Ghana sets 2030 end to raw-ore exports and starts collecting digital VAT at checkout

By the Citi Sighs Intelligence Desk — Toronto, October 23, 2026

TORONTO — Ghana said this week it will stop exporting unprocessed mineral ores by 2030, days after its tax authority moved to start collecting VAT and levies totalling 20% on foreign digital services at the point of payment from October 15. In Ottawa, the finance minister set November 5 for Budget 2026, and the Bank of Canada announces its next rate decision on October 28.

For a Canadian software or streaming business with Ghanaian customers that is not already charging Ghana VAT, the collection change hits revenue now. For engineering, processing and industrial-services firms, Ghana’s ore plan could shift where value is added in West African mining. These are the five policy moves that mattered this week, and what each means for your business.

1. Ghana: raw-ore exports to end by 2030

President John Mahama told the Mining in Motion Summit in Accra on October 19 that exports of unprocessed ores such as bauxite, manganese, iron and lithium will be phased out. Graphic Online reports his goal as “raw mineral ores should no longer leave our shores” by 2030. The Presidency’s statement (dated October 22) says companies seeking access to deposits will be expected to process locally, backed by staged deadlines, new laws and per-mineral targets. It also calls for Ghanaian firms to own meaningful stakes and help run operations along the chain. Ghana has already banned exports of scrap iron and non-ferrous metals.

Status: this is announced policy, not law. No bill, interim dates or mineral-by-mineral rules have been published.

So what: if the plan becomes law, we would expect demand for processing, power, engineering, laboratory and equipment-maintenance services in Ghana to grow, while ore-export business models would carry an end date. That is our reading, not an official projection.

2. Ghana: foreign digital services now taxed at checkout

From October 15, the Ghana Revenue Authority’s real-time VAT system is set to tax payments from Ghanaian cards, mobile-money accounts and digital wallets to non-resident sellers of electronically supplied services, such as streaming, cloud storage and software subscriptions. The charge totals 20%: 15% VAT plus 2.5% each for the NHIL and GETFund levies, under the Value Added Tax Act, 2025 (Act 1151). Banks and payment providers withhold the tax and pass it to the GRA. The GRA says the system adds no new tax, since foreign providers were already required to register and charge VAT. About 92 providers are registered and the GRA is bringing in roughly 100 more. Status: the tax is in force under existing law; only the collection method is new.

So what: a Canadian digital business selling to Ghanaian consumers that has not been charging Ghana VAT will see 20% withheld at payment, or its effective price rise by that much. Where sellers pass it on, Ghanaian subscribers bear the cost. Graphic Online reports that some corporate invoicing falls outside real-time collection and that reverse charge may apply, so business-to-business sellers should confirm their position with an adviser.

3. Canada: budget on November 5, rates on October 28

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced on October 20 that Budget 2026 will be tabled on November 5. The department says the budget aims to attract investment, advance major national projects and strengthen economic security. Before that, the Bank of Canada will announce its rate decision on October 28 alongside a Monetary Policy Report. The policy rate has been 2.25% since October 2025. Headline inflation is edging up: the Consumer Price Index rose 3.1% year over year in September, from 3.0% in August, led by gasoline. Excluding gasoline, prices rose 2.2%, down from 2.4% in August.

So what: firms planning West African expansion should read the budget for export-support, trade-diversification and development-finance measures, and the October 28 decision for the cost of Canadian-dollar borrowing. We make no rate call.

4. Nigeria: a 90-day plan as inflation eases

Nigeria’s National Economic Council, chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, endorsed a 90-day economic action plan on October 22 proposed by the Federal Ministry of Finance. Its five priorities are food affordability, tax harmonisation, finishing high-impact projects, removing investment bottlenecks and regulated household support. Reports of the meeting give no detail on tariffs, import duties or foreign exchange. Separately, the statistics bureau reported headline inflation of 14.63% in September, down from 15.39% in August.

So what: this is a plan, not a rulebook. The tax-harmonisation and investment-bottleneck items matter most to foreign firms, but nothing binding has been published yet.

5. Nigeria: phone-number fraud checks to spread beyond telecoms

The Nigerian Communications Commission plans to extend its Telecommunications Identity Risk Management System, which flags recycled numbers and numbers linked to fraud, to other sectors that use phone numbers to identify customers, such as pensions and online shopping. It is working with the Central Bank of Nigeria under an April 2026 agreement. No regulation or start date has been issued.

So what: fintechs, lenders and platforms that onboard Nigerian users by phone number may be required to connect to these checks once rules are set. It sits alongside the central bank’s payment-data localisation deadline of January 1, 2027.

What to watch next

• October 28: Bank of Canada rate decision and Monetary Policy Report (schedule).
• November 5: federal Budget 2026 (Finance Canada).
• Early November: Ghana’s 2027 budget. The finance minister has pointed to the first week of November.
• Ghana: the legislation and mineral-specific rules behind the 2030 ore plan.
• December 31, 2026 and January 1, 2027: the central bank’s payments market-share caps and data-localisation deadlines in Nigeria (BusinessDay summary).

The case for and against

The case for: each of these moves is a government trying to keep more value at home, through processing, tax collection or domestic investment. That creates work for firms that can build, process, comply and finance. Ghana is openly inviting investors who bring processing capacity, and its president has acknowledged that investors need predictable rules and prompt approvals. From Accra’s side, the prize is jobs and more of the minerals’ value staying in Ghana.

The case against: the details are missing. Ghana’s ore plan has no published law or interim dates, Nigeria’s 90-day plan has no published measures, and the NCC expansion has no timetable. Rules announced before they are written can change. Ghanaian consumers pay the 20% where sellers pass it on, current ore exporters and their workers face a transition, and smaller local processors will need finance and power to meet new demand. Compliance costs, from VAT at checkout to local data storage and local-equity expectations, arrive before the opportunity does.

What we could not verify

We found no published timetable or draft legislation for Ghana’s ore phase-out, and no date for its scrap-metal export ban. Press reports date the president’s speech October 19; the Presidency’s release is dated October 22 and words his 2030 pledge slightly differently from the press quote. We could not confirm from the GRA that real-time collection went live on October 15 as scheduled. We found no official State House or council statement for Nigeria’s 90-day plan, so that item rests on press reports; Nairametrics reports a government goal of single-digit inflation and interest rates by 2027, which we found in no official document. We found no NCC statement on the fraud-check expansion; it rests on press reports. We could not access the central bank’s payments circular itself; its deadlines come from press summaries. Whether Ghana’s real-time VAT reaches business-to-business supplies depends on facts we could not verify. Ghana’s 2027 budget date has not been officially fixed.

Disclosure: Citi Sighs has no commercial relationship with any company or institution named in this article. This article is general information, not tax, legal or investment advice.