The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is supporting up to US$200 million in cocoa financing by Absa Bank Ghana through a US$50 million risk participation facility aimed at ensuring Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) have adequate funding to purchase cocoa from farmers throughout the buying season.
The facility, supported by the Private Sector Window of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), will enable Absa Bank Ghana to extend significantly more financing to LBCs by sharing part of the risk associated with the lending.
Under the arrangement, the IFC and GAFSP will provide the US$50 million unfunded risk participation facility, allowing Absa to provide up to US$200 million in financing for cocoa purchases across the country.
The intervention is expected to help sustain market access for more than 139,000 smallholder cocoa farmers by ensuring that LBCs have the liquidity needed to purchase cocoa during the season.
Edward Nartey Botchway, Managing Director of Absa Bank Ghana, said the facility would help provide reliable market access for farmers while enabling LBCs to purchase traceable cocoa throughout the buying season.
“Ghana’s cocoa sector carries thousands of farming households and anchors our export economy,” he said.
The IFC said the financing would also support the adoption of more sustainable farming practices aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Ghana’s cocoa industry remains a major contributor to the economy, with nearly 800,000 registered cocoa farmers whose livelihoods depend directly or indirectly on the sector.
Separately, the IFC is providing financing and advisory support to Ghanaian agricultural technology company Complete Farmer to expand access to finance for smallholder farmers.
The IFC, in partnership with the Business Investment Financing Track (BIFT), is providing Complete Farmer with a US$2.4 million convertible loan to scale up its farmer financing model and provide inputs and agronomy services.
An additional US$660,000 in advisory and grant support will be used to strengthen the company’s systems and capacity to expand financing to farmers.
Through its digital platform, Complete Farmer connects farmers with buyers, financial institutions, input suppliers and agricultural service providers.
The partnership is expected to help the company expand its reach and support up to 240,000 farmers, including by facilitating access to finance, by 2030.
Desmond Koney, Chief Executive Officer of Complete Farmer, said the partnership would allow the company to scale its input financing model and extend resources and support to more farmers.
He said the company had developed technology, data and market infrastructure to improve understanding of farmers, support agricultural production and connect farm output with market demand.
Complete Farmer currently has a network of more than 72,000 farmers and operates across eight regions in Ghana, supported by eight fulfilment centres, with an active presence in Ghana and Togo.
Nathalie Kouassi Akon, IFC Division Director for West Africa Gulf of Guinea, said the two partnerships were designed to address financing gaps at different points of the agricultural value chain.
She said reliable access to finance, technology and markets could help agriculture create jobs and strengthen rural livelihoods.
The IFC said the initiatives form part of the World Bank Group’s broader agriculture agenda in Ghana and support the priorities of AgriConnect through increased private-sector investment, stronger food security and job creation.
