Sharp rise in consumer's confidence after the elections in Ghana

Consumer confidence in Ghana is at an all-time high going into 2017

After a year that saw the economic conditions in Ghana worsen, people headed to the polls on December 7th to elect a new president. The success of the elections and the victory of the opposition party marked another milestone for Ghana's vibrant democracy. It is not a surprise that the KIC score, the Kasi consumer confidence score that tracks consumer expectations and trends in the biggest urban centers in Africa, rose significantly after the elections.

The KIC score in Accra rose the most since June, reaching an all-time high of +33 from +9 in November. The current economic condition metric jumped from -4 to +13, a 9-point increase over November. Meanwhile, the economic expectations metric rose even more to reach +41 from +14, a 27-point increase. Compared to the other urban centers, residents in Accra are now the most optimistic about the future economic prospects, while they remain cautiously optimistic about the current economic state.

The elections and the positive outcome are the main drivers of the positive reading this month.

Although residents are willing to make large purchases, they aren’t just ready to spend more. An improved job market will probably drive this metric higher.

All but two measures rose significantly this month, reflecting the overall shift in sentiment following the elections.

The biggest gainers were the “meeting regular expenses index" and “country economic situation,” both up 46 points to reach an all-time high of +64 and +54, respectively. The “personal finance index” came up 43 points from November to reach another all-time high at +61.

But the biggest losers were the “spend more index” and “job prospect index,” both down 16 points and 5 points, respectively.

KASI KIC Score’s 525 sample survey of individuals in Accra (Ghana) was carried out between December 11 – 22 of this year and was conducted online.

Trudi Makhaya, economic advisor at Kasi Insight, said that "the past 7 months were a really turbulent period for confidence in Ghana as consumers reacted to the challenging economic and political turmoil of the past 2-3 years."

She added that “the successful elections and change in power are seen as positive developments for the country, which explains the big boost in consumer confidence".

Going into 2017, Accra (Ghana) now has the highest consumer confidence score among the six urban centers we track at +33, the biggest mover since the KIC Score inception in June.

This is good news for consumer-facing companies heading into the new year. We should expect strong retail sales if the trend persists month over month.

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