Introduction
On July 2, 2025, Ghana launched the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme. On February 19, 2026, President John Mahama signed the 24-Hour Economy Authority Bill into law. The policy sets a clear target: one 24-hour model market in each of Ghana’s 261 districts, equipped with police posts, LED lighting, cold storage, digital payments, and childcare.
The law is passed. The structures are planned. But the success of the programme will be decided in the markets where Ghanaians actually trade.
Markets are competitive ventures, and bringing in new markets can unsettle existing market entrepreneurs, so they feel threatened. For decades, Ghana has built new markets only to watch them sit empty. Traders are refusing to move, and the reason is not resistance to change. It is that markets are ecosystems of trust, location, and cost. If the 24-Hour Market (24HM) model ignores the old markets, it risks repeating that cycle. If it integrates them, it can turn the law into lived reality for the woman selling tomatoes at 7pm under a torchlight.
Why a 24-Hour Market
Ghana’s economy stops too early. Daytime markets are congested. Perishables rot overnight. Workers who close at 6pm have no safe, affordable place to shop. Meanwhile, night trade already happens informally across Africa. Kariakoo in Dar es Salaam never sleeps. Owino in Kampala runs late. Tejuosho in Lagos has a lively night market. But it
happens without state-backed security, lighting, or storage. Traders rely on torchlights, generators, and area boys for protection.
The 24-Hour Economy Act establishes an authority to coordinate round-the-clock production, supply chains, and labour. Public institutions like the Passport Office and Tema Port have already moved to 24-hour operations.
The logic is straightforward: extend trading hours, cut post-harvest losses, create jobs, and keep more value in Ghana by processing goods locally. But extending hours only works if the people who feed Ghana can do it safely and profitably.
Integrate Old Markets to 24HM
A 24HM that tries to ingnore the old market will face challenges. The solution is to treat it as an extension, not a replacement.
The old market handles daytime, high-volume, low-cost trade where location and customer habits matter most. The 24HM handles night trade, perishables, and higher-value goods that need cold storage and security. Run both during a transition period. Over time, traders will shift naturally if profit improves.
This approach fits the law. The Act calls for retrofitting existing district markets. Kejetia stayed in Kejetia and was upgraded. Ashanti Region plans 43 model markets by completing stalled projects like Krofrom and Mamponteng. Upper East Region has finished feasibility studies for all 15 MDAs and is moving to construction.
Integration means the 24HM is not a competitor to the old one. It is the upgrade path for traders who are already there.
Why Market Queens will Resist Old to New Markets
Traders are not resisting night hours. They are resisting risk.
The main barrier is space and cost. A new lockable stall in a 24HM can cost GH¢5,000–20,000 upfront, plus rent. In the old market, traders trade for free or pay a small daily toll. 24HM often have smaller, standardized stalls that cannot hold bulk goods. Many new markets built on the outskirts lack customer traffic, so better facilities do not translate into sales.
There is also a trust problem. Market queens control stall allocation and customer relationships in old markets. A new market that sidelines them looks like a takeover. Traders remember empty markets built since the Mills era. Some MMDCEs have already pushed back against a uniform model, asking for designs that fit local site size and funds.
If the 24HM looks like competition, traders will resist. If it looks like a cost without clear upside, they will stay put.
How to Address the Integration of Old to New
Integration works when the 24HM reduces risk and increases profit for existing traders. Five steps make that possible:
- Give existing Traders First Priority
Reserve 60–70% of stalls for traders from the adjacent old market. Offer subsidized rent for the first 6–12 months. Involve market queens in allocation so it is seen as an upgrade, not a takeover. When Auntie Adwoa moves in, her customers follow.
- Design for Phased Growth and Flexible Space
Adopt scalable models like Model Three. Let assemblies start with 100–138 shops and expand as funds allow. Provide shared cold storage paid per use, and mixed stall sizes. A maize trader should not be forced into a 3m x 3m shop.
- Link Incentives to Participation
Make tax rebates and lower electricity tariffs available first to traders who move into 24HM and run night shifts. Tie the benefits in the Act to integration, not to newc entrants only. With government support on power and security, night operations can remain cost-neutral for traders.
- Run both Markets during Transition
Keep the old market for daytime trade. Use the 24HM for night trade and perishables. Let traders choose the shift that works for them. A legal night trader license lets a daughter take the 4pm–12am slot while her mother rests.
