The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has partnered with Absa Bank Ghana and agricultural technology company Complete Farmer to widen access to capital across the country’s farming sector.
The partnerships are expected to inject significant financing into agricultural value chains, with a particular focus on cocoa purchases, farm inputs, technology and services. The move comes as farmers and agricultural businesses continue to face the challenge of securing reliable funding to sustain production and expand their operations.
At the centre of the initiative is a financing arrangement that could enable Absa Bank Ghana to extend up to $200 million to Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs), helping them purchase traceable cocoa from farmers throughout the buying season.
$200m Financing To Strengthen Cocoa Purchases
Through its partnership with Absa Bank Ghana, IFC and the Private Sector Window of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) will provide up to $50 million in an unfunded risk participation facility.
The facility will allow Absa Bank Ghana to provide significantly larger financing to Licensed Buying Companies, supporting their ability to purchase cocoa from farmers across Ghana.
The intervention is expected to sustain market access for more than 139,000 smallholder farmers. Ghana’s cocoa industry remains one of the country’s most important export sectors, with nearly 800,000 registered cocoa farmers and millions of people depending directly or indirectly on the crop for their livelihoods.
The financing will also support the purchase of traceable cocoa while encouraging more sustainable farming practices aligned with the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Edward Nartey Botchway, Managing Director of Absa Bank Ghana, said the partnership would help strengthen the connection between finance and the people whose livelihoods depend on cocoa.
“Ghana’s cocoa sector carries thousands of farming households and anchors our export economy,” said Edward Nartey Botchway, Managing Director of Absa Bank Ghana.
“Through this partnership with IFC, we are financing Licensed Buying Companies to purchase traceable cocoa across the buying season — protecting reliable market access for farmers. At Absa Bank Ghana, we believe our expertise and capital are at their best when they are working for the people who feed our economy, and for a cocoa value chain that is productive, sustainable and resilient.”
Edward Nartey Botchway
Complete Farmer Gets $2.4m Financing Boost
The IFC’s agricultural push extends beyond cocoa purchasing.
The institution is also partnering with Complete Farmer, a Ghanaian AgTech company that uses a digital platform to connect farmers with buyers, financial institutions, input suppliers and agricultural service providers.
Under the partnership, IFC is providing Complete Farmer with a $2.4 million convertible loan in partnership with BIFT. The funding will support the company’s efforts to scale up its input financing model and provide farmers with access to inputs and agronomy services.
An additional $660,000 in advisory and grant support will help strengthen Complete Farmer’s systems and capacity as it expands its farmer financing activities.
The partnership is expected to reach 240,000 farmers, including by facilitating access to finance by 2030.
Desmond Koney, CEO of Complete Farmer, said the partnership is designed to tackle one of the biggest barriers facing commercially minded farmers.
“For us, this partnership is about making finance work better for farmers,” said Desmond Koney, CEO of Complete Farmer. “Too many farmers with the capacity to grow commercially still struggle to access the financing they need to do so,” he added.
“Over the years, we have focused on building the technology, data and market infrastructure that makes it possible to better understand farmers, support their production and connect what they grow to real demand. Our partnership with IFC allows us to build on that foundation and scale our input financing model, so that more farmers have the resources and support they need to grow sustainably and participate more meaningfully in agricultural markets.”
Desmond Koney
Finance, Technology And Markets Converge
The combined initiatives point to a broader effort to address financing gaps across Ghana’s agricultural value chains.
Rather than focusing solely on production, the partnerships bring together financing, technology, inputs, market access and data. That combination could help address several challenges that have historically limited the ability of smallholder farmers to expand commercially.
Nathalie Kouassi Akon, IFC Division Director for West Africa Gulf of Guinea, said the partnerships are intended to address different financing and market gaps across the agricultural value chain.
“Ghana’s agricultural sector can create more jobs and strengthen rural livelihoods when farmers and businesses have reliable access to finance, technology, and markets,” said Nathalie Kouassi Akon, IFC Division Director for West Africa Gulf of Guinea.
“These partnerships address different gaps across the value chain, from financing cocoa purchases to helping farmers access inputs, services, finance, and buyers. Together, they demonstrate how private investment can support a more productive and resilient agricultural sector.”
Nathalie Kouassi Akon
A Bigger Bet On Ghana’s Agricultural Future
The partnerships form part of the World Bank Group’s wider agriculture agenda in Ghana and support the priorities of AgriConnect.
By bringing private capital into agricultural financing, the initiative seeks to strengthen food security, create jobs and improve the resilience of farming businesses and households.
The scale of the financing also signals growing recognition that agricultural transformation requires more than access to land and markets. Farmers need working capital, quality inputs, reliable buyers, technology and financial institutions willing to support the risks associated with farming.
With Absa Bank Ghana positioned to support cocoa purchases and Complete Farmer expanding its digital financing model, the IFC-backed initiative is targeting different points of the agricultural chain.
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