By: Ewurabena Paha
A high-level forum convened by ODI Global, the Government of Ghana’s 24-Hour Economy Authority and the AfCFTA Secretariat have launched exploratory discussions on Neofingo, a network needed to close the trade finance gap between the UK and West Africa. The launch brought together regulators, financiers, entrepreneurs, policymakers, trade and development experts, and technologist.
The forum held simultaneously in London and Accra explored NEOFINGO as a Digital Trade Finance Corridor designed to close Ghana’s annual trade finance gap by connecting UK neobanks with Ghanaian and African fintech ecosystems.
The partners developing the network aim to build and resource the UK-Ghana Digital Trade Finance Corridor. The launch and announcement of Neofingo followed a consultative online exercise held on 24th March 2026.
The new corridor will be a shared digital public infrastructure to connect Ghanaian SME exporters with the international trade finance system, including the entrepreneurial Ghanaian Diaspora.
The initiative further leverages both the AfCFTA digital trade infrastructure (AfCFTA Hub) and the recently launched London to Accra platform supported by the 24-Hour-Economy Authority and the Office of the Mayor of London.
Ghana faces a trade finance gap estimated at 7 billion dollars annually, part of a broader 120 billion dollars shortfall across Sub-Saharan Africa. The root cause extends beyond a shortage of capital to include an erosion of trust infrastructure. For example, the retreat of correspondent banking has left exporters, especially small and medium ones, unable to access letters of credit, which are the foundational instruments of international trade. The result is that goods can be produced but without money they can not move.
Sadly, the costs of risk fall disproportionately on smaller businesses and emerging-market producers.The proposed UK–Ghana Digital Trade Finance Corridor would address this by building shared digital infrastructure for trade documents, compliance data and letters of credit.
It draws on Ghanaian pro-fintech policies, the UK Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023, open standards including ISO 20022, the ICC’s eUCP and recent developments in the remittance corridor between the UK and Africa. Ghana’s advanced financial regulatory environment, its role as a founding participant (and host) in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and the ambitions of the 24-Hour Economy initiative make it a natural anchor for West Africa’s entry into this emerging global architecture.
The Presidential Adviser on the 24-Hour Economy, Mr. Augustus Goosie Tanoh, believes the global trade finance system was not designed for African SMEs but around them. NeoFingo changes that. It rebuilds trade finance as shared infrastructure where a shea butter exporter in Tamale can access the same digital letter of credit as a commodity desk in the City of London.
Dr Sara Pantuliano, Chief Executive, ODI Global said its research suggests that through effective implementation of the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol, Ghana could boost its GDP by 3 billion dollars in the longer term and potentially create up to 600 thousand high-quality jobs.
Ben Ainsley, Deputy Trade Commissioner, at the British High Commission in Accra, noted that the deeper ties that make the corridor possible are trade without challenges.
He indicated that “the UK and Ghana are already connected by people, history, and language. This is why Neofingo will add a financial layer to that connection and make it easier for businesses here and in the diaspora to trade, invest, and grow together.”
The forum and exploratory launch of Neofingo brought together trade finance institutions, UK and African fintech leaders, development finance institutions, multilateral bodies, and legal and policy experts and SMEs.
