The Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG) has been recognised by the Ghana Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending Project (GIRSAL), through its Partner Excellence Awards, with the Highest GIRSAL guaranteed Credit of the Year.
The award, presented by the CEO of GIRSAL, Kwesi Korboe to the Managing Director of the bank, was to affirm that CBG won the Partner Financial Institution award as a result of significant input made into the agricultural sector credit in 2023.
MD of Consolidated Bank Ghana, Daniel Addo, expressed his appreciation to GIRSAL for the award, saying: “For us in CBG, this is a clear confirmation that we are doing something right. Our collaboration with GIRSAL has been very fruitful. We have very audacious goals that we intend to achieve together with GIRSAL, and this award will spur us to do more”.
He reiterated that CBG’s commitment to the SME and Agric sectors is very significant, and Management has put together a plan to upscale activities in the sectors across the entire value chain of the bank. “CBG is making an impact in agriculture, and I am glad to say that the collaboration with GIRSAL will deepen this impact.”
He indicated that the partnership has played a key role in enhancing CBG’s capacity within the Agribusiness sector with a focus on technical areas, and has created support for over 2500 jobs within the agribusiness value chain. The partnership has also resulted in enlarging the prospect of creating import substitution of rice in line with government policy to promote made-in-Ghana produce and minimise the dependence of forex on the economy.
For the past three years, GIRSAL has awarded its most active partner financial institutions which are helping increase lending to the agriculture sector through the GIRSAL Partner Excellence Awards. The awards are an annual event to honour the significant contributions of partners – both institutions and individuals – as well as encourage more lending to the agriculture sector. It also provides an avenue to appreciate the efforts of those making a positive impact in the sector.
Present at the event were some management members of Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG), including the Chief Credit Officer, Gerald Quartey; General Manager of Corporate Banking, Robert Armah; and Kwesi Korboe, Managing Director of GIRSAL together with Afia Serwaah Owusu Sekyere, Corporate Affairs Officer of GIRSAL; and Takyi Sraha, Chief Operating Officer of GIRSAL.
GIRSAL is a non-banking financial institution established to de-risk agricultural financing and stimulate increased lending to the agricultural sector with the support of financial institutions in Ghana. GIRSAL provides credit guarantees and technical support to financial institutions and agribusinesses, through well-structured transactions, to increase agriculture lending.
Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG) is wholly owned by the Government of Ghana and operates as a universal bank with 114 branches in 13 regions of Ghana. The bank has strong government support, a large SME client network, and a pool of diverse talent.
