Beyond GDP explores how Africa can rethink development measurement by focusing on value retention, local capability, accountability and the real consequences of economic growth.
Tag: Ghana
Sovereignty, IMF Petitions, and Consequence Literacy: A CMS Perspective
This article examines Ghana’s political reliance on IMF petitions as a symbol of institutional dependency and explores how sovereignty can be strengthened through domestic accountability. From the perspective of the Consequential Management System (CMS), the article introduces consequence literacy, African metaphysical wisdom, and custodianship as frameworks for rebuilding trust, governance resilience, and institutional agency.
From Ore to Intelligence: How AI Will Rewrite Africa’s Resource Power
Africa holds a dominant share of the world’s critical minerals, yet continues to capture limited value due to structural and informational asymmetries. In From Ore to Intelligence, Enoch Antwi argues that artificial intelligence is transforming mineral exploration, valuation, and extraction—shifting power from resource ownership to data and algorithmic control. With AI-driven systems dramatically improving discovery success rates, reducing exploration timelines, and increasing asset valuation, the article highlights how control over subsurface intelligence is becoming the new frontier of economic leverage. As global demand for cobalt, copper, lithium, and other strategic minerals accelerates, Africa faces a pivotal choice: build domestic AI capacity and retain value, or risk ceding the informational premium to foreign firms. The future of resource power, the article concludes, will be defined not by who owns the ore, but by who controls the intelligence behind it.
Building with Women: How Microfinance Is Powering Women-Led Businesses in Africa
Across Africa, women-led businesses face challenges including limited access to collateral, financial literacy gaps, and gender norms restricting decision-making. Advans’ programs—such as El Beya in Tunisia, AdvansHer in Ghana, and VSLA-linked savings in Côte d’Ivoire—offer loans, coaching, and flexible financial tools designed for women. These initiatives have increased incomes, supported job creation, and expanded access to education, demonstrating how microfinance, women’s entrepreneurship, inclusive finance, and gender-focused financial services drive economic resilience and sustainable development.
Atlas Network Announces Three Finalists for the 2025 Africa Liberty Award
The 2025 Africa Liberty Award finalists have been announced by Atlas Network, honoring exceptional policy achievements that advance economic freedom and individual rights across Africa. The three finalists are the Africa Centre for Entrepreneurship and Youth Empowerment (ACEYE) from Ghana, Liberty Sparks from Tanzania, and the South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR). Each organization has made significant contributions toward economic reform, entrepreneurial freedom, land rights for women, and promoting free-market solutions. The winner will be revealed at the Africa Liberty Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, and the award is part of the Templeton Freedom Award program, which recognizes impactful work in advancing liberty and economic prosperity worldwide.
Kofa Closes $8.1 Million Pre-Series A Round to Expand Energy Access in Urban Africa
Kofa, an innovative technology-driven energy company, has successfully closed an $8.1 million pre-Series A funding round to expand its AI-powered battery-swapping network in urban Africa. The investment will accelerate the company’s clean energy solutions, starting in Ghana and Kenya, and help optimize the distribution of batteries for motorcycles, households, and businesses. With the backing of prominent investors like E3 Capital, Injaro Investment Advisors, and the Shell Foundation, Kofa is on track to scale its network and drive sustainable energy adoption across the continent.
Digitisation as Africa’s Great Equaliser in Financial Services
Access to financial services in Africa had for decades been defined by disparities—between rural and urban areas, between men and women, between small businesses and larger enterprises. It meant that millions, especially the continent’s most vulnerable populations, were excluded from the formal economy, curbing entrepreneurship, restricting access to credit, and stifling upward financial mobility for far too long.
How Athletes’ Skills are Helping Build a More Adaptable Workforce and Contribute to Economic Development in Ghana’s Oil Sector
In a previous article [1] we outlined how human capital is expected to soon surpass financial capital as a key driver of economic development within the oil sector, coinciding with a widening global skills gap in the industry.
Virgin Atlantic adds three new destinations for summer 2025
Virgin Atlantic has announced new flying from London Heathrow, adding two new destinations of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Accra, Ghana to its network for summer 2025.
Game Changers: How Athletes’ Sports Skills Can Help Promote Economic Development in Ghana’s Oil Industry
This study explores how elite athletes’ transferable skills can support economic development in Ghana’s oil industry. With the sector facing a growing skills crisis, the research identifies how competencies gained through high-performance sports—such as teamwork, communication, leadership, strategic planning, decision-making, negotiation, creativity, and emotional intelligence—can help address human-capital shortages in the downstream oil sector. By mapping skill overlap using a visual assessment method and surveying former elite football players now working across major oil-industry roles, the findings show strong alignment between sports-developed abilities and industry requirements. Leveraging these undervalued skills offers a practical pathway to strengthen workforce capacity and advance sustainable economic growth in Ghana’s energy sector.