For many entrepreneurs running micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the support they need to grow already exists. The challenge is finding it.
Information on business registration, financing, training and market opportunities can be spread across different institutions and platforms. Entrepreneurs may not know what support is available, where to find it or which institution to approach.
Ghana’s new MSME Digital Gateway is designed to make that journey easier.
The national platform brings business information, services, markets and opportunities together in one digital space. It aims to help micro, small and medium enterprises start, formalise, grow and compete.
But the Gateway is more than a new website. It is part of a wider effort to create a more connected and inclusive support system for Ghanaian businesses.
One platform for Ghana’s entrepreneurs
MSMEs are central to Ghana’s economy and employment. Yet many entrepreneurs continue to face challenges accessing reliable information, finance, markets, digital tools and appropriate business development support.
In many cases, services are available but scattered across different sources. Navigating this fragmented system can take time and may be particularly difficult for entrepreneurs outside major commercial centres.
The MSME Digital Gateway provides a single point of access to different parts of the business ecosystem.
Entrepreneurs can use the platform to find verified business, legal and regulatory information. They can access guidance on registration, certification and compliance, explore financing and investment opportunities, and find capacity-building resources.
The Gateway also connects entrepreneurs with business development service providers and support institutions. Businesses can create profiles, showcase their products and services, and reach potential customers through the platform’s digital marketplace.
A community forum provides another space for entrepreneurs to exchange information, share experiences and learn from one another.
Together, these functions can turn a complicated search for support into a clearer pathway for business growth.
Ghana launches the MSME Digital Gateway
The MSME Digital Gateway was officially launched on 29 June 2026 during Ghana’s commemoration of UN MSME Day.
The launch brought together representatives from the Government of Ghana, the United Nations, development partners and the business community around a shared ambition to make business support more accessible and connected across the country.
The event also marked the beginning of a nationwide effort to introduce entrepreneurs to the Gateway and help them use its services effectively.
As UN Resident Coordinator Zia Choudhury noted:
“The MSME Digital Gateway demonstrates what is possible when we bring digital innovation, partnerships and inclusive development together. With support from the Joint SDG Fund, we are helping make business information, services, markets and opportunities more accessible to Ghanaian entrepreneurs, especially women, young people and businesses beyond the major commercial centres. This is about putting services online, and beyond that, ensuring that every entrepreneur has a fairer opportunity to participate, grow and contribute to Ghana’s sustainable development.”
Combining digital access with local support
A nationwide platform can make services and opportunities easier to reach, regardless of where an entrepreneur lives.
However, digital inclusion is not achieved simply by launching a platform. Entrepreneurs also need the confidence and skills to use digital tools effectively.
This understanding is shaping the Gateway’s nationwide rollout.
Business Advisory Centre Advisors are being trained as Digital Champions who can support entrepreneurs in their districts. They help MSMEs register, navigate the platform, create business profiles, list products and identify relevant opportunities.
Following the initial training in Accra, the rollout expanded through sub-zonal missions, including in the Ashanti and Northern zones. These sessions brought together Business Advisory Centre Advisors and entrepreneurs from several regions.
The approach combines the reach of a national digital platform with the Ghana Enterprises Agency’s existing network of Regional Offices, Business Advisory Centres and Business Resource Centres.
Entrepreneurs can access opportunities online while continuing to receive trusted, in-person support within their communities.
Taking the Gateway directly to MSMEs
Alongside the Digital Champions Training, entrepreneurs are participating in practical onboarding sessions.
These sessions go beyond registering businesses on the platform. Entrepreneurs receive hands-on guidance on how to create and strengthen their business profiles, list products and services, explore available opportunities, and use the digital marketplace.
Practical sessions have also covered how to develop stronger product listings and take good-quality photographs. These skills can help businesses present their products more effectively and attract potential customers online.
Peer-to-peer support is also becoming part of the process, with entrepreneurs helping one another register, explore the Gateway, and complete their profiles.
This practical support can determine whether a business is simply present online or able to use digital tools to reach new customers and pursue new opportunities.
A platform shaped by its users
Entrepreneurs and Digital Champions are not simply being introduced to a finished platform. They are also helping shape how it develops.
During the rollout, participants have shared recommendations based on their direct experience of running and supporting businesses across Ghana.
Their feedback covers the Gateway’s functionality, content, user support, outreach and long-term sustainability. It is helping the programme team identify how the platform can become more useful and responsive to entrepreneurs’ needs.
This feedback loop is important because digital transformation should not only move existing services online. It should also make those services easier to navigate and better suited to the people using them.
Reaching entrepreneurs across Ghana
The initiative seeks to strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of at least 25,000 Ghanaian MSMEs, with particular attention to women- and youth-led businesses.
Its nationwide approach is an important part of that ambition. Entrepreneurs should not have to be located in Accra or another major commercial centre to access quality business information and opportunities.
By combining digital access with local, in-person support, the initiative can help address some of the barriers created by location, limited information and uneven access to digital skills.
Building a more connected business ecosystem
The MSME Digital Gateway forms part of the Leveraging Digital Ecosystems for Increased MSME Productivity Joint Programme.
Under the leadership of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ghana, the joint programme brings together the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Capital Development Fund and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, with support from the Joint SDG Fund.
The Gateway is being implemented in partnership with the Ghana Enterprises Agency, with the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT serving as the technical partner.
This collaboration combines the Ghana Enterprises Agency’s national MSME support network with UN expertise in inclusive growth, digital transformation, financing, trade and enterprise development, alongside GI-KACE’s technical capabilities.
As UNDP Resident Representative Niloy Banerjee noted at the launch:
“The future of Ghana’s economy will be shaped not only by the success of its largest companies, but by how well we empower its smallest businesses. At UNDP, we invest in the ecosystems, partnerships and digital solutions that enable MSMEs to innovate, create jobs and drive inclusive, sustainable growth.”
The vision is a more connected business ecosystem in which an entrepreneur, regardless of location, can find reliable information, build skills, access markets and connect with the right support.
With its nationwide rollout underway, the MSME Digital Gateway is bringing that ecosystem closer to Ghana’s entrepreneurs.
Note:
All joint programmes of the Joint SDG Fund are led by UN Resident Coordinators and implemented by the agencies, funds, and programmes of the United Nations development system. With sincere appreciation for the contributions from the European Union and Governments of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Arab Gulf Programme for Development for a transformative movement towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.
