The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH, (GIZ) Ghana, on behalf of the German Government, has through its Programme Migration & Diaspora (PMD), held a day’s multi-stakeholder dialogue with selected stakeholders in the remittances and fintech space in Ghana to mark the International Family Day of Remittances.

The Event was used to discuss ways that remittances from Ghanaian migrants in the diaspora could be leveraged for the nation’s economic recovery post Covid-19.

The multi-stakeholder dialogue, which was on the theme “leveraging remittances for recovery and resilience post covid-19” brought together practitioners and FinTech experts, policy makers and various associations involved in remittance operations, value chain for cross-border remittances and the remittance ecosystem in general to establish innovative and efficient mechanisms and platforms for the strategic use, mobilization and utilization of remittances in Ghana to achieve the targeted development goal.

The event duly acknowledged the cooperation between the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the PMD on the remittances topic regarding the Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development (GFRID), to mark the day globally and also locally in Ghana.

In his opening remarks, Gerald Guskowski, Cluster Coordinator, GIZ-Ghana Network for Inclusive Economic Development (NIED), said remittances have become a major contributing factor to increasing household income as well as the country's GDP.

“For people at home, who depend on their relatives abroad, remittances can be life changing. Remittances can provide receiving countries with much-needed foreign exchange. In this sense, they are also a potentially stabilizing factor for national currencies and can provide developing countries with lower borrowing costs by presenting them with a stable flow of foreign exchange 'collateral'. Remittances support economic growth.”

“At GIZ Ghana, we are happy to be championing the discussions on this all-important topic and together with diverse stakeholders in the space to find sustainable solutions aimed at leveraging the benefits of remittances, through GIZ Programme Migration & Diaspora – which is aimed at leveraging the potential of migration for Ghana through facilitating diaspora engagement towards sustainable national development” added Mr. Guskowski.

A GIZ-PMD commissioned study in 2021 on Remittances presented by Dr. Opoku Asante revealed that a major challenge identified with cash pickup was the need to provide an Identification Card (ID).

Another challenge with collecting cash is the stringent questions and information required by banks when filling the form to collect cash as most respondents felt uncomfortable about those questions not being utilized in receiving the remittance.

A major recommendation of the study is the introduction of insurance-linked remittance products to preserve income of the recipients and more engagement with Ghanaians living in the diaspora to better appreciate senders' perceptions of the remittance market, laws, and structure of the market.

The dialogue also saw presentations on financial systems, insurance, and a panel discussion.