By Stanley Senya
Accra, June 25, GNA – The Financial Inclusion for Last Mile Actors (FILMA) Programme is stepping up efforts to create 80,000 dignified jobs for Ghanaian youth by 2028, with a focus on women and persons with disabilities.
The initiative, supported by the Mastercard Foundation under its Young Africa Works strategy, aims to tackle rural unemployment through inclusive financing, skills training, and access to agricultural markets.
In collaboration with Agrihouse Foundation, FILMA played a key role in the 8th Agricultural Students’ Career Guidance and Mentorship Dialogue Bootcamp (AG-STUD), a flagship event that connects agricultural students with industry leaders.
The partnership forms part of FILMA’s outreach to engage and empower future agribusiness leaders.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Joseph Boateng, FILMA’s Lead for Access to Markets, emphasized the importance of youth in transforming Ghana’s agricultural economy.
He said FILMA’s work was beyond job creation, focusing instead on restoring dignity, building resilience, and reshaping rural communities through sustainable agriculture.
Mr. Boateng urged the students to take agriculture seriously, describing it not merely as a job but as a mission to feed, build, and lead.
His remarks resonated with the hundreds of students in attendance, many of who were preparing to enter the workforce in key agri-food sectors.
FILMA is targeting young women for at least 70 per cent of its job creation efforts, while dedicating 5 per cent to persons with disabilities.
By working in districts across Volta, Oti, Bono East, and the Northern Region, the programme seeks to address exclusion by offering access to financial services, micro-insurance, and technical training.
Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, praised the partnership with FILMA as a significant boost to their mission of grassroots empowerment.
She highlighted the alignment between FILMA’s inclusive vision and Agrihouse’s commitment to nurturing a new generation of agricultural entrepreneurs.
However, recognizing that these “Last Mile Actors” (LMAs) often operate outside formal financial systems and lack access to crucial resources, FILMA’s core ambition is to weave financial inclusion interventions into the fabric of the agriculture and agriculture-adjacent sectors (AAAS), paving the way for dignified and fulfilling jobs.
As agriculture is a vital sector for Ghana’s economy, contributing significantly to its GDP and employing a substantial portion of the workforce, particularly in rural communities.
This allows FILMA to directly address the challenges of youth unemployment and financial exclusion within these vital areas.
Its mission is to significantly enhance access to affordable credit, inclusive financial services, and thriving markets for young people actively involved in the AAAS.
By focusing on up-skilling and capacity building, FILMA directly empowers financially excluded LMAs, fueling entrepreneurship, boosting productivity, and ultimately creating sustainable economic opportunities.
Beyond direct job creation, its core program objectives are focused on creating real change on the ground.
This involves building capacity for effective solutions and sustainable development outcomes, enhancing the availability of affordable and sustainable financial services to ensure equitable access for LMAs, ensuring fair pricing and sustainable trade to boost market access and growth for the LMAs driving economic growth, and integrating LMAs into formal pension schemes and improving accessibility to micro-insurance.
The initiatives outcome will be strengthened financial inclusion, enhanced resilience, and improved livelihoods for LMAs across the target regions.
The key roles of the Consortium Partners are outlined as follows; Temple Investments Limited. As the Consortium Lead and the Lead Implementing Partner for the Access to Inclusive Financial Services Intervention, Temple brings over a decade of Ghanaian experience in fund management and advisory, driven by a deep commitment to social impact.Â
Temple will spearhead the provision of financial services through the innovative Catalytic Finance Facility (CFF).
Catholic Relief Services, will be serving as the Implementing Partner for the Technical Assistance and Capacity Building Intervention and the Lead for Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning, CRS-Ghana offers extensive global and local expertise in youth and financial inclusion, agricultural programming, and effective consortium management.Â
CRS will lead community mobilization, capacity building initiatives, and crucial market linkage programs.
AV Ventures LLC, will be Implementing Partner for the Access to Markets Intervention, AVV, the impact investment arm of ACDI/VOCA with a dedicated team in Ghana, provides innovative financing solutions to SMEs and implements impactful market systems programs. AV Ventures will drive business development services and invest in vital agribusinesses and market linkage programs.
SEND Ghana, also the lead Implementing Partner for the Ecosystem Development Intervention, SEND Ghana, a respected non-governmental organization, focuses on promoting good governance, social accountability, and inclusive development across Ghana.Â
SEND will champion policy change, advocate for gender equality, and strengthen essential civil society organizations.
Furthermore, the company assures to collaborate with Enterprise Insurance Life who will provide LMAs with crucial micro-insurance and micro-pensions, building their resilience against unforeseen challenges and securing their future.
This thoughtfully designed collaborative structure, leveraging the unique strengths of each partner, ensures the effective implementation of FILMA’s integrated and complementary interventions.
These interventions are strategically designed to address both the demand and supply-side challenges that currently hinder financial inclusion for LMAs.
The programme’s community-based approach and focus on gender equity make it a promising pathway for transforming agriculture into a viable career option for thousands of young Ghanaians.
GNA
Edited by George-Ramsey Benamba