Ghana: Greater opportunities thanks to strong credit unions
Enabling economic participation for millions of people
Credit unions are the most important means of accessing financial services for many people in Ghana. They pave the way for borrowing and financial literacy, and thus foster economic participation and sustainable growth. A strong financial sector not only strengthens local economic prospects, but also establishes reliable conditions for investment and international economic relations.
The German Sparkassenstiftung, together with its long-term partner, the Ghana Co-operative Credit Unions Association (CUA), supports the continued development of the cooperative financial sector within the framework of Partners in Transformation. CUA is the umbrella organisation for 495 credit unions and has around 2.7 million members in total. In 2025 alone, its credit unions gained more than 250,000 new members. In rural areas in particular, credit unions play an important role in supply, as commercial banks are often not widely represented there.
Sustainably empowering local institutions
The cooperation focuses on developing practical solutions that can reach as many people as possible. Approaches are developed and tested in collaboration with selected pilot institutions, and subsequently made available nationwide via CUA. Examples include youth clubs which teach young people about financial literacy and saving, programmes for the advancement of women in leadership positions, and new approaches to make it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises to access credit. This creates economic prospects for population groups that previously had limited access to financial services in many cases.
Building on success
The positive results also provide the basis for the next phase of cooperation. In future, steps are to be taken with a focus on further strengthening the digitalisation of processes and services, the development of sustainable financial products and financing models, and support for small and medium-sized businesses. Not only will this create economic opportunities locally, it will also further improve the conditions for a strong and reliable financial sector.
This will strengthen Ghana’s position as an attractive location for business and investment, and lay vital foundations for long-term economic cooperation with international partners – including partners from Germany.
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