About the Ghana Central Bank Digital Currency
Ghana is piloting a general-purpose Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) called the e-Cedi, which is a proposed digital currency that will digitize the country's fiat currency.
The interest in Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) has escalated in the past few years. According to a BIS survey in 2021 on CBDC, 86% of central banks were actively researching the potential for CBDCs, 60% were experimenting with the technology and 14% were deploying pilot projects.
The e-Cedi is part of a project called the 'Digital Ghana Agenda', which aims to digitize Ghana's 30 million people and government services. The e-Cedi will complement the Ghanaian cedi and serve as an alternative to physical cash and the 'Cashlite Agenda'.
The three phases of the e-Cedi are design, implementation, and piloting. The e-Cedi will be used on mobile applications and other apps. The Bank of Ghana has partnered with Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) to pilot the e-Cedi in Ghana, West Africa.
The e-Cedi will have products and services to bridge the gap between the banked and the unbanked. The Bank of Ghana is working to make the e-Cedi available to offline users, which seeks to facilitate transactions without the need for power or connectivity.
The e-cedi will be the first general-purpose Central Bank Digital Currency in Africa. The initiative is a bold step towards modernizing Ghana's financial system, promoting financial inclusion, and enhancing the country's economic growth.
