GoldBod Raises $75m Without BoG in New Forex Model

Ghana's state-owned gold trader has raised US$75 million in 48 hours through a forward foreign-exchange programme that bypasses the Bank of Ghana, marking a decisive shift in how the country funds its gold-backed reserve strategy.

GoldBod CEO Sammy Gyamfi disclosed the test run during an X Space conversation on Sunday, August 9. “We don't want to depend on the Bank of Ghana again as an intermediary raising money for us,” Gyamfi said.

Contents

01

A Clean Break from the Central Bank

02

How the Forward Forex Model Works

03

Ghana's Growing Gold Ambitions

A Clean Break from the Central Bank

The Bank of Ghana's intermediary role ended in July 2026, when its Domestic Gold Purchase Programme concluded. GoldBod's predecessor, the Precious Minerals Marketing Company, had acted as a buying agent for the central bank. That changed in March 2026, when GoldBod began fully implementing its statutory mandate under the GoldBod Act and GANRAP, the national reserve accumulation programme. GoldBod now owns the gold it purchases and is responsible for selling it.

The decision to sever the central bank's financing role was driven partly by IMF concerns. GoldBod feared the Fund could interpret the arrangement as central-bank financing, a form of quasi-fiscal activity the IMF has explicitly warned against. “We don't want to have any issues with the IMF,” Gyamfi said. The IMF has repeatedly stressed the importance of ending quasi-fiscal activities at the Bank of Ghana to strengthen central-bank independence and monetary policy credibility.

How the Forward Forex Model Works

GoldBod is pursuing two alternative funding channels: advance dollar payments from international gold off-takers made available through commercial banks, and a forward foreign-exchange arrangement under which GoldBod sells expected future dollar inflows from gold exports to commercial banks ahead of receiving the actual proceeds.

The test on August 3 proved the concept works. GoldBod raised US$75 million and converted the cedi equivalent into dollars within 48 hours without touching the central bank. The framework is being refined with the Bank of Ghana and the Ministry of Finance, with further adjustments expected by August 19.

Ghana's Growing Gold Ambitions

Gold exports generated US$12.50 billion in the first six months of 2026, more than two-thirds of total export receipts of US$18.29 billion, according to Bank of Ghana data. In June, GoldBod agreed with the Ghana Chamber of Mines to purchase 30 percent of large-scale mining companies' gold output from July 1, at a 0.55 percent discount and in cedis at the Bank of Ghana reference rate. The government has committed funding equivalent to five percent of the value of gold purchased under the three-year programme.

Ghana's gross international reserves stood at US$12.9 billion, equivalent to five months of import cover, at end-June 2026. Under GANRAP, the government has set a weekly gold purchase target of about 3.02 tonnes, with an intermediate goal of 8.6 months of import cover by end-2026, before reaching 11.8 months in 2027 and 15 months by 2028.