What a Ghanaian business loan really costs

The monthly repayment, the total, and how it compares with what 22 banks actually charge — from Bank of Ghana’s own APR returns.

Loan cost calculator

Pick a bank, or enter the rate you have been offered

GH₵100,000 at 20.24% over 1 year

GH₵9,275 /month

GH₵111,299 in total — GH₵11,299 of it interest and fees

Interest as % of the loan

11.3%

Real cost after inflation

14.51%

at 5.0% inflation

The same loan across 22 banks

Standard Chartered Bank (Ghana) (11.03%)GH₵106,075
Your figureGH₵111,299
Guaranty Trust Bank (Ghana) (33.58%)GH₵119,108

At Standard Chartered Bank (Ghana)’s reported rate this would cost GH₵5,225 less. Worth asking more than one bank.

Loan form

Kind of creditTermBankEach figure is that bank’s interest rate with its fees included, reported to Bank of Ghana as an average across the whole book, May 2026. What you are offered depends on your circumstances.Amount, GH₵Interest + fees = APR, %The rate on the poster plus every charge, as one annual figure. One Ghanaian bank advertises 13.70% and adds 9.72 points of fees — an APR of 23.42%. If you have an offer, ask for its APR and enter that.YearsInflation, %5.0% is the latest Ghanaian figure, August 2026. Inflation works in a borrower’s favour — you repay in cedis worth less than the ones you borrowed.

Assumes equal monthly repayments over the term. A loan with a different structure — interest-only, a balloon, or irregular drawdown — will not match this.

Questions people ask

What is a good interest rate for a business loan in Ghana?

For a one-year SME loan reported to Bank of Ghana in May 2026, the cheapest of 22 banks was 11.03% APR and the dearest 33.58%. Anything near the lower end is competitive. The important thing is to compare on APR rather than the advertised interest rate, because the APR includes the fees.

What is the difference between the interest rate and the APR?

The interest rate is one component. The annual percentage rate includes arrangement fees, commitment fees, processing charges and insurance, expressed as a single annual figure. One Ghanaian bank reports a minimum of 13.70% and a maximum of 23.42% on the same product — nearly ten percentage points of that range is fees.

How much does a GH₵100,000 business loan cost in Ghana?

Over one year at the cheapest reported APR of 11.03%, about GH₵8,840 a month and roughly GH₵106,000 in total. At the dearest reported rate of 33.58%, about GH₵9,926 a month and GH₵119,000 in total — around GH₵13,000 more for the same money over the same term.

Does inflation make a loan cheaper?

In real terms, yes. You repay in cedis worth less than the ones you borrowed. At 5% inflation, an 11.03% loan costs about 5.7% in real terms. That is not a reason to borrow, but it is part of the true cost and it is rarely stated.

Which Ghanaian bank has the lowest loan rates?

On the figures banks reported to Bank of Ghana for May 2026, Standard Chartered had the lowest APR for one-year SME credit at 11.03%. Rates differ by product, term and borrower, so the reported average is where to start asking rather than what you will be offered.

What this cannot tell you

What you will actually be offered. Bank of Ghana’s figures are averages across each bank’s whole book. Your rate depends on your trading history, security and accounts.
Whether you will qualify. For most small Ghanaian businesses access matters more than rate, and this says nothing about it.
Anyone but banks. This calculator uses bank rates. Ghana’s twenty-six licensed savings and loans companies are not in the APR report either, and the two that publish a rate charge more than any bank here — what they publish is here. Microfinance institutions and digital lenders are a separate register again, and we do not cover them.

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