Anecdotal evidence indicates a surge in growth of remote work in Ghana even before the onset of the Covid19 pandemic. For some service-sector SMEs in Ghana – particularly professional service businesses – cutting back on recurrent expenditure such as office rent and related expenses was always a necessary tactic to offset lower margins on fees and increases in direct costs of doing business. Many have fallen on the SOHO and virtual office work modes to address the issue.

These two modes of remote work, though related, are not entirely the same. A small-office/home-office (SOHO) is considered a microenterprise, and their owners are selfemployed or working remotely. Often, they are small businesses that are run out of homes or even virtually, and typically have fewer than ten employees. A virtual office, on the other hand, gives companies a physical address and office-related services without the overhead of a long lease and administrative staff. With a virtual office, employees can work from anywhere, but
still have things like a mailing address, phone answering services, meeting rooms, and videoconferencing.