For working capital this often matters more than half a point on the rate.

And check the term. A three-year loan at a lower rate can cost more in total than one year at a higher one. Our comparison covers one, three and five years separately for that reason.

What this cannot tell you

Whether you should borrow at all. That is a judgement about your business, and we do not make it.

What you personally will be offered. The figures here are what banks reported to the regulator across their whole book. Your rate depends on your circumstances.

And what has changed since May 2026. APR reports are published periodically, and rates move. The date on every figure we publish is the date it was true.

Compare all 22 banks on what they actually charge · Find funding that fits your situation