Investors commit GH¢185m to boost agribusiness SMEs
About 10 investment firms have committed over GH¢185 million to support selected small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country’s agribusiness sector to enhance their operations.
The firms, made up of impact investors; equity firms; banks and other financial institutions, sought to invest in SMEs operating in the nutrition and agri-food sectors to help them expand and create jobs for Ghanaians.
Consequently, the investment firms engaged 40 Ghanaian SMEs in the nutrition and agri-food sectors at a forum in Accra dubbed the Nkabom Collaborative Investment Forum to assess their readiness for investment.
Held on the theme, “Scaling Impact in Ghana’s Agri-Food Sector,” the forum aimed to bridge the financing gap for SMEs by connecting investor-ready agribusinesses with diverse capital providers through a structured, results-oriented platform that facilitated deal-making, partnerships and long-term ecosystem strengthening.
The forum was organised by the Mastercard Foundation, the Association of Ghana Industries, private sector stakeholders such as Densu Associates, and six leading universities across Ghana and Canada.
Together, the collaborative is advancing a shared mandate to support 3,000 youth-led SMEs and create 55,000 jobs for young people aged between 15 and 35 in Ghana over the next seven years.
Positive response
The Executive Director of Densu Associates, Dickson Dolores, in an interview with the Daily Graphic on the sidelines of the forum, stated that the response from investors had been highly positive, with 38 of the SMEs already matched with potential investors, some attracting interest from as many as six different investment firms.
“The investors have shown strong commitment and interest in these SMEs, and we are looking at commitments of about GH¢185 million to help these businesses grow, scale up and create employment opportunities,” she said.
Mrs Dolores explained that the selected SMEs were drawn from different parts of the country after an extensive assessment process that involved visits to more than 100 businesses operating within the agribusiness sector.
She said the shortlisted SMEs had also undergone investment readiness training to prepare them to engage investors and meet the requirements for securing funding opportunities.
She added that the organisers would continue to follow up with both investors and SMEs after the forum to ensure that the investment commitments translated into actual business growth and job creation.
Renewed investor confidence
The Presidential Advisor on the Economy, Seth Terkper, stated that Ghana’s return to the domestic bond market following the debt restructuring programme reflected renewed investor confidence in the economy.
He acknowledged public scepticism surrounding the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme but stressed that debt restructuring and defaults were not unique to Ghana and had occurred in several countries facing fiscal challenges.
Mr Terkper explained that the country’s successful re-entry into the market signalled improving economic stability and growing confidence among investors and financial institutions.
“We are emerging out of the haircut and we are emerging out of the defaults in particular, and we are back — the government is back on the Ghana surface," he said.
Increase production
The Founder of Trolley Market, an agribusiness packaging company, Daniel Appiah Asare, who participated in the forum, stated that the company was seeking to raise about $500,000 through a mix of equity and debt financing to expand its operations and enter the export market.
He explained that the investment would also support the acquisition of additional machinery to increase production capacity and create more employment opportunities, particularly for women and farmers within the company’s value chain.
“Access to enough capital will help us create more jobs, buy more produce from farmers and scale up our business to make greater impact,” he said.