A two member delegation from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), led by Country Programme Coordinator Theophilus Okyere Larbi, has met the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry ahead of a completion mission to Ghana that begins October 27.
The mission will run through November 10, 2025, and will conduct the final performance evaluation of the Rural Enterprise Programme (REP), now entering its final phase after 14 years of implementation.
The completion mission will assess delivery against the original programme objectives, measure development impact, and document lessons before the initiative closes in March 2026.
The programme was granted a six month extension beyond its initial September 2025 deadline to allow full execution of remaining activities. The team will undertake field visits to project locations, interview beneficiaries and counterpart institutions, and review administrative and financial documentation.
Proceedings will conclude in Kumasi with a technical wrap up meeting with the coordinating management team. A formal completion report will be submitted to the Government of Ghana.
Receiving the delegation in Accra, Deputy Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry Sampson Ahi expressed appreciation for IFAD’s continued support for the REP and appealed for future assistance to sustain existing facilities and help guarantee reliable raw material supply to strengthen industrial productivity.
National REP Director Attah Antwi said the extension to March 2026 was necessary to ensure the full implementation of all planned activities.
Established in 1995, the Rural Enterprise Programme has evolved into a flagship channel for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) support and rural industrialisation, operating through a network of Business Advisory Centres (BACs), Business Resource Centres (BRCs), and Technology Solution Centres (TSCs) embedded within district structures.
Over decades, REP has provided technical services, entrepreneurship support, skills development and enterprise financing and is widely credited with job creation, youth empowerment and stimulating local value chains in rural economies.
As the programme approaches closure, the completion mission is expected to distil successes, gaps, and strategic lessons to inform a possible successor framework and to shape future policy and investment choices around agribusiness, SME productivity, and rural industrial transformation.