Across all major economic indicators and sectors in West Africa, Nigeria`s economy is far bigger than that of Ghana and this is not debatable. Except that ‘Ghana jollof’ is nicer and tastes better than ‘Nigerian jollof’.

A recent supplement report published by the African Development Bank on the topic African Economic Outlook 2020 amid COVID-19 suggests that Nigeria is facing rapidly weakening macroeconomic conditions, triggered by the sharp decline in the price of oil to below $30 a barrel in March 2020, from more than $60 at the start of the year. The pandemic has also had a cascading impact through reversed investment flows, volatile financial markets, and disruptions in travel and tourism.

Real GDP is even projected to contract by between 4.4% and 7.2% depending on the gravity and duration of the pandemic, wiping out gains from the three consecutive years of growth since the 2016 recession. From Ghana's perspective, the research also alluded to the fact that if the outbreak slows by July (baseline), real GDP growth is projected to decline from 6.1% in 2019 to 2.1% in 2020 and 5.6% in 2021. If the pandemic persists until the end of 2020 (worst case), real GDP growth could fall to 1.2% in 2020 and 4.8% in 2021.

This somehow presents a damning and gloomy picture on the economy and most corporates. In the midst of all these challenges, there is something Nigeria is doing so well and in my opinion, it is about time Ghanaian companies picked some best practices from Nigeria to meet their funding or working capital needs as COVID-19 continues to put a stress on most corporates in Ghana.