Ghana must move beyond exporting raw materials and instead use its vast natural resources as financial leverage to unlock capital for development, the Chief Executive Officer of the Business and Financial Times (B&FT), Dr Godwin Acquaye, has said.

Delivering opening remarks at The Money Summit 2026 in Accra, Dr Acquaye stressed that economic stability remains a prerequisite for attracting long-term investment.

“Without stability, investors will not commit long-term resources,” he said, warning that Ghana’s broader challenge goes beyond growth to restoring confidence in institutions and mobilising domestic capital.

He called for a shift toward a more diversified financial ecosystem that extends beyond traditional banking to include commodity-backed financing, digital finance, pension funds, and capital markets.

Dr Acquaye noted that Ghana’s resource wealth — including gold, cocoa, oil, and emerging strategic minerals — has not been fully leveraged to support industrialisation and value addition.

“For decades, we have exported raw materials while struggling to access affordable financing for production,” he said.

He argued that commodities can serve as “bankable assets” capable of unlocking large-scale investment, pointing to Ghana’s cocoa sector, which has long relied on structured financing arrangements to support purchases and exports.

Recent developments in the mining sector, including financing arrangements backed by international commodity traders, also demonstrate the potential of such models to attract capital into productive sectors, he added.

Dr. Acquaye said Ghana must adopt innovative financing mechanisms to harness its economic potential, emphasising that building trust and strengthening financial systems will be critical to long-term growth.