Less than 2% of the 15 million female population in Ghana are involved in forex trading, but mostly done privately.

This follows research conducted by Women in Forex, a forex association of professional forex financial market analysts in Ghana and West Africa.

The report shows that even though online forex trading has expanded economic independence for many Africans, women are mostly marginalized in this front.

This, according to the report, poses threats to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals to empower women, reduce poverty and unemployment as well as create career opportunities. 

President of Women in Forex and Financial Market Analyst, Gifty Annor-Sika Asantewah, describes this as startling.

“This is startling news. Most women see online forex as a black market ridden with high risks and criminal activity – far from that. Most women also see this niche market as the preserve of males..it’s also not true. It is important that these ill-perceptions are addressed to make up a level playing field for all,” she told Charles Ayitey on the Market Place.

Meanwhile, Gifty Annor-Sika has estimated the cost of underutilization of online forex trading market to be US$200 million annually.

She warned of prospective fiscal losses to the Ghanaian economy if instruments are not introduced to regulate the market.

“The market is barely regulated. Non-existence of regulation and exact policies have made the venture into online forex trading illegal. This has bred a whole cartel of black market operatives. In all, US$200 million has been lost by the state for its failure to regulate the space,” she revealed.

Forex trading is still green in Africa especially West Africa. There are few individuals engaged in it and currently people are beginning to venture into it in Ghana.

The Ghana Stock Exchange is yet to begin trading in that space, whilst the cedi is not tradable due to its constant fluctuation on the global market.

The GSE is limited to stocks and bonds, and this limitation has impacted negatively on the Ghanaian economy and its currency.