By Wisdom JONNY-NUEKPE
The Mastercard Foundation and CrossBoundary Advisory have unveiled a transformative intiative aimed at providing affordable funding capital and technical support for SMEs in the agriculture space.
Known as the ‘BRIDGE in Agriculture Programme’, the project with a funding amount of US$87million targets support for women and young people in agriculture and related sectors through support from partner banks.
Loans under the programme will be offered at interest rates not exceeding seven percent, with extensive hands-on capacity building for beneficiaries.
Programme Lead ‘BRIDGE in Agriculture Programme’, Fanta Conde, described the project as a flagship initiative of the Foundation.
She explained that the Foundation is providing partner banks with zero interest repayable grants for lending to SMEs at a capped rate of seven percent, with embedded guarantees and additional funds to cover higher loan monitoring costs within the agriculture sector.
Conde added that, so far, the programme has impacted about 86,000 young Ghanaians aged 18 to 35 with new or improved work opportunities.
Speaking at the launch, Deputy Minister of Agriculture John Dumelo highlighted the initiative’s importance in the country’s drive for inclusive, technology-driven and youth-centred agricultural transformation.
Agriculture, he said, employs about 40 percent of the total workforce and supports almost 75 percent of the rural populations.
Despite prospects in the sector, the minister said challenges still persist – including access to finance, infrastructure, matters of climate change and slow adoption of modern trends in farming.
He expressed government’s appreciation to Mastercard Foundation for its bold vision and commitment to creating dignified and fulfilling employment opportunities for young people across Africa.
The initiative is led by CrossBoundary Advisory in collaboration with Mastercard Foundation and delivered by a consortium of organisations including: Access Bank, Ecobank, First National Bank, Fidelity Bank, Stanbic Bank and Zenith Bank, business development service firms Africa Skills Hub and Mind Builders Africa and Peswa, a technological partner.
