The 24-Hour Economy logo was unveiled on July 2, 2025

The Head of Finance at Merban Capital, Nelson Cudjoe Kuagbedzi, has averred that the projected US$4 billion cost for implementing the 24-Hour Economy policy is inadequate.

He questioned how the private sector and the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) would generate the required revenue to finance the project, which is the flagship programme of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Speaking on Channel One’s The Big Issue programme, Kuagbedzi said; “The government said it will be committing $300 million as seed money for the initial rollout of the programme. The question we need to ask ourselves is how the private sector or the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund will raise this money.”

“Where are they going to raise this money? We must have a secure source of funding to make implementation easy. The issue is that anytime programmes or policies are rolled out in this country, we don’t have a dedicated source of funding for the programme,” he added.

Kuagbedzi opined that the government could leverage pension funds to support the policy.

According to him, assets under management by pension funds are projected to reach nearly GH¢100 billion by the end of 2025.

“One of the areas I think they can look at is the pension funds. The assets under management of pension funds by the close of the year [2025] are targeted to hit close to GH¢100 billion. I think they can leverage pension funds to get some funds to support the 24-hour policy,” he stated.

Meanwhile, during the launch of the policy, President John Dramani Mahama noted that while the government is the driving force behind the 24-Hour Economy, it will play a facilitative role to allow the private sector to lead its implementation.

He explained that any government funding would serve as catalytic seed capital, while additional financing would be sourced from commercial banks, Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), and blended financing instruments.

This approach, he noted, is intended to unlock larger pools of capital while reducing the fiscal burden on the state.

The 24-Hour Economy Policy is projected to cost US$4 billion, with the government committing between US$300 million and US$400 million as seed capital to bridge viability gaps and attract private sector investment.

The programme is envisioned as a nationwide economic agenda, targeting the creation of 1.7 million quality jobs over four years.

SA/MA

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