Netherlands Trust Fund V Ghana – Technology and Agribusiness Sector

(Accra, Ghana) – (Accra, Ghana) – The International Trade Centre (ITC) joined with Ghana’s Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) today to officially launch a four-year project boosting Ghana’s tech and agribusiness sectors, benefitting thousands of small businesses across the country.

The Netherlands Trust Fund V Ghana Agribusiness and Tech projects were signed at the World Trade Promotion Organization Conference and Awards event by ITC’s Executive Director, Pamela Coke-Hamilton, GEPA’s Chief Executive Officer Asabena Asare and Tjerk Opmeer, Director International at the Netherlands Enterprise Agency.

‘It’s a win-win,’ said Banda Abdallah Z. Khalifa, head of GEPA’s Trade in Services and Manufacturers Department. ‘Our youth will get support to develop IT solutions that help our smallholder farmers increase their output. These collaborations are key to achieving the goal of our national export development strategy through increased exports.’

The project has already selected an initial 25 tech start-ups, 19 IT/Business Promotion Organizations and 20 cocoa processing agribusinesses. It has started training them in Export Marketing Plans and business maturity diagnostics.

‘As a farmers’ cooperative we understand that if we can leverage information technology, we can improve the lives of our 100,000 farmers,’ said Nelson Adubofour, Executive Secretary of Kuapa Kokoo Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Union Limited (KKFU).

‘By integrating technology into agribusiness, farmers can access real time information and innovative technology,” Adubofour said. “Down the line they also will have access to cutting edge services to improve their yields and become certified.’

Established in 1993, the cooperative produces 10% of Ghanaian cocoa beans and is a leading producer of ethical cocoa beans. Ghana is the second largest exporter of cocoa in the world, and the crop with its derivatives is a major source of foreign exchange for the country. GEPA’s ambitious export strategy includes support to Ghana’s IT sector and other non-traditional exports.

‘Digital technologies and inclusive partnerships are keys to foster sustainable growth in Ghana,’ added ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton. ‘By combining our expertise in agribusiness and digital services, this project can make a real difference in people’s lives.’

In Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Senegal and Uganda, the Government of the Netherlands is contributing $15 million towards this structural transformation in agribusiness and related value chains, supporting tens of thousands of jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for women, youth and poor communities.

Notes for the editors

Background

The International Trade Centre’s Netherlands Trust Fund V (NTF V) is a four-year partnership (July 2021- June 2025) signed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands and the International Trade Centre to support micro, small and medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in the digital technologies and agribusiness sectors. The programme includes both sectors in Ethiopia, Ghana, Senegal, and the digital technologies sector in a multi-country project in Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali and Uganda. As with previous NTF programmes, NTF V will be jointly implemented with the Dutch Centre for the promotion of exports from developing countries (CBI). 

The NTF V programme builds on the results achieved under the NTF IV programme (2017-2021), also funded by the Netherlands. NTF IV supported more than 8,000 jobs at beneficiary companies and generated more than $60 million in revenue in Guinea, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Uganda. More than 1,600 small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs made changes to their business operations to enhance competitiveness, and more than 1,200 market linkages were created.

NTF V will draw on methodologies, partnerships and tools from two ITC programmes: Alliances for Action in agribusiness and the FastTrackTech initiative. Alliances for Action builds productive and commercial alliances between stakeholders that cultivate ethical, climate smart, sustainable agricultural value chains. FastTrack Tech works with small businesses in local tech ecosystems to ensure the benefits of technologies reach the widest possible number of beneficiaries.

About the International Trade Centre - The International Trade Centre is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. ITC assists small and medium-sized enterprises in developing and transition economies to become more competitive in global markets. It thereby contributes to sustainable economic development within the framework of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

For more information contact:

Natalie Domeisen

International Trade Centre

Email: domeisen [at] intracen.org (domeisen[at]intracen[dot]org)

Tel: + 41 22 730 0626