Bank of Ghana targets $7.8bn in diaspora remittances for productive investment
Bank of Ghana is working with banks, fintechs and investment partners to channel more diaspora capital into businesses, innovation and jobs, while protecting remittances' vital household role.
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Bank of Ghana Governor Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama says the central bank is working with financial institutions, fintech companies and investment partners to channel more diaspora capital into businesses, innovation and jobs, as Ghana looks beyond remittances’ traditional role in supporting households.
ACCRA, Ghana – The Bank of Ghana is stepping up efforts to turn more of the billions of dollars sent home by Ghanaians abroad into productive investment, as the central bank seeks to deepen the diaspora’s contribution to businesses, innovation and job creation.
Governor Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama said the Bank was working with financial institutions, fintech companies, investment partners and other stakeholders to develop trusted financial products tailored to Ghanaians living abroad. His latest remarks, following the launch of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre’s 2025 Annual Investment Report, build on a diaspora-investment strategy the Governor has outlined in a series of engagements this year.
The scale is significant.
Ghana received nearly US$7.8 billion in diaspora remittances in 2025, according to figures previously disclosed by Asiama. That compared with about $4.6 billion in 2024 and was equivalent to roughly 6% of Ghana’s gross domestic product. The central policy question is now whether Ghana can attract a greater share of diaspora capital into longer-term investment without diminishing the essential role remittances already play in supporting families.
That distinction matters.
The Bank of Ghana itself says remittances help Ghanaian households pay for education, healthcare, rent, housekeeping and utilities. Diaspora funds also finance residential and commercial property development. The emerging strategy is therefore not simply about replacing household transfers with investment. It is about creating additional, trusted ways for Ghanaians abroad with investable savings to put capital into Ghana’s productive economy.
DIASPORA CAPITAL
From remittances to investment
Bank of Ghana Governor Johnson Asiama has said the Bank wants more diaspora capital to support enterprise development, innovation and employment.
The Governor said the central bank was collaborating with banks, fintech companies, investment partners and other stakeholders to develop financial products responsive to the needs of Ghanaians abroad.
THE POLICY SHIFT
The objective is not to replace household remittances. It is to create additional channels through which some diaspora savings can also support longer-term economic activity.
Money sent to people
Traditional remittances are generally transfers between individuals, often supporting immediate household needs.
Capital deployed into economic activity
Productive investment involves placing capital into businesses, projects or investment assets expected to generate longer-term economic value.
Ghana’s diaspora already participates in both.
The policy challenge is whether regulated financial institutions can make the investment side easier, safer and sufficiently attractive to expand.
THE SCALE
Why $7.8 billion matters
The size of Ghana’s remittance economy helps explain the government’s growing interest.
REMITTANCES CITED FOR 2025 $7.8bn approximately
WHY IT MATTERS
Asiama said diaspora transfers were larger than foreign direct investment entering Ghana, highlighting the scale of diaspora money within the country’s external financing picture.
Foreign currency
Remittances bring foreign exchange into Ghana and contribute to external financing.
Household resilience
Many transfers are driven by family obligations rather than purely by investment returns.
Investment potential
A credible financial system could potentially mobilise additional diaspora savings for longer-term domestic investment.
THE POLICY QUESTION
Can Ghana build regulated investment channels credible enough to attract diaspora capital without undermining the household-support role remittances already play?
POLICY CONTEXT
BoG has been building this strategy
The latest comments are not an isolated policy announcement.
They form part of a diaspora agenda the Bank of Ghana has been developing during 2026.
Diaspora Economic Growth Summit
At the Bank’s maiden summit, organised with the British High Commission in Ghana under the London to Accra initiative, Asiama described the diaspora as a strategic bridge connecting ideas, markets and capital.
Investment mechanisms discussed
The Governor subsequently raised the possibility of diaspora bonds, collective investment schemes and other capital-market products.
Product development
BoG says it is working with financial institutions, fintech companies and investment partners on products aimed at Ghanaians abroad.
IMPORTANT DISTINCTION
Discussion of diaspora bonds, investment schemes or other products does not mean that a specific new product has already been launched and made available to the public.
WHAT THE PHRASE MEANS
What could ‘productive investment’ mean?
The phrase can sound abstract.
In practical terms, the Bank’s objective is to create channels through which diaspora capital can contribute more directly to economic activity rather than functioning only as person-to-person transfers.
Diaspora bond
Broadly, a bond could raise capital from investors, including people living abroad, for specified financing purposes.
POTENTIAL MECHANISMCollective investment scheme
A pooled structure could collect money from multiple investors and invest according to an established mandate.
POTENTIAL MECHANISMCapital-market products
Other regulated instruments could potentially be designed specifically for diaspora investors.
POLICY DISCUSSION NOT YET THE SAME AS A PUBLIC OFFER
At present, Nukunya has not identified a newly launched BoG diaspora-investment product arising directly from the Governor’s latest remarks.
