SMEs cannot access credit despite having digital payment infrastructure and transaction history

Small and medium-sized enterprises in Ghana face a $4.8 billion annual financing gap because traditional banks lack data-driven lending systems to assess creditworthiness using digital payment records. SMEs have proven transaction histories through digital payments but cannot convert this data into loan approvals, forcing them to rely on expensive informal lending or halt growth. Current banking infrastructure ignores the rich financial data already flowing through digital payment systems, creating a critical mismatch between available credit information and lending decisions.