Bank of Ghana Partners with University of Ghana Leveraging Academic Input to Strengthen Regulatory Capacity for Digital Currencies

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has entered a landmark partnership with the University of Ghana (UG) to strengthen economic research, policy formulation, and financial innovation. At the core of this collaboration is the establishment of a Chair in Finance and Economics, envisioned as a hub for research, mentorship, and thought leadership.

The partnership is designed to elevate economic thought and policy innovation by bridging the gap between academia and central banking. Through this platform, BoG and UG aim to address Ghana’s evolving financial and economic challenges with evidence-based, research-driven solutions.

The Bank of Ghana Chair in Finance and Economics, currently held by Professor Yegandi Imhotep Paul Alagidede, will drive cutting-edge research and mentor the next generation of financial thinkers. BoG Governor Dr. Johnson Asiama emphasized the Chair’s pivotal role in shaping Ghana’s financial architecture to ensure resilience, efficiency, and inclusivity in the long run.

The Chair aims to:

• Foster knowledge development
• Bridge policy and academia gap
• Mentor future economists and policymakers

The collaboration is not only about traditional economic research but also about preparing for the digital future of money. As digital financial systems rapidly evolve, BoG is leveraging academic input to strengthen its capacity to design, test, and regulate digital currencies – a vital step toward modernizing Ghana’s monetary policy.

Addressing the theme: “From Cowries to Crypto: The Long Arc of Monetary Policy in Africa” the Governor traced Ghana’s monetary evolution to the barter and cowries to colonial currencies and the Ghanaian Cedi, and now e-Cedi and digital finance.

He emphasized the role of trust in monetary systems while adapting to technological changes. Dr. Asiama also highlighted the e-Cedi pilot and mobile money which demonstrate Ghana’s leadership in this area, as well as the upcoming regulations for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs).

The Governor also emphasized the need for credible institutions and agile, intelligence-driven central banks saying that universities were vital for policy innovation and critique. According to the Governor, the Chair would foster collaboration on:

• Fnflation modeling
• Digital currencies, and
• Financial inclusion

Charging professor Alagidede to help push the frontiers of monetary research and the need for students to engage actively in national economic discourse and policymaking, the Governor said:

“Let today mark the beginning of a new intellectual journey, one that will echo far beyond these walls, into policy chambers, financial institutions, and the hearts of young economics still finding their voice.”

How This Supports the e-Cedi

A key area of focus will be Ghana’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) – the e-Cedi. Launched in pilot form under the Digital Ghana Agenda, the e-Cedi is intended to provide a secure, inclusive, and accessible digital version of the Cedi.

The BoG – UG partnership is expected to:

• Provide Research-Backed Policy Direction

Academic research will help assess the e-Cedi’s impact on monetary stability, inflation control, and payment systems.

• Test Use Cases for Financial Inclusion

By studying how rural and unbanked populations interact with the e-Cedi, UG can help design frameworks that ensure the digital currency bridges—rather than widens—the financial inclusion gap.

• Strengthen Cybersecurity and Risk Frameworks

UG’s academic expertise will contribute to building stronger cybersecurity safeguards and legal structures for digital transactions.

• Train the Next Generation of Digital Finance Experts

The Chair will serve as a platform to equip students and policymakers with the knowledge needed to sustain a digital currency ecosystem.

In effect, the e-Cedi will not just be a technological innovation but a carefully studied and academically supported financial transformation, anchored in Ghana’s broader economic policy goals.

Globally, more than 130 countries are exploring or piloting CBDCs. By linking academia and policymaking, Ghana positions itself among the few African nations ensuring that CBDC adoption is grounded in rigorous scholarship and not just driven by technology.

The BoG–UG partnership demonstrates Ghana’s forward-thinking approach to economic governance – where research informs policy, policy drives innovation, and innovation builds inclusivity.

With the e-Cedi as a flagship project, this collaboration could set the stage for Ghana to lead Africa in digital currency adoption and financial modernization.

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