Ghana’s Farmers Get Financing Boost: IFC Backs Cocoa Buying and Digital Access

IFC and the Private Sector Window of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) will provide up to $50 million through an unfunded risk participation facility with Absa Bank Ghana.

For farmers in Ghana, growing a successful crop depends on having money for inputs and dependable buyers when the harvest is ready. Two new partnerships announced by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), with Absa Bank Ghana and agricultural technology company Complete Farmer, will address those needs by supporting cocoa purchases and helping smallholders connect with finance, services and markets.

The partnerships tackle different funding gaps across agriculture, from the buying companies that purchase cocoa to farmers seeking resources to expand production. Their reach includes support for continued market access for more than 139,000 cocoa farmers and a separate effort expected to support 240,000 farmers through Complete Farmer by 2030, including by facilitating access to finance.

Keeping Cocoa Buyers Funded Through the Season

IFC and the Private Sector Window of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) will provide up to $50 million through an unfunded risk participation facility with Absa Bank Ghana. The arrangement will share financing risk and enable the bank to extend up to $200 million in financing to Licensed Buying Companies, helping them purchase cocoa from farmers throughout the buying season.

Reliable purchasing supports nearly 800,000 registered cocoa farmers and provides livelihoods for millions of people in Ghana. The facility will finance purchases of traceable cocoa and support more sustainable farming practices aligned with the Paris Agreement on climate change, connecting access to markets with the sector's longer-term resilience.

Edward Nartey Botchway, Managing Director of Absa Bank Ghana, described cocoa as a foundation of the country's export economy and a source of support for thousands of farming households. He said financing buying companies across the season would help protect dependable market access for farmers and support a more productive, sustainable cocoa value chain.

Connecting Farmers With Finance and Practical Support

Complete Farmer's digital platform brings farmers into contact with buyers, financial institutions, input suppliers and agricultural service providers, creating connections that can help turn production into commercial opportunity. IFC's support will help the Ghanaian company connect more smallholders with financial institutions and expand assistance to farmers who need resources to grow their businesses.

IFC, in partnership with BIFT, is providing Complete Farmer with a $2.4 million convertible loan to expand financing for farm inputs and agronomy services, which help farmers manage crop production. An additional $660,000 in advisory and grant support will strengthen the company's systems and its capacity to expand farmer financing, supporting the partnership's expected reach of 240,000 farmers by 2030.

Complete Farmer CEO Desmond Koney said many farmers with the potential to produce commercially struggle to secure financing. He described the partnership as a way to build on the company's technology, data and market connections, expanding its input financing model so more farmers can obtain resources, receive production support and connect their crops with buyer demand.

Building Stronger Rural Livelihoods

Nathalie Kouassi Akon, IFC Division Director for West Africa Gulf of Guinea, said reliable access to finance, technology and markets could help Ghana's agricultural sector create more jobs and strengthen rural livelihoods. Financing cocoa purchases and improving farmers' access to inputs, services and buyers address different weaknesses in the same agricultural system, where difficulties at one stage can affect businesses and households further along the chain.

The partnerships support the World Bank Group's broader agricultural work in Ghana and the priorities of AgriConnect, including mobilizing private investment, strengthening food security and creating jobs. For farming households, the intended benefits are practical: buyers with financing to purchase their crops, better access to production resources and stronger connections to markets that can support more resilient livelihoods.