Ghana to get its first MSMEs Development Index as DBG and GSS collaborate

Development Bank Ghana (DBG) and the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) have launched Ghana’s first Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises index known as the MSMEs Development Index (DBG-GSS MDex).

The initiative, designed to track business performance and guide policy and financing decisions, was launched in October 2026 by DBG Chief Economist, Prof. Eric Osei-Assibey, on behalf of CEO Prof. Randolph Nsor-Ambala, alongside Deputy Government Statistician Alhaji Omar Seidu.

It follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed by DBG and the Ghana Statistical Service on 8 September 2026.

More than 100 enumerators have been trained to conduct a nationwide survey of over 5,000 businesses across all 16 regions between October and November 2026.

The training prepared enumerators to administer the DBG-GSS MDex survey instruments in accordance with internationally recognized statistical standards and quality assurance protocols. Drawing enumerators from every part of the country means interviews will be conducted by field staff who are familiar with the local context and languages of the businesses they visit.

Ghana has approximately 1.9 million business establishments, nearly 90 per cent of which employ fewer than five people, according to the GSS’s 2024 Integrated Business Establishment Survey. Despite their significant contribution to employment and economic activity, the country has lacked a recurring composite measure of MSME performance.

The DBG-GSS MDex will address this gap by assessing businesses across eight dimensions: profitability, productivity and growth; business environment; innovation and digitisation; resilience and financial access; sustainability and green transition; inclusive and social impact; governance and formalisation; and productive capacity and resources.

Combining business-owner surveys with objective indicators, the index will provide insights into MSME performance, financing needs, operational constraints and growth potential while tracking changes over time.

The DBG-GSS MDex will provide reliable, recurring data across all 16 regions and key sectors to guide policymaking, improve MSME financing decisions, identify growth opportunities and constraints, and track changes in productivity, competitiveness, innovation, job creation and sustainability.

It will also help assess the impact of policies and business support programmes, strengthening resource allocation and supporting sustainable MSME growth.

Under the partnership, DBG will provide strategic leadership, funding and stakeholder coordination, while GSS will oversee survey design, data collection, analysis and reporting in line with national and international statistical standards.

“Development finance is most effective when it is guided by credible evidence. The DBG-GSS MDex is not only a research product; it is a national public good. It will help Ghana understand which MSMEs are growing, where productivity is improving, what constraints are holding firms back, and how financing and policy interventions can be better targeted.

Through this partnership, DBG is investing in the knowledge infrastructure required to de-risk the MSME sector, strengthen our Participating Financial Institutions’ (PFIs) market intelligence and catalyse more funding to the enterprises that power Ghana’s economy,” said Prof. Osei-Assibey.

Alhaji Omar Seidu emphasised the importance of reliable and timely data in supporting business growth and economic development.

“When data accurately reflects the realities of businesses, it becomes a powerful tool for transformation. The DBG MSME Performance Index Survey is an investment in evidence, and evidence is essential for expanding access to finance, improving business performance, and accelerating Ghana’s economic progress.”

As DBG marks its fifth anniversary, the index represents a further step in its mandate to expand access to long-term financing for productive businesses. By combining development finance with reliable data, the initiative aims to improve financing decisions and strengthen Ghana’s MSME ecosystem.

The inaugural DBG-GSS MDex report is expected by the end of January 2027. DBG and GSS intend to update the index annually to support policymaking, financing decisions and targeted business development interventions.