Ghana’s rapidly expanding digital economy is sitting on a goldmine of opportunities, but payment challenges and trust concerns are preventing businesses from fully capitalizing on the surge in social media activity.
Senior Manager of MTN Business, Benedict Bentil, has sounded the alarm on the barriers slowing the growth of social commerce, despite millions of Ghanaians actively engaging on popular social media platforms every day.
Speaking on the topic “E-commerce, social commerce and digital marketing for Ghanaian brands,” Mr. Bentil highlighted the enormous market that businesses can access through social media channels, describing them as powerful tools capable of transforming customer engagement into revenue.
“Now, we see the trend of high data usage when it comes to social media,” he said. “There’s about 8 million on Facebook, more than 2 million on Instagram, and even more on TikTok.”
The figures point to a thriving online ecosystem where businesses have unprecedented access to potential customers. Yet, many enterprises, particularly small and medium-sized businesses, continue to struggle with converting online interest into completed transactions.
Millions of Customers Within Reach
According to Mr. Bentil, social media platforms have become virtual marketplaces where businesses can showcase products and services to large audiences without the significant costs associated with traditional advertising.
“These are eyes that you can easily address with your products and services,” he said, adding that the fastest route is through e-commerce and social commerce channels.
For Ghanaian SMEs seeking growth, the opportunity is massive. Social commerce allows businesses to market directly to customers where they spend most of their online time. With smartphone penetration increasing and internet usage growing steadily, the digital marketplace has become one of the most attractive avenues for business expansion.
However, reaching customers is only one part of the equation. Converting engagement into sales remains a significant challenge.
The Payment Integration Problem
While traditional e-commerce platforms have made substantial progress in simplifying online payments, social commerce continues to rely heavily on manual processes that create friction for both buyers and sellers.
“The problem is integrating it seamlessly into social commerce,” Mr. Bentil noted.
He explained that many transactions still involve multiple steps that can discourage customers from completing purchases.
“In social commerce, someone has to start a WhatsApp conversation, then you tell them to send MoMo, and then you have to confirm before you send. These are things we need to work on to streamline growth.”
Benedict Bentil
The current process often requires customers to switch between platforms, manually send payment confirmations, and wait for sellers to verify transactions. Such delays can result in abandoned purchases and missed business opportunities.
For SMEs operating in highly competitive markets, every additional step in the customer journey can significantly reduce sales conversion rates.
Technology Seen as the Game Changer
Mr. Bentil believes technology holds the key to unlocking the next phase of growth in Ghana’s social commerce sector.
He called for stronger collaboration between technology providers and businesses to automate transactions and simplify the purchasing process.
“We start by making tools available to businesses. If you integrate APIs into chatbots, customers can go straight from conversation to purchase.”
Benedict Bentil
The integration of automated payment systems, intelligent chatbots, and digital merchant services could dramatically improve customer experiences and increase transaction volumes.
He pointed to existing solutions such as WhatsApp Business channels and MTN’s mobile money merchant services as examples of tools that can be expanded to support SMEs and micro enterprises.
Industry observers believe that widespread adoption of such technologies could help businesses scale more efficiently while reducing operational burdens associated with manual payment verification.
Trust Remains a Critical Obstacle
Beyond payment integration challenges, trust continues to be one of the biggest obstacles facing the growth of online commerce in Ghana.
“The trust issue is a problem we are trying to solve because it’s on both sides, supply and demand,” he said, citing cases where customers refuse cash on delivery or sellers deliver substandard products after payment.
The lack of trust creates uncertainty for both buyers and sellers, discouraging transactions and limiting the growth of digital commerce.
Consumers often fear losing money to fraudulent sellers, while businesses worry about customers placing orders and refusing delivery upon arrival. This mutual skepticism has created a barrier that technology alone cannot completely eliminate.
Despite these concerns, Mr. Bentil emphasized that negative experiences represent only a small fraction of overall transactions.
“If you have a hundred transactions and one goes bad, we should try and fix the trust so people lean more on social commerce.”
Benedict Bentil
Building a Stronger Digital Commerce Ecosystem
As Ghana continues its digital transformation journey, stakeholders are increasingly recognizing the need for stronger verification systems, improved record-keeping, and enhanced customer protection mechanisms.
According to Mr. Bentil, addressing these issues will be crucial for unlocking the full potential of social commerce and empowering SMEs to thrive in the digital age.
With millions of consumers already active online and eager to engage with brands, the opportunity is clear. The challenge now lies in creating seamless payment experiences and strengthening trust between buyers and sellers.
If these barriers can be overcome, social commerce could become one of the most powerful engines of growth for Ghana’s SME sector, helping businesses expand their reach, increase sales, and contribute more significantly to the country’s digital economy.
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