Afenyo-Markin criticises high costs stifling Ghanaian startups

The Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has issued a strong warning about Ghana’s current fiscal environment, arguing that the private sector is being severely constrained by a combination of high interest rates, rising utility costs, and a complex, overlapping tax regime.

Speaking at the Kwahu Business Forum on Friday, April 3, 2026, the lawmaker addressed a gathering of business leaders, entrepreneurs, and policymakers, where he expressed concern that the government’s public messaging on job creation does not reflect the harsh economic realities facing businesses—particularly Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Drawing on recent consultations with key industry bodies such as the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) and the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Afenyo-Markin highlighted the structural challenges confronting entrepreneurs, with a strong emphasis on the difficulties faced by young business owners.

A major point of concern in his address was the cost of borrowing. He criticised the banking sector for maintaining lending rates at levels that discourage investment and stifle entrepreneurial growth.

“You cannot preach entrepreneurship while charging an entrepreneur twenty-five per cent interest on a loan to buy their first equipment,” he stated, drawing applause from participants at the forum.

Beyond access to capital, the Minority Leader pointed to the rising cost of utilities—particularly electricity—as a critical burden on businesses. He explained that in a tropical country like Ghana, where refrigeration is essential for many small-scale enterprises, high electricity tariffs have effectively transformed basic operational needs into financial liabilities.

“You cannot tell a young person to open a food stall and then charge them electricity tariffs that make running a refrigerator in Ghanaian heat a commercial liability,” he said. “That is not entrepreneurship as liberation. That is entrepreneurship as punishment.”

Afenyo-Markin described the situation as a “triple threat” facing the private sector: the high cost of capital, escalating utility tariffs, and a fragmented tax system characterised by multiple overlapping levies. According to him, these combined pressures create a difficult operating environment that undermines business sustainability and growth.

He further argued that current economic policies lack a “human face,” noting that policymakers often fail to consider the cumulative impact of these financial burdens on individual businesses trying to survive in a competitive market.

The Minority Leader also signaled a shift toward more assertive parliamentary action. He pledged that the Minority in Parliament would push for legislative reforms aimed at reducing the financial and regulatory pressures on local enterprises, with the goal of creating a more enabling environment for private sector growth.

His remarks add to the growing national conversation about the challenges facing Ghanaian businesses and the urgent need for policy adjustments to support entrepreneurship, job creation, and economic resilience.