Samuel Nartey George Challenges Banks to Rethink Financing for Tech Startups
The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, Samuel Nartey George, has challenged banks and financial institutions to rethink their approach to financing technology startups, arguing that Ghana's emerging digital economy requires patient capital to help innovative businesses scale.
Speaking at the launch of the Momo FinTech Lab, the minister said traditional financing models were often unsuitable for technology startups because such businesses require time to develop, test and scale their products.
He urged banks to move away from treating technology startups in the same manner as conventional industrial businesses.
“You can't be treating tech startups the way you treat an industrial business. Because it needs patient capital,” he said.
According to him, Ghana has no shortage of innovative ideas or talented young people but lacks sufficient bridges between ideas and capital.
He therefore called on investors to participate throughout the incubation process instead of waiting until the National Demo Day to identify promising businesses.
Mr George said investors must ensure that viable ideas do not collapse simply because their founders cannot secure funding after developing their prototypes.
He also urged banks to understand the unique characteristics of technology businesses and recognise that some promising startups may not immediately satisfy traditional financing requirements.
“Capital is required for scale. And scale is what brings the return,” the minister stressed.
Mr George said the fintech ecosystem had moved beyond being a niche component of financial services and had become an important part of Ghana's economic infrastructure.
He noted that mobile phones had increasingly become bank branches, payment terminals and business platforms, providing opportunities to millions of Ghanaians who previously had limited access to formal financial services.
He commended Mobile Money FinTech Limited for establishing the Momo FinTech Lab as a platform focused on practical innovation through hackathons, mentorship, incubation and a national demonstration platform.
The three-month programme is expected to bring together academia, technology communities, startups, innovators, investors, regulators and financial institutions to develop solutions capable of addressing real-world challenges.
Mr George said the ultimate objective should be to create Ghanaian-owned platforms, intellectual property and businesses capable of competing across Africa and the global digital economy.
He encouraged young Ghanaians to see problems around them as opportunities to develop solutions rather than waiting for foreign companies to solve them.
The minister further called on banks and other financial institutions to adopt a partnership approach towards technology startups.
He said startups emerging from the Momo FinTech Lab would require bank accounts, capital, application programming interfaces (APIs), settlement infrastructure and, importantly, patience.
“This calls for partnership, not gatekeeping,” he said.
He urged financial institutions to engage more closely with innovators and understand the business models behind emerging technologies.
Mr George also called on investors to provide patient capital and remain involved beyond the programme's national Demo Day.
He said Ghana's ability to transform its abundant talent into successful technology businesses would depend largely on creating effective connections between innovators and sources of finance.
The minister's call forms part of his broader appeal for stakeholders to help build an innovation ecosystem capable of turning Ghanaian ideas into sustainable businesses and employment opportunities.
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