Ghana is in the pilot phase. The Bank of Ghana completed its pilot and is currently planning the launch of its CBDC (referred to as the E-cedi or e-Cedi), according to reporting in African Markets. However, the launch has been delayed due to economic instability and the new timeline is unclear.

CBDC History and Development

In 2021, Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of Ghana, reportedly said at the Ghana International Trade and Finance Conference that it was time for African governments to embrace digital currencies to enhance trade. However, it was also reported that he warned that African economies need CBDCs, not cryptocurrency. Later that year, the Bank of Ghana announced that it signed an agreement with Giesecke+Devrient to pilot a retail CBDC.

In 2022, the Bank of Ghana planned to launch its CBDC, but delayed due to the high inflation experienced at the time. Bank of Ghana governor Ernest Addison said, “That is not the context in which you want to launch a digital currency. So, we had to slow down the process and refocus our efforts on the macro environment, trying to bring inflation down. At a certain point, we will go back to the [CBDC] and decide on the launch date.”

Still, the central bank published a report covering both the motivations and design principles for a Ghanaian CBDC. Motivations included addressing the rise of cryptocurrency, digitizing the economy, fostering financial inclusion, and anticipating future regulatory efforts. To meet these ends, the Bank of Ghana said that it intends to move forward with a retail CBDC.

In 2023, it was reported that the Bank of Ghana completed its pilot and is planning the launch of its CBDC. However, it was also reported that the launch has been further delayed due to economic instability.

In 2024, it was reported in BNN that Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of Ghana, revealed new plans to launch a CBDC. Bawumia said that he envisions the CBDC as a tool to fight corruption, enhance transparency, collect taxes, and prevent money laundering.

Human Rights and Civil Liberties Concerns

Ghana earned an 80 out of 100 in Freedom House’s 2023 Freedom in the World report, but the country does have its challenges. For example, Amnesty International has reported that there have been efforts in Ghana to clamp down on freedom of expression. Elsewhere, there have been reports of significant corruption. The adoption of a CBDC could worsen this experience.

Freedom House and the U.S. Department of State report there was a surge in attacks on journalists in 2022. Unfortunately, all of the cases appear to be direct retaliations to criticism of the government. A CBDC could worsen this situation by giving the government the ability to cut off journalists from spending or receiving money. In other words, it creates the opportunity to cut journalists off from society. Across the world, governments have often turned to freezing and seizing the money of activists, political rivals, and protestors to undermine the opposition. A CBDC would make such initiatives easier by allowing governments to take direct control of each citizen’s finances. Furthermore, by providing a tool to increase surveillance, it puts any confidential informants at risk.

Corruption in Ghana has reportedly led to more than $346 million of financial mismanagement in 2022. The U.S. Department of State wrote that “officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity,” and that corruption “was present in all sectors of government.” The existence of pervasive corruption is a major concern with CBDCs because it calls into question any promises that might be made by the government to limit surveillance, control, or other risks of CBDCs. Furthermore, the existence of corruption calls into question whether CBDC policies might be designed to exert political favoritism through subsidies, price controls, or other targeted restrictions.

For additional information on concerns regarding violations of human rights and civil liberties, see the following reports by Amnesty International, Financial Tyranny Index, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Privacy International, and the U.S. Department of State. For additional information on concerns regarding the risks of CBDCs, see the following webpage and report by the Cato Institute: The Risks of CBDCs and Central Bank Digital Currency: Assessing the Risks and Dispelling the Myths.

For additional information regarding metrics, the methodology page explains each of the data points and provides their respective sources.