By Florence Afriyie Mensah, GNA
Kumasi, May 14, GNA – Access Bank Ghana in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in 2025 set aside about GH₵1billion to support operations of cocoa licensed buying companies and value chain actors.
Ms. Pearl Nkrumah, Managing Director, Access Bank Ghana, said the support for cocoa purchasing which started with a GH₵100 million budget five years ago had increased with the aim of boosting the Ghanaian export and agricultural sector.
Cocoa, being one of the main crops for export in Ghana needed that push, she noted, adding that the Bank has plans to extend support to cash crops including cashew and shea.
Speaking with the media at an engagement in Kumasi, Ms. Nkrumah indicated that the bank had an export desk to support farmers and value chain actors with trade lines enabling exporters to get foreign exchange into the country.
To further project agriculture through the Mastercard Foundation, the Bank has disbursed loans to agribusinesses with a single digit (4 percent).
About 40 percent of customer base beneficiaries for the single digit loan interest are from the Ashanti Region.
Ms. Nkrumah said the Bank would continue to look for partners to support agricultural development while pledging to intensify programmes aimed at fostering growth of SMEs.
On environmental sustainability, Access Bank Ghana through initiatives is focusing on waste management, carbon reduction, green building and energy solutions, aiming to achieve net-zero goals by 2027.
Key programmes include the “Waste is Useful” project (recycling plastic), tree planting campaigns, and operating from an IFC-certified “EDGE” green head office that reduces energy and water consumption.
Ms. Nkrumah said operating from over 50 business locations across Ghana, the Bank actively invests in initiatives that promote environmental conservation, community development, and social well-being in areas of the environment, health, education, and business development among others.
GNA
Reporter: Florence Afriyie Mensah
Email: [email protected]
Edited By Yussif Ibrahim/Kenneth Odeng Adade