- Solve Location and Transport
Site 24HM where customers already go. Provide feeder roads, solar lighting, and night transport. Security and cold rooms do not matter if people cannot get there safely after dark.
What Actually Happens Inside a 24HM
A 24HM is not just about selling tomatoes and maize at night. The model markets are designed as economic hubs where multiple services run on shifts.
Food and Perishables: Cold rooms allow traders to store tomatoes, fish, meat, and dairy overnight without spoilage. Restaurants and chop bars can operate till midnight and beyond, serving shift workers and night commuters.
Personal Services: Barbers and hairdressers can run evening and night shifts for customers who cannot leave work during the day. Salons can offer appointments after 6pm. Tailors can take measurements and deliver orders overnight using the market’s lighting and security. Shoe repairers, phone repairers, and mobile money agents can extend hours because the market stays lit and safe.
Trade and Retail: Lockable shops let traders deal in electronics, cosmetics, fabrics, and household goods without fear of theft. Digital payment infrastructure reduces cash risk at night. Women’s development banks and microfinance desks can operate evening hours to serve traders who close late.
Support Services: Childcare centers mean mothers can work night shifts without leaving children at home. Clinics and pharmacies can run 24-hour services for traders and customers. Police and fire posts provide security and emergency response. Solar and ECG hybrid lighting ensures the alleys stay lit even during outages.
Extra-Curricular Activities: Beyond trade, the 24HM can function as a civic space. Health professionals can run evening health education sessions on malaria, maternal health, and nutrition for traders and residents. Community leaders and the Assembly can hold mini-durbars on emerging issues like sanitation, tax compliance, and security. These activities
build trust, improve public health literacy, and turn the market into a space for dialogue and problem-solving after trading hours.
Job Creation Under the 24HM Model
The real test of the 24HM is whether it puts more Ghanaians to work. The model creates jobs at three levels.
Direct Trading Jobs: Each market will need shift workers. A trader who used to work 8am–6pm can now hire a daughter, niece, or employee to cover 4pm–12am. With 261 districts and an average of 200–400 stalls per market, this alone creates tens of thousands of retail jobs.
Service and Support Jobs in 24HM:
Extended hours create demand for barbers, tailors, salons, independent hair braiders, phone repairers, food vendors, cleaners, security, emergencies workers e.g plumbers and electricians personnel hubs, and childcare workers. These are jobs that did not exist in traditional markets after 6pm.
Upstream and Downstream Jobs: Cold storage and continuous processing mean farmers, transporters, and agro-processors can sell and move goods at night. Reduced post-harvest losses increase income for farmers. The government projects 1.7 million jobs across the 24-hour economy within four years, and the markets are where a large share of that will materialize.
Critically, these jobs are for the old and young graduates. They are also for market women, apprentices, and artisans in district capitals who can now work longer without leaving their communities.
Conclusion
The 24-Hour Economy Act gives Ghana a legal framework to trade beyond sunset. The 24HM gives the physical space to make it possible. But neither will deliver unless the people who already trade in darkness are brought inside the plan.
Integration to existing markets is a strategy. When old market traders get first priority, flexible space, and access to night incentives, the 24HM gains customers, trust, and activity from day one. The old market continues to serve daytime buyers, while the 24HM extends trading hours and reduces losses.
This is how the 24-hour economy moves from policy on paper to stalls that stay open, barbers that cut hair at 9pm, tailors that deliver orders overnight, and mothers who can work a night shift knowing their children are safe.
Ghana has chosen to run an economy that does not sleep. The next step is to make sure the people who built the markets are the ones who benefit from keeping them awake.
Ghana’s 24-Hour Economy law is passed, but success depends on the markets where Ghanaians actually trade. The 24-Hour Market model works when it treats existing markets as partners, not competitors. By giving current traders first priority, flexible space, and access to night incentives, the 24HM can extend trading hours, cut post-harvest losses, and create jobs without displacing livelihoods. From cold storage and childcare to health education and mini-durbars, these hubs can turn into round-the-clock economic and civic spaces.
About Author
Dr. Rebecca Yakubu Akatue is a peace, security, and policy analyst. As a development writer, she focuses on Ghana’s policies and translates them into practical outcomes to Practice.
