The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a $10.41 million grant to strengthen Ghana's public financial management and support inclusive, climate-resilient growth.
The funding, drawn from the African Development Fund, the Bank Group's concessional lending window, will finance the Strengthening Institutions for Enhanced Financial and Economic Governance (SIEFEG) project. Specifically, the initiative targets improving domestic resource mobilisation and public spending oversight, and preparing Ghana's next national development plan, with an emphasis on gender equality and climate resilience.
Ghana has made remarkable economic progress in recent years. The country's GDP growth rose to an estimated 5.8% in 2025 from 5.6% the previous year, supported by improved macro policy management. Consumer inflation fell to 3.3% in February 2026, below the 8±2% target band. The fiscal deficit narrowed to 2.4% of GDP from 6.3% in 2024, public debt declined to 45.3% of GDP from 61.8% in 2024, and the current account surplus widened to 4.4% of GDP from 2% in 2024.
Despite this progress, growth has not been pro-poor with unemployment and inequality remaining entrenched, requiring structural reform. SIEFEG will build capacity across key institutions including the Ministry of Finance, the National Development Planning Commission, the Ghana Audit Service, the Public Procurement Authority, Parliament, the Central Tender Review Committee, and the Department of Gender to improve how public resources are planned, raised, and deployed. The project extends an earlier Bank-financed initiative approved in 2019.
"By investing in governance systems today, we are supporting Ghana in building a more transparent, accountable, and resilient economy." said Lamin Barrow, African Development Bank Group Director General for West Africa.
Beyond direct institutional beneficiaries, the project is expected to provide the government with greater fiscal space, better-targeted public spending, and a stronger environment for private sector growth and job creation.
SIEFEG is aligned with Ghana's Long-Term National Development Policy Framework (Vision 2057) and the Agenda for Jobs framework, as well as the Bank's Country Strategy Paper for Ghana (2024-2029), its Economic Governance Strategy (2021-2025), and its Ten-Year Strategy.
