In Ghana, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) form the backbone of the economy, accounting for more than 90 percent of all businesses. Despite their importance, many small businesses continue to struggle to access the credit they need to grow. Nearly 70 percent of MSMEs do not survive beyond their first five years, largely because of financial constraints, strict lending requirements, and limited access to suitable financial services. This persistent financing gap remains one of the biggest barriers to enterprise growth and long-term sustainability in the country.
Although the digitalization of financial services has expanded access to bank accounts and made digital payments more common across Ghana, access to financial accounts has not automatically translated into access to business capital. Many MSMEs still operate informally and lack the financial records that lenders typically use to assess creditworthiness. Without formal ledgers, credit histories, or reliable business data, financial institutions often consider these enterprises too risky to finance, leading to higher interest rates, cautious lending practices, or complete exclusion from formal lending systems.
To address this challenge, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) launched the Joint Programme on Leveraging Digital Ecosystems for Increased MSME Productivity in 2024 with support from the United Nations Joint SDG Fund. The initiative is designed to help financial institutions and fintech companies digitize MSME lending and expand access to finance for underserved businesses in Ghana. The programme is being implemented in partnership with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and will continue through 2027.
As part of the programme, UNCDF is providing $600,000 in investment grants and technical assistance over four years to five financial institutions and fintech companies: Adehyeman Savings and Loans Ltd, Fido, MoMo, Opportunity Ghana, and Solis Finance. The aim is to test whether digital lending models that use online and alternative business data can help lenders assess credit risk more effectively and provide loans to MSMEs more efficiently and at greater scale. Through concessional capital and technical support, UNCDF expects these institutions to mobilize $14.2 million in additional market finance, with a target leverage ratio of 4:1, drawing in both public and private sector funding.
One of the most notable examples under the programme is the partnership between Adehyeman Savings and Loans, a financial institution serving informal-sector clients, and Oze, a fintech start-up focused on digital lending systems. Together, they are piloting a new lending model that combines traditional local lending relationships with digital technology. Adehyeman is using Oze’s Lending Management System to digitize loan applications and credit assessments, replacing manual paper-based processes with a more structured digital workflow. The system uses non-traditional data, including MSMEs’ mobile money transaction patterns, to help assess credit risk, while Adehyeman’s loan officers continue to review and apply these assessments in their final lending decisions.
The initiative has taken a phased and practical approach to implementation, recognizing the realities of community-based lending in informal markets. Early research supported by UNCDF showed that many clients were not yet ready to adopt a full-featured digital business management platform. In response, the partners introduced a simplified digital loan application instead of immediately rolling out a more complex multi-function tool. They also decided to focus first on individual lending rather than group lending, since group-based lending relies more heavily on social trust, informal coordination, and community dynamics, making it more difficult to digitize in the early stages.
The partnership has now moved from the design phase into live testing. Under a two-year rollout plan running from 2026 to 2027, Adehyeman aims to disburse GHS 30 million (about US$2.3 million) in loans to approximately 1,500 MSMEs through Oze’s digital lending platform. By combining digital credit assessment with trusted local relationships and regulated lending infrastructure, the model allows the institution to expand lending to small businesses that have traditionally been excluded from formal finance, while maintaining the human judgment that remains essential in informal and relationship-based markets.
Early results suggest that digital tools are most effective when they support rather than replace local expertise and personal relationships. Technology is helping reduce administrative burdens, improve consistency in credit assessment, and make lending more scalable, while human decision-making remains central to evaluating borrowers in complex informal markets. UNCDF’s role as a catalytic funder has been especially important in reducing early-stage risk and supporting coordination between financial institutions and fintech partners during live testing. This has helped move the model from concept to proof of viability, demonstrating a potentially replicable and scalable approach for expanding digital MSME lending across Ghana and other similar markets.
The initiative highlights how innovative partnerships between lenders, fintech firms, and development institutions can help build more investable MSME markets by turning digital business activity into usable credit signals. By reducing risk and making small business lending more efficient, the programme is helping create a pathway for more inclusive finance, stronger enterprise growth, and better economic opportunities for underserved entrepreneurs in Ghana.
