NDPC Urges Consolidated Long-Term Entrepreneurship Plan for Sustainable Business Leadership in Ghana

The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) of Ghana has issued a strong call for the immediate development and implementation of a single, consolidated, long-term national entrepreneurship policy. This urgent plea aims to replace the country’s history of fragmented, often unimplemented, and short-term business development frameworks. The commission argues that such a unified strategy is non-negotiable for fostering genuine sustainable business leadership, accelerating economic transformation, and achieving the objectives of long-term national visions like Vision 2057. This move focuses on formalizing the vast informal sector, leveraging technology like Artificial Intelligence (AI) for planning, and instilling a robust culture of asset maintenance to secure Ghana’s economic future.

Introduction: The Imperative for a Unified National Business Strategy

Ghana stands at a critical juncture. While ambitious national development blueprints like Ghana Beyond Aid and Vision 2057 set high-level aspirations, their success hinges on a coherent, actionable strategy for the private sector—the engine of growth. The NDPC, chaired by Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, contends that Ghana’s development has been hampered by policy discontinuity and a piecemeal, incrementalist approach to entrepreneurship support. This has resulted in wasted resources, stalled projects, and a missed opportunity to harness the full potential of Ghanaian entrepreneurs. The commission’s proposal for a consolidated long-term entrepreneur plan seeks to break this cycle by creating a stable, predictable, and comprehensive environment where businesses can thrive sustainably, moving the nation from aid dependency to self-reliant prosperity.

Key Points: Core Tenets of the NDPC’s Proposal

The advocacy from the NDPC centers on several interconnected pillars essential for a functional entrepreneurship ecosystem:

• Policy Consolidation: Merging disparate, overlapping initiatives into one master plan for national entrepreneurship development.
• Long-Term Horizon: Shifting from short-term, election-cycle projects to sustained, systematic planning spanning decades.
• Informal Sector Formalization: Addressing the “weakest link” where over 90% of businesses operate informally, contributing minimally to GDP.
• Technology Integration: Adopting tools like AI to modernize planning, reduce workloads, and enhance evidence-based decision-making.
• Asset Maintenance Culture: Applying the “broken windows” theory to infrastructure and public assets to prevent systemic national deterioration.
• Inclusive Implementation: Ensuring the plan is people-centered, strategic, and accountable from regional to district levels.

Background: Context of Fragmented Frameworks and National Visions

The Challenge of Policy Discontinuity

Ghana’s development landscape has been characterized by a succession of well-intentioned but often isolated programs. Previous frameworks for SME and entrepreneurship support have typically been project-based, donor-funded, and tied to specific administrations. This policy discontinuity erodes national capital—not just financial, but also social and institutional trust. When policies change with political tides, businesses become hesitant to invest long-term, and capacity built under one program atrophies under the next. Dr. Thompson emphasizes that long-term planning is not about predicting the future but about “defining targets and working systematically to reach them,” a process undermined by constant resetting.

Existing National Visions: Ghana Beyond Aid and Vision 2057

Initiatives like Ghana Beyond Aid (launched 2019) and the long-term Vision 2057 provide the aspirational goals—economic independence, high-income status, and improved quality of life. However, the NDPC identifies a critical gap: the operational “how.” These visions lack a unified, operationalized strategy for the private sector that aligns financial, technical, and regulatory support across all sectors and regions. The proposed consolidated entrepreneurship plan is intended to be the vehicle that translates these high-level visions into tangible, measurable outcomes for businesses and the national GDP.

Analysis: Deep Dive into the NDPC’s Arguments and Evidence

The Informal Economy: Ghana’s “Weakest Link”

The NDPC’s analysis pinpoints the informal sector as the most significant structural weakness in Ghana’s economic architecture. The statistics are stark and well-documented by institutions like the Ghana Statistical Service and the World Bank:

• ~92% of all registered and unregistered businesses operate in the informal sector.
• The informal sector employs nearly 90% of the national workforce.
• Despite its massive scale in employment, it contributes only about 20% to GDP.

This massive disconnect between employment and value addition is the core of the problem. Informality leads to low productivity, limited access to formal finance, poor working conditions, minimal tax revenue for the state, and vulnerability to economic shocks. Dr. Thompson correctly identifies that formalizing these enterprises—through simplified registration, access to credit, skills training, and market linkages—is not about stifling informality but about unlocking trapped economic potential. This process, termed financial formalization, is essential for broadening the tax base and increasing the economy’s resilience.

Leveraging Technology: Artificial Intelligence in National Planning

In a forward-looking stance, the NDPC is exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to overhaul its internal processes. The commission has already held introductory sessions on AI tools. Dr. Thompson’s personal use of AI to summarize lengthy district development plans exemplifies its immediate utility: automating routine tasks to “minimise the workload and expedite certain processes.” The potential applications are vast:

• Data Analysis: Processing vast datasets from districts to identify regional economic trends, gaps, and opportunities faster and more accurately.
• Predictive Modeling: Simulating the outcomes of different policy interventions on entrepreneurship and GDP growth.
• Resource Allocation: Optimizing the distribution of limited public funds and technical support to where they can have the most significant impact.
• Monitoring & Evaluation: Tracking the real-time performance of business support programs across the country.

The commission’s plan to roll out these tools from the national level to regional and district assemblies could democratize access to sophisticated planning capabilities, reducing the capacity gap between different tiers of government.

