Launched in July 2023 by British International Investment (BII) with an anchor commitment of up to USD 50 million, Growth Investment Partners (GIP) Ghana provides a new, patient source of long-term, primarily local currency financing for larger small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
British International Investment Growth Investment Partners: Ghana
Abstract
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana face persistent challenges accessing growth capital due to high interest rates, short loan tenors, and stringent collateral requirements. These barriers limit SMEs’ ability to expand, create employment, and contribute to national economic growth. SMEs in EMDEs are generally in need of long term, patient and flexible capital in combination with capacity building to be able to grow and create jobs and income for local populations.
Launched in July 2023 by British International Investment (BII) with an anchor commitment of up to USD 50 million, Growth Investment Partners (GIP) Ghana provides a new, patient source of long-term, primarily local currency financing for larger SMEs. GIP offers loans ranging from USD 500,000 to USD 5 million, addressing gaps in Ghana’s financial market by providing more risk-bearing and flexible financing solutions otherwise unavailable through traditional lenders. As a permanent capital vehicle, rather than a closed-end fund that must return capital to investors after a period of years, GIP is designed to form lasting partnerships with SMEs and with its investors, allowing for investment horizons that support sustained and scalable business growth. The long-term vision is for GIP is to mobilize local capital, by attracting investment from Ghanian institutional investors, for whom GIP would generate a positive real yield.
Beyond financing, GIP is supported by BII’s Ghana Investment Support Program, which delivers technical assistance in key areas such as financial management, corporate governance, and environmental and social practices. This integrated model ensures that SMEs not only receive patient capital but also the institutional strengthening needed to build resilience, manage risks, and pursue sustainable expansion strategies in the long term.
As of February 2025, GIP Ghana has invested in several Ghanaian companies including Fido, a digital lender to low-income workers, micro-entrepreneurs, and businesses with limited access to traditional financial services; Troecoco Ghana, a producer and exporter of organic agriculture commodities; Rikair Company, a producer and distributor of industrial and medical gases; and E-Services Africa Limited (eSAL), a Ghanaian Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company. This last investment enables eSAL to upgrade its technology and infrastructure to expand globally, with the project expected to train and thereby enhance employment prospects for over 8,000 professionals in Ghana.
BII’s GIP program is a trail-blazing institution focussed on opportunities in a notoriously underserved “missing middle” segment of the economy in EMDEs. The GIP model demonstrates how targeted, patient financing and capacity building can facilitate sustainable economic growth by supporting access to finance for SMEs, enhance job creation, and strengthen the financial ecosystem in a partner country. GIP builds markets by demonstrating viability of a more flexible and patient approach to SME lending, including agribusiness and health infrastructure, and by encouraging innovation and sector development beyond extractives and imports. Whilst establishing GIP, BII created a ‘playbook’ to guide operations and governance structure, so that the GIP can be expanded to other countries, thus benefitting from a replicable model.
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