Ghana Drops Minimum Capital Rules for Most Foreign-Owned Companies

Guides · Ghana

A new investment law has removed most minimum-capital rules for foreign-owned companies, and the government bond market has reopened after the 2023 debt exchange. The currency, the land rules and the paperwork still decide what a foreign investor actually keeps.

Investing in Ghana as a foreigner in 2026 means working with three rule books at once. An investment law governs companies, a securities regime governs shares and bonds, and the constitution governs land.

All three shifted after the 2022–2023 debt crisis, and the investment law was rewritten outright in July 2026. This guide sets out the position as of September 2026. Cedi figures use 11.5 cedis to US$1, the mid-market rate in the open-source currency-api data series on 21 September 2026.

A new investment law replaced the capital thresholds

For thirteen years foreign investors dealt with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) under Act 865 of 2013. That law set minimum foreign equity of US$200,000 for a joint venture with a Ghanaian partner and US$500,000 for a wholly foreign-owned company.

Trading companies owned by foreigners needed US$1 million and at least 20 skilled Ghanaian employees, according to the US State Department’s 2025 investment climate statement. The capital could be contributed in cash or in relevant capital goods.

The Ghana Investment Promotion Authority Act, 2026 (Act 1173) received presidential assent on 15 July 2026 and repealed Act 865. The agency, now called the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority (GIPA), says the law removes the blanket minimum capital for wholly foreign-owned companies and joint ventures.

Trading is the exception. A foreign-owned trading company now needs US$500,000 in cash equity, and imported goods no longer count towards it. That is the reading of a guide to the Act by Firmus Advisory, published on Mondaq.

At least 75% of a foreign trading company’s workforce must be skilled Ghanaians, GIPA officials say, replacing the old fixed head count of 20. A Ghanaian-registered company with foreign beneficial owners or directors must also meet the trading threshold, a clause aimed at local “fronts”.

Registration with the authority must now be renewed every year rather than every two years. Companies registered under the old law remain registered and keep their existing incentives, according to the same guide.

Some activities remain reserved for Ghanaians, and sector regulators still set their own rules in banking, telecoms, mining and petroleum. The law also allows a citizenship-by-investment programme, whose details were still to be worked out with the interior ministry.

The diaspora bond is planned, not yet on sale

President John Mahama said in March 2026 that Ghanaians abroad would soon be able to invest in government bonds, and that legislation would go to Parliament. The state broadcaster’s report gave no size, currency, tenor or coupon.

The Bank of Ghana, led by Governor Johnson Pandit Asiama, is working on the instrument alongside a push for bank-built diaspora savings products. Reporting on the central bank’s plan says tenors, interest rates, tax treatment and the projects to be financed remain under development.

The idea is not new. In December 2007 the government launched a US$50 million, five-year Golden Jubilee savings bond in cedis, aimed at individuals at home and abroad, paying 14.5% to individual buyers.

Anyone offered a “Ghana diaspora bond” before an official prospectus appears should treat the offer with caution. Genuine government paper is announced by the Ministry of Finance and settled through the Central Securities Depository.

Government securities after the 2023 debt exchange

Ghana defaulted on its debt during the 2022 crisis. Under the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, concluded in February 2023, holders swapped cedi bonds for new ones with lower coupons and longer maturities.

The country also restructured about US$13 billion of Eurobonds, its dollar bonds sold abroad, in 2024. A three-year bar on new domestic bond issuance, imposed after the exchange, expired in March 2026, the Ministry of Finance said.

Issuance resumed quickly. The 2026 mid-year budget review recorded a GH¢2.7 billion (about US$235 million) long-term bond, the first since the crisis. The ministry then ran a four-year bond book-build in early September 2026.

Non-residents face a tenor floor set by the Bank of Ghana, the central bank. The State Department’s 2025 statement reports that foreign investors may take part only in auctions of bonds maturing in two years or more, which leaves out treasury bills.

Existing bonds, including the exchange bonds, trade on the Ghana Fixed Income Market, a platform run by the Ghana Stock Exchange since 2015. Access runs through a licensed dealer.

Buying shares on the Ghana Stock Exchange

The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) in Accra says trading is open to all eligible domestic and foreign investors. The State Department counted 36 listed companies and reported no restriction on foreigners trading listed stocks.

