GSE calls for stronger collaboration to deepen capital market
The Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), Ms Abena Amoah, has called for stronger collaboration among regulators, financial institutions, market operators and the media to deepen Ghana’s domestic capital market and protect investors from growing digital investment scams.
She said building investor confidence required collective action, particularly as fraudsters increasingly exploited social media, messaging applications and other digital platforms to target unsuspecting investors.
She made the call in Accra yesterday at the 2026 Ring the Bell for Financial Literacy programme to mark this year’s Customer Service Week, organised by the GSE in collaboration with the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
As part of the programme, held on the theme: ‘Investor Resilience, Digital Deception and Scam Alert,’ St Augustine’s College, which won the 2026 Investment Quiz, presented their trophy to the GSE.
• Ms Amoah (fifth from left) with other dignitaries tolling the GSE bell to launch the 2026 Financial Literacy Campaign
Ms Amoah said while technology had made the capital market more accessible, the same channels were being exploited by fraudsters to deceive the public.
“Trust is the most valuable asset a market has, and it takes far longer to build than to lose,” she said.
The GSE Managing Director said investor education remained a key component of the Exchange’s efforts to build a resilient investment community.
She disclosed that since 2022, the GSE and its partners had reached more than 381,000 students and visited over 409 senior high schools and tertiary institutions through financial literacy programmes.
Ms Amoah also urged the media to verify financial market information before publication, warning that false or unverified reports could undermine investor confidence.
“Financial market reporting concerns people’s savings, livelihoods and futures. Responsible reporting must therefore take priority over the desire to be first with a story,” she said.
The Acting Director-General of the SEC, Dr James Klutse Avedzi, in a speech read by his Deputy, Mr Daniel Bebaako-Mensah, said the regulator continued to encounter Ponzi and pyramid schemes, unlicensed investment operations, digital scams and other fraudulent schemes.
He said fraudsters were increasingly using platforms such as TikTok, WhatsApp and Telegram, as well as fake trading platforms and artificial intelligence-generated endorsements, to make fraudulent investment schemes appear legitimate.
“Verify before you invest,” he advised, urging the public not to rely solely on certificates, logos, social media pages or assurances from promoters.
He said the SEC was working with institutions including the Bank of Ghana, the Economic and Organised Crime Office, the Financial Intelligence Centre and the Ghana Police Service to tackle investment fraud.
Representing the Ministry of Finance, the Head of the Capital Market Unit, Mrs Elizabeth Owiredu, said investor protection was central to the government’s capital market development agenda.
She said domestic investors now held about 70 per cent of government securities, compared with approximately 30 per cent held by foreign investors.
Mrs Owiredu said the government would continue to work with the GSE and other stakeholders to improve market participation, liquidity, listings and access to well-regulated investment products.
She called for sustained financial literacy efforts involving the media, schools, faith-based organisations and community groups to ensure that investment safety messages reached a wider population.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
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