Ghana Pursues Investment-Grade Credit Rating to Cut Borrowing Costs and Unlock Corporate Bond Market

Ghana is targeting an investment-grade sovereign credit rating to reduce borrowing costs, attract a broader pool of institutional investors, and lay the groundwork for local companies to issue corporate bonds, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has said, as the country seeks to consolidate its recovery from a painful debt default and restructuring.

Speaking at a New Economy engagement in Accra, Forson said achieving investment-grade status would depend on sustained macroeconomic stability, credible policies and restored investor confidence. He noted that Ghana's 2022 debt default and the subsequent Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) had severely weakened the domestic bond market and constrained local banks' access to international financing.

"Before, the domestic bond market had virtually come to a standstill. But we have now restored it, and the country is currently rated B. We want to move to investment grade," Forson said .

The Minister stressed that reaching investment-grade status would open the door to institutional investors whose mandates restrict them to securities meeting specified credit-rating thresholds. "When we get to investment grade, you would have laid the foundation for corporate bonds and others to take off," he said.

A Fragile Recovery Underway

Ghana's credit profile has improved markedly since the crisis years. Fitch upgraded the country's long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating to 'B' from 'B-' in May 2026, citing a sharp fall in public debt-to-GDP, robust GDP growth and a marked increase in international reserves . Moody's followed in October 2026, lifting Ghana to 'B3' from 'Caa1'—the second upgrade in a year—citing lower borrowing costs and improved debt affordability .

S&P Global Ratings affirmed Ghana at 'B-/B' with a stable outlook in September 2026, noting that the government appeared to have ended monetary financing of the deficit, though it flagged that reserves had moderated to $12.9 billion at end-June 2026 and that the banking system's nonperforming loan ratio remained elevated at 16.1% .

The upgrades reflect a dramatic turnaround from 2022, when inflation exceeded 50%, the cedi depreciated sharply, and Ghana lost access to international capital markets. The DDEP restructured approximately GH¢87 billion in domestic debt, cutting average coupons from 19.1% to 9.1% and extending maturities from 3.8 to 8.3 years .

Building the Institutional Framework

Ghana has been actively strengthening its capacity to engage with rating agencies. In April 2026, government officials concluded a Credit Rating Support Initiative workshop supported by the United Nations Development Programme, which reviewed terms of reference for establishing a joint inter-agency committee to support the country's medium-term ambition of achieving and sustaining an investment-grade rating .

The government has also ruled out Eurobond issuance from 2027 to 2030 as part of a medium-term debt strategy aimed at preserving debt sustainability, instead relying on domestic financing and concessional project loans from development partners . The strategy projects public debt declining to 44.8% of GDP by 2034.

The New Economy Agenda

Forson said the New Economy programme—which President John Dramani Mahama has said will channel over $9 billion into job-creating sectors between 2027 and 2030—was designed to rebuild the economic fundamentals and confidence needed to strengthen Ghana's standing in international financial markets .

The Minister's remarks underscore the stakes of the rating quest. An investment-grade rating would not only lower the government's own borrowing costs but could also unlock long-term funding for Ghanaian enterprises that have been largely shut out of corporate bond markets since the crisis. For a private sector still recovering from the DDEP's fallout and elevated lending rates, the transition from sovereign recovery to corporate credit access represents the next critical frontier.