Ghanaians abroad should distinguish between products being discussed or developed and products formally approved and available for investment.
DON’T MISREAD THE STRATEGY
Household remittances remain economically important
There is a danger in treating “consumption” and “investment” as though one is economically valuable and the other is not.
Bank of Ghana’s own remittance guidance makes clear how important household transfers are.
School fees and education spending can strengthen skills and long-term earning potential.
Medical spending can protect a household’s ability to work, earn and remain economically active.
Housing expenditure can support construction, renovation and property development.
Rent, food, utilities and other transfers can provide essential support to receiving households.
THE BETTER INTERPRETATION
The strategy is not that Ghana should discourage household remittances. It is that policymakers want to add credible investment opportunities alongside them.
THE CENTRAL TEST
Trust will determine whether the strategy works
That may be the central challenge.
Ghanaians abroad do not have to invest their savings in Ghana. They can retain funds where they live or invest elsewhere.
Credible products
Investment terms must be understandable, commercially plausible and transparent.
Trusted institutions
Investors need confidence in the institutions issuing, administering or safeguarding their money.
Regulation
Products must operate within credible legal and financial-regulatory frameworks.
Consumer protection
Investors need clear information about risk, fees, redemption and dispute mechanisms.
National identity may encourage interest. It cannot substitute for investment credibility.
REGULATORY CONTEXT
BoG is also tightening remittance oversight
On 21 August, the Bank published updated guidance for inward-remittance services by payment-service providers.
The rules cover institutions involved in receiving and terminating international remittances in Ghana and form part of BoG’s effort to improve regulatory compliance, market integrity and consumer protection.
21 AUG Updated guidance
Requirements for inward-remittance service providers.
ENFORCEMENT Compliance action
BoG has acted against some providers for breaches of remittance requirements.
25 AUG Further reminder
Regulated institutions were reminded of compliance obligations.
WHY THE TIMING MATTERS
Ghana is attempting to increase the economic value it derives from diaspora money while simultaneously strengthening oversight of how those funds enter and move through the regulated financial system.
The two objectives are connected.UK DIASPORA
The UK diaspora could be particularly important
The United Kingdom is an important part of that strategy.
At the London to Accra Diaspora Economic Growth Summit, Asiama highlighted the economic relationship between Ghana and its UK-based diaspora.
UNITED KINGDOM Ghanaian diaspora
Savings, skills, networks and commercial connections.
GHANA Potential investment channels
Regulated products capable of connecting diaspora savings with domestic opportunities.
THE QUESTION FOR GHANAIANS IN BRITAIN
Could sending money home eventually become only one part of a broader financial relationship with Ghana?
A credible diaspora-investment ecosystem could potentially allow people abroad to support relatives through remittances while separately investing savings through regulated products.
INVESTOR CAUTION
The fact that policymakers want diaspora investment does not automatically make every Ghana-focused investment suitable for every person abroad.
CURRENT POSITION
What has actually changed?
For diaspora readers, the current position can be reduced to three points.
The policy direction is clear
The Bank of Ghana wants to mobilise more diaspora capital for productive economic activity.
Product development is under way
BoG says it is working with financial institutions, fintech companies and investment partners to develop appropriate products.
No specific new investment product has been established by these remarks alone
The latest comments should not be treated as evidence that a new diaspora investment product is already approved and open to the public.
FOR DIASPORA READERS
There is no basis to transfer money to an organisation merely because it claims to participate in the initiative.
Any future opportunity should be assessed against its issuer, regulatory status, terms, fees, currency exposure and risks.
WHAT NUKUNYA WILL WATCH
What happens next?
POLICY → PRODUCT
The next stage will determine whether the strategy becomes economically significant.
BoG and its partners will need to translate policy discussions into financial products that Ghanaians abroad are willing to use.
01 What products will actually be launched?
The most important milestone will be movement from general policy discussion to clearly identified products with formal terms and an identifiable issuer.
02 Who will issue and regulate them?
Diaspora investors will need to know which institution is legally responsible, which regulator supervises the product and what protections apply.
03 Will investments be in cedis or foreign currency?
Currency denomination could materially affect both investor returns and exchange-rate risk, particularly for Ghanaians earning in pounds, dollars or euros.
04 Which sectors will receive the capital?
Investors will need clarity on whether funds are directed towards enterprises, infrastructure, housing, capital markets or other economic activity.
05 What protections will diaspora investors have?
Disclosure requirements, custody arrangements, complaints mechanisms, redemption rules and regulatory supervision could be decisive for trust.
THE TEST
Ghana has already demonstrated that its diaspora is willing to send substantial amounts of money home. Nearly $7.8 billion in a single year makes that clear.
The harder task is convincing Ghanaians abroad that Ghana also offers sufficiently credible places to invest part of their savings.
That is now the test facing the Bank of Ghana’s diaspora strategy.Related posts:
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Ghana’s Debt Climbs to GH₵674bn Despite IMF Recovery Gains 
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