The Governance Lens: The Broken Windows Theory and Asset Maintenance

Dr. Thompson’s invocation of the broken windows theory—a criminology concept applied to urban decay—is a powerful metaphor for national economic stewardship. The theory posits that visible signs of disorder and neglect (a broken window left unrepaired) encourage further vandalism and decay, creating an environment of chaos. Translated to national development:

• Road Encroachment: Allowing illegal structures on public rights-of-way degrades infrastructure, causes congestion, and deters investment.
• School Erosion: Neglecting the physical upkeep of educational facilities signals a low priority for human capital development.
• Destruction of Pavements: Poorly maintained or damaged public assets increase business costs (e.g., logistics, safety) and lower the quality of life.

The key message is that entrepreneurship policy is not solely about creating new infrastructure or start-up grants. It is equally about the maintenance culture that protects existing public and private assets. A nation that cannot maintain its roads, schools, and utilities imposes hidden costs on every business operating within it, undermining competitiveness. This holistic view ties asset preservation directly to the enabling environment for business.

Practical Advice: Actions for Different Stakeholders

The NDPC’s call to action requires specific roles for various actors in the entrepreneurship ecosystem:

For Government & District Assemblies

• Prioritize Formalization: Digitize business registration, reduce costs and time, and create one-stop shops for SMEs to access licenses, tax IDs, and social security.
• Adopt and scale proven models like the Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) program to enhance managerial and technical skills in the informal sector.
• Integrate AI-assisted planning tools into the budgeting and monitoring cycles of all Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
• Enforce bylaws and allocate budgets for the proactive maintenance of public infrastructure. Implement “adopt-a-facility” schemes where communities co-own maintenance.
• Ensure the consolidated plan is developed through genuine regional consultative engagements like the one in the Eastern Region, incorporating local knowledge.

For Entrepreneurs & Business Associations

• Actively participate in the consultative process for the new national plan to ensure it addresses ground-level realities.
• Begin the journey toward formalization voluntarily. Document operations, separate business and personal finances, and seek certification.
• Upskill in digital literacy and explore how AI tools (for marketing, customer service, data analysis) can improve productivity without large capital investment.
• Advocate collectively for consistent, long-term supportive policies rather than short-term subsidies.

For Development Partners & NGOs

• Align funding and technical assistance programs with the emerging consolidated national plan to avoid parallel, fragmented initiatives.
• Focus grants and loans on formalization processes, technology adoption for SMEs, and maintenance-focused infrastructure projects.
• Support capacity building for district assemblies in using data and AI for evidence-based local economic planning.

FAQ: Addressing Common Questions

What exactly is a “consolidated longer-term entrepreneur plan”?

It is a single, comprehensive national strategy that unifies all existing and future policies, programs, and budgets for entrepreneurship and private sector development in Ghana. It would have a clear 10-20+ year horizon, specific, measurable targets (e.g., % increase in formalized businesses, GDP contribution from SMEs), and a defined institutional framework for implementation, moving beyond ad-hoc projects.

Why is the informal sector such a focus if it employs most Ghanaians?

Employment is only one metric. The informal sector’s low productivity and GDP contribution mean it traps workers in low-wage, vulnerable jobs with no social protection. Formalization aims to increase productivity, tax revenue, and workers’ welfare, thereby lifting overall living standards and economic resilience. It’s about upgrading the quality of employment, not eliminating jobs.

How can Artificial Intelligence realistically help small businesses and district assemblies?

AI’s value is in augmentation, not replacement. For a district assembly, AI can analyze economic data to identify which sectors (e.g., agro-processing, tourism) have the most growth potential locally. For a small business owner, affordable AI tools can handle customer inquiries, manage inventory, or create basic marketing content, freeing up time for core operations. The NDPC’s role is to facilitate access to these tools and training.

What is the “broken windows theory” and why does it matter for business?

Originally a policing concept, it suggests that visible signs of disorder (like unrepaired windows) create an environment that encourages further crime and decay. Applied to development, neglected public assets—broken pavements, dilapidated schools, encroached waterways—signal a lack of governance and order. This increases operational costs for businesses (security, logistics, downtime) and deters private investment, harming the overall business climate.

Who is responsible for making this consolidated plan happen?

Ultimate responsibility lies with the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) as the lead planner, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Finance, and the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC). However, success requires ownership from the Executive (for political will), Parliament (for legislative backing and budget approval), District Assemblies (for localized implementation), and the private sector itself (for participation and feedback).

Conclusion: Toward a Coherent and Sustainable Economic Future

The NDPC’s urgent appeal is more than a policy recommendation; it is a roadmap for economic survival and competitiveness. The evidence is clear: Ghana cannot build a diversified, high-income economy on a foundation of fragmented policies and a vast, low-productivity informal sector. The proposed consolidated long-term entrepreneurship plan offers a coherent alternative. It directly tackles the structural inefficiencies that have limited GDP growth from the dominant business segment. By embracing long-term systematic planning, formalizing the informal economy, intelligently adopting technologies like AI, and fostering a national culture of maintenance, Ghana can transform its entrepreneurial potential into a powerful engine for sustainable business leadership and shared prosperity. As the Eastern Regional Minister noted, a better tomorrow does indeed depend on the collective decisions and disciplined actions taken today. The time for a unified, steadfast national business strategy is now.