An investor opens a securities account with a licensed dealing member, meaning a stockbroker admitted to the exchange. Ownership is recorded at the Central Securities Depository, and investors can ask it directly for a statement of their holdings.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates brokers and listed companies under the Securities Industry Act, 2016 (Act 929). Equities trade on working days from 10 a.m. to about 3 p.m. Accra time.

The market is small and many stocks trade thinly, so selling a sizeable position can take days. The exchange says opening an account involves a form with personal details, a passport photograph, an identity document and a contact address.

Property: a lease, never a freehold

Article 266 of the 1992 Constitution bars any freehold interest in Ghanaian land from vesting in a non-citizen, and any deed that attempts it is void. The Land Act 2020 (Act 1036) repeats the rule.

A foreigner may hold a lease of up to 50 years at any one time, and the lease may be bought, sold or renewed. Ghanaian citizens, including dual nationals, are not bound by the 50-year cap.

Much land belongs to stools, skins and families, the traditional institutions that hold it for a community. A careful buyer therefore runs a search at the Lands Commission, confirms who has authority to grant the lease, and registers the lease once signed.

Paying for property with money brought in through a bank, and keeping the transfer records, makes it simpler to move sale proceeds out later. Rental income is taxed at source, as set out below.

The cedi: the risk under every return

Anyone investing in Ghana through cedi assets carries currency risk, and the cedi has moved sharply in both directions. By the currency-api data series it stood near 14.7 per US$1 at the end of 2024, after record lows that November.

It then strengthened to about 10.5 per US$1 by the end of 2025, a gain of roughly 40% in its dollar value on the same data. It has since weakened to about 11.5 per US$1 in September 2026.

Inflation has fallen from the crisis years. The Ghana Statistical Service put consumer price inflation at 5.0% in August 2026, up 0.4 percentage points from July.

A cedi bond yielding 12% delivers about 12% to a dollar-based investor only if the exchange rate holds. A 10% fall in the cedi over a year removes most of that return.

Taxes a foreign investor meets

Dividends from Ghanaian companies carry a final withholding tax of 8% for residents and non-residents, subject to any double tax treaty. That is the position in PwC’s Ghana tax summary, last reviewed in March 2026.

Interest paid to non-residents carries an 8% final withholding tax. PwC notes that interest paid to individuals on government bonds and treasury bills is exempt, so an individual should confirm which rule applies to their holding.

Rent paid to a non-resident landlord carries a final 15% withholding tax, while resident owners of residential property pay 8%. Gains on selling assets are taxable, and an individual may elect to have an investment gain taxed at 25%.

Non-resident individuals pay a flat 25% on Ghana-source business or employment income, while residents pay graduated rates of up to 35%. The State Department reports no capital controls on dividends, interest or capital gains being sent abroad.

What this means for your money

For someone setting up a company, the new law lowers the entry cost sharply outside trading. The Act also widens expatriate quotas, the number of foreign staff a registered company may employ. Check the quota against the staff the business needs to bring in.

For a portfolio investor, investing in Ghana through cedi bonds and GSE shares is open, but returns depend on the currency more than the coupon. A prudent approach is to hold only as much in cedis as you could see fall by a fifth without harm.

For a diaspora saver, the promised bond is worth waiting for, but only through official channels and on published terms. Checking every offer against a Ministry of Finance notice is the simplest protection.

For anyone buying land, the 50-year lease is the ceiling, not a formality. Investing in Ghana works best when title searches, bank records and tax filings are treated as part of the investment rather than as paperwork afterwards.

More: Africa coverage from The Rio Times.

Sources: Ghana Investment Promotion Authority: GIPC now an Authority (July 2026), Firmus Advisory via Mondaq: guide to Act 1173 (August 2026), MyJoyOnline: GIPA explains trading capital and workforce rules (August 2026), GhanaWeb: GIPA Act abolishes minimum capital for most foreign investors, US State Department: 2025 Investment Climate Statement, Ghana, GBC: President Mahama on diaspora bonds (March 2026), NewsGhana: Bank of Ghana plans diaspora bonds, Modern Ghana: Golden Jubilee bond launched (2007), Ministry of Finance: end of post-exchange bond issuance restrictions, Citi Newsroom: figures from the 2026 mid-year budget review, Ghana Stock Exchange: investor guidance, Constitution of Ghana, Article 266, PwC Tax Summaries: Ghana withholding taxes, PwC Tax Summaries: Ghana individual income determination, Ghana Statistical Service: consumer price inflation

The Big Picture

Africa: The New Scramble — why the world’s powers are competing for the continent