Access Bank Ghana, in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has set aside approximately GH₵1 billion in 2025 to support cocoa purchasing activities and value chain operations, in what the bank describes as its largest commitment yet to Ghana’s agricultural sector.
Managing Director Pearl Nkrumah, speaking to the media in Kumasi, said the facility would assist licensed buying companies and other actors within the cocoa sector to boost productivity and reinforce Ghana’s export capacity. She noted that the bank’s cocoa financing support had grown tenfold over the past five years, rising from an initial GH₵100 million to the current allocation, reflecting sustained institutional confidence in the sector.
Nkrumah said the bank is also exploring opportunities to extend similar financing support to other cash crops including cashew and shea, signalling an intent to broaden its agricultural footprint beyond cocoa.
To deepen trade finance access, Access Bank Ghana has established a dedicated export desk offering trade lines that enable farmers and agribusinesses to access foreign exchange and compete more effectively in international markets. Through a separate collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation, the bank has disbursed concessional loans to agribusinesses at a single-digit interest rate of approximately four percent, with roughly 40 percent of beneficiaries drawn from the Ashanti Region.
Nkrumah reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to expanding support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through strategic partnerships and said Access Bank, which operates across more than 50 locations nationwide, was actively seeking new alliances to sustain that agenda.
On sustainability, she outlined the bank’s target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2027, backed by initiatives including a recycling programme called “Waste is Useful,” tree planting campaigns and the operation of an IFC-certified green head office designed to reduce energy and water consumption.