This archive report was first published on 6 July 2021.
On July 5, 2021, Ghana announced plans to issue green and social bonds of up to $2 billion by November, marking a significant milestone in African debt markets.
The country, which is planning to borrow up to $5 billion on international markets this year, aims to use the bond sale proceeds to refinance debt used for environmental and social projects, as well as fund education and health initiatives.
According to Ghanaian Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, the country will use the bond sale proceeds to forge ahead with a free secondary-school initiative started in 2017, among other programs.
Only a few sovereigns have sold social bonds so far, including Ecuador and Chile. Ghana's move is expected to pave the way for other African countries to follow suit.
"The expectation is that the bonds will be issued in the fall, and the maximum can be $2 billion. The country already sold $3.03 billion in March out of the $5 billion for which it has budget approval. Out of the total, $3.5 billion will be used to refinance debt already raised. Our actual new debt will be $1.5 billion." — Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghanaian Finance Minister
