Deloitte has projected high inflation and exchange rates, currency weakness, and increasing debts to persist in West Africa, especially in Ghana and in Nigeria, for the rest of 2024. The international accounting and auditing firm notes that West Africa's macroeconomic environment has remained challenging due to several factors, prominent ones being high inflation, a high interest rate environment, currency weakness, and elevated debt levels. As a result, Deloitte said, consumers will likely face further declines in purchasing power, and businesses are likely to experience higher operating costs. Both households and businesses are already implementing belt-tightening measures to survive, it said. "The resulting effect of these macroeconomic headwinds on productivity and overall aggregate demand is likely to stall the region's economic growth for the year. In July, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised its 2024 growth forecast for Nigeria to 3.1% from its April forecast of 3.3%.