The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced two partnerships with Absa Bank Ghana LTD and Complete Farmer to expand access to finance across Ghana’s agricultural sector. The partnerships aim to support smallholder farmers through financing and technology. Ghana’s agricultural sector is a significant contributor to the country’s economy, with millions of people depending on it for their livelihoods. The sector has the potential to create more jobs and strengthen rural livelihoods when farmers and businesses have reliable access to finance, technology, and markets.
IFC’s partnership with Absa Bank Ghana will expand financing for Licensed Buying Companies to purchase cocoa from farmers throughout the buying season. This will help sustain market access for more than 139,000 smallholder farmers. Cocoa is one of Ghana’s most important export sectors, with nearly 800,000 registered cocoa farmers. The facility will finance purchases of traceable cocoa from farmers across Ghana and support more sustainable farming practices aligned with the Paris Agreement on climate change.
The partnership with Absa Bank Ghana is supported by the Private Sector Window of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP). Through this partnership, IFC and GAFSP will provide up to $50 million in an unfunded risk participation facility, enabling Absa Bank Ghana to extend up to $200 million in financing to Licensed Buying Companies. This will help protect reliable market access for farmers and support a more productive and resilient cocoa value chain.
IFC is also partnering with Complete Farmer, a Ghanaian AgTech company whose digital platform connects farmers with buyers, financial institutions, input suppliers, and agricultural service providers. IFC’s support will help Complete Farmer connect more smallholder farmers with financial institutions. The partnership is expected to expand and provide support to 240,000 farmers, including facilitating access to finance by 2030.
According to Edward Nartey Botchway, Managing Director of Absa Bank Ghana, the partnership with IFC will help finance Licensed Buying Companies to purchase traceable cocoa across the buying season. This will protect reliable market access for farmers and support a cocoa value chain that is productive, sustainable, and resilient. Desmond Koney, CEO of Complete Farmer, stated that the partnership with IFC will help make finance work better for farmers by providing them with the resources and support they need to grow sustainably.
Nathalie Kouassi Akon, IFC Division Director for West Africa Gulf of Guinea, noted that Ghana’s agricultural sector can create more jobs and strengthen rural livelihoods when farmers and businesses have reliable access to finance, technology, and markets. The partnerships address different gaps across the value chain, from financing cocoa purchases to helping farmers access inputs, services, finance, and buyers.
IFC, in partnership with BIFT, is also providing Complete Farmer with a $2.4 million convertible loan to scale-up and finance inputs and agronomy services for farmers. The partnerships support the World Bank Group’s broader agriculture agenda in Ghana and the priorities of AgriConnect by mobilizing private investment, strengthening food security, and creating jobs.
Key points
- The partnerships aim to support smallholder farmers through financing and technology.
- The partnerships will help expand access to finance across Ghana’s agricultural sector.
- The partnerships support the World Bank Group’s broader agriculture agenda in Ghana.
