Ghana’s Collateral Registry is quietly transforming access to credit, recording an average annual growth of 31.5% in security-interest filings over the past 15 years.
Since launching in 2010, registrations on the digital platform have surged from just over 10,000 to 382,215 as of 2024, according to Fred Asiama Koranteng, Head of the Registry.
In total, lenders have filed over 1.4 million claims against movable and immovable assets—ranging from vehicles and equipment to inventory—enabling real-time verification and unlocking financing for businesses without formal land titles.
“This is not just a statistic—it’s a story of empowerment, economic opportunity, and a better future,” Mr. Koranteng said, adding that the platform now logs about 9,000 new filings each week.
Speaking on behalf of Governor Ernest Addison, Deputy Bank of Ghana Governor Zakari Mumuni traced the registry’s origins to the 2008 Borrowers and Lenders Act, which was overhauled in 2020 to align Ghana’s secured-transactions regime with international standards. Prior to the reforms, banks relied almost exclusively on land or buildings as collateral—a constraint that stifled SME borrowing and amplified credit risk.
“Today, lenders can verify within minutes whether a vehicle, machine, or shipment of inventory is already pledged, sharply reducing information asymmetry that once inflated loan defaults and discouraged lending,” Dr. Mumuni said.
He noted that over 4,450 “memoranda of no objection” have been issued to date, allowing lenders to enforce claims without resorting to drawn-out legal proceedings.
The registry’s rise has paralleled a rebound in private-sector lending. Bank of Ghana data show gross credit to businesses rose nearly 18 percent in 2024, despite a tight monetary environment that saw the policy rate peak at 28 percent.
The bank expects that technology will accelerate the next phase of growth. The Registry is piloting artificial intelligence to detect duplicate filings, flag potential fraud, and reduce processing delays. It is also integrating databases from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, Office of the Registrar of Companies, and the Lands Commission to offer a unified interface for collateral verification.
“The vision ahead is ambitious,” Dr. Mumuni said. “We are investing in advanced technologies to enhance efficiency, security, and user experience.”
Development partners, including the International Finance Corporation and Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, are supporting the initiative to align with global best practices.
Still, challenges persist. Rural financial institutions often lack internet access, hindering use of the online portal. Meanwhile, a backlog of legacy paper-based filings remains undigitized.
Mr. Koranteng said the Registry plans to scale outreach in underserved areas and deepen integration with other public data systems “to build a more inclusive and thriving economy.”
“We’ve moved from collateral as a bottleneck to collateral as an accelerator,” Mr. Koranteng said. “And the data suggests we’re only at the beginning of that shift.”