A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Ghana Commodity Exchange and FBNBank. As part of the collaboration, FBNBank is to provide Aggregation Finance to members of the Exchange and collaborate with GCX in the Warehouse Receipt Financing Programme while partnering with the Exchange to build the capacity of Smallholder farmers.
Based on the undertakings in the MoU, the bank financed a GCX Cashew Aggregator through the Aggregation Financing scheme for the second edition of the GCX Cashew reserve Auction to trade 1,000MT.
Commenting, Victor Yaw Asante – Managing Director of FBNBank Ghana said: “This arrangement is further proof of our commitment to fulfillig our mutual undertakings in the MoU signed with the Ghana Commodity Exchange to support members of the Exchange who require financing.
This is mainly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and it ultimately supports trade in Ghana. It also shows how innovative we can be in structuring credit to benefit key sectors of this economy – in this case, agriculture.
“Agriculture is arguably the mainstay of this economy, and we are keen to assist in ensuring that it delivers its full potential so it can contribute significantly to Ghana’s growth. On our part, we at FBNBank are excited about this collaboration with the Exchange and look forward to celebrating the success from the impact of this financial arrangement for Kaksfour Commodities and Investments Limited.
Delivering greater value to our stakeholders is in our DNA, and we remain focused on assisting in the effort to transform this economy in order to take full advantage of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and other trade arrangements available to Ghanaian producers, manufacturers and exporters. This is what we mean at FBNBank when we say we deliver the ‘Gold standard’ of service and excellence. This is what our brand promises.”
The GCX in turn offers risk management mechanisms which ensure that the required standards of cashew are met for either local or export markets, and this gives the buyers confidence to purchase through the Exchange’s platform. GCX also ensures buyers receive the required quantities of commodities at the agreed price. Additionally, the GCX platform helps to secure buyers for the farmers’ and aggregators’ commodities even before harvest time, largely solving the issue of market access.
Commenting on this financing arrangement for the cashew aggregator, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Exchange, Tucci Ivowi said: “We are delighted that our member, Kaksfour Commodities and Investments Limited, has been able to secure credit thanks to the partnership and confidence stemming from GCX’s risk mitigation framework. Kaksfour is a professional organisation doing important work to develop the cashew sector.
“We look forward to more support from our financial partner, FBNBank, so that we can widen the beneficiary network to allow more aggregators and smallholder farmers access to our aggregation financing and warehouse receipt financing products, respectively, for different commodity value chains. Our role and activities as a commodity exchange offer tremendous opportunities for Ghana and West Africa’s exports and creates exciting ways of increasing Ghana’s competitiveness in global markets”.
About GCX
The Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX) is an electronic marketplace for the buying and selling of commodities under set rules. Regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, GCX strives to transform Ghana’s agricultural economy by creating more bargaining power for smallholder farmers by providing accurate and reliable market & price information; access to secured storage; increased access to markets; and increased penetration of credit and agricultural financing.
At the same time, buyers enjoy lower transaction costs and the overall market benefits from increased efficiency. GCX was established in 2018 by the government of Ghana as a private company limited by shares, and positioned to become a public private partnership.
About FBNBank
FBNBank has in its 25 years of operating in Ghana remained focused on putting its customers first. This it has sought to do through the value and excellence of what the bank contributes to the relationship with its stakeholders, particularly the customers.
Since 1996 the bbank, in line with the agenda of its parent company – First Bank of Nigeria Limited, has supported SMEs in several sectors: including manufacturing, agriculture, export and import.
FBNBank Ghana is a member of the First Bank of Nigeria Limited Group, which is renowned for its great customer service and general stakeholder engagement garnered over its 127 years of operation.
FBNBank Ghana has 20 branches and two agencies across the country with over 400 staff. FBNBank offers universal banking services to individuals and businesses in Ghana.
