The United Kingdom, through its development finance entity FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi), a specialist investor backed by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has committed $ 7.5 million to the Ci Gaba Venture Capital Limited (Ci Gaba Fund).
The funding marks a significant vote of confidence in Ghana’s private sector and small business ecosystem and contributes to the fund’s first close of approximately $ 38 million (GHS 383 million), a milestone for venture capital in Ghana.
The Ci Gaba Fund is Ghana’s first domestically domiciled private ‘fund of funds’ specifically designed to unlock long‑term financing, particularly domestic pension capital, for venture capital, private equity, and private debt funds that back Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across Ghana and the wider West African region.
This blended finance vehicle, managed by Savannah Impact Advisory and sponsored by Impact Investing Ghana, aims to address one of the most persistent challenges facing Ghanaian SMEs: limited access to patient capital and scalable financing structures that meet the long‑term growth needs of high‑potential local businesses.
The UK’s USD 7.5 million contribution plays a “catalytic” role, underwriting risk to help attract further commitments from other investors, especially local institutional players like Ghanaian pension funds which now account for a majority of the first‑close commitments.
By pooling capital into a “fund of funds” structure rather than investing directly into individual SMEs, Ci Gaba channels resources into specialized fund managers who have the expertise and networks to identify, nurture, and scale high‑growth enterprises in priority sectors. These include agriculture, healthcare, financial services, education, clean energy and technology, sectors critical to long‑term economic resilience and diversification.
The strategic importance of this initiative goes beyond capital, it actively works to mobilise domestic resources, reducing reliance on foreign exchange–denominated capital and aligning more of Ghana’s long‑term savings with productive investment opportunities at home.
This is vital in a context where African pension funds hold over USD 700 billion in assets, yet typically allocate less than 10 % to productive sectors like private equity or venture capital.
For SMEs in Ghana, access to long‑term financing is transformative. SMEs are the backbone of Ghana’s economy, accounting for about 92 % of all businesses and contributing roughly 70 % of national GDP. These enterprises also generate a significant share of employment, including up to 85 % of manufacturing jobs in the country.
Despite their importance, SMEs in Ghana have historically struggled to secure adequate funding due to structural barriers in the financial ecosystem such as limited collateral, shortterm loan products, and risk‑averse institutional investors. Funds like Ci Gaba are designed to help overcome these barriers by providing capital in forms and terms better suited to growing businesses.
The impact of strengthening SME finance goes beyond individual companies, it fuels job creation, innovation, and inclusive growth, particularly in rural and peri‑urban areas where formal employment opportunities are limited and entrepreneurial activity is high. Statistics consistently show that SMEs play a key role in poverty reduction and in absorbing young and skilled workers into productive livelihoods.
Local participation in the Ci Gaba Fund’s first close also signals growing confidence among Ghanaian institutional investors in alternative asset classes like venture capital and private equity, a shift that could unlock more domestic capital for private sector growth if it continues.
The UK’s USD 7.5 million commitment to Ci Gaba not only marks a key milestone in Ghana’s venture capital landscape, but also underscores the broader imperative of scaling homegrown financing solutions that empower SMEs, the very engines of economic growth, innovation, and job creation across Ghana.
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