International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, is to provide a $30-million guarantee facility to Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited to help it increase financing to companies that purchase cocoa from small farmers in Ghana.
Stanbic Ghana has been identified as the country�s fastest-growing bank.
It is the only bank that moved to tier one bank category in the latest Pricewterhousecooper Banking Survey commissioned by Ghana Association of Bankers.
Among other clients, it finances Licensed Buying Companies that procure cocoa from farmers on behalf of the Ghana Cocoa Board.
A statement from the bank said the increased financing will enable the companies improve their financial management, reduce the overall cost of financing the procurement of cocoa beans, and result in an increased volume of cocoa purchased from farmers.
�IFC�s guarantee facility will help Stanbic Ghana meet the growing funding needs of the Bank�s clients in the cocoa sub-sector and enable them to adequately prepare for the coming crop season,� Alhassan Andani, Stanbic Ghana�s Managing Director, has said in the statement.
�This facility is a vote of confidence in Stanbic Ghana�s cocoa sector lending program,� he added
Oscar Chemerinski, IFC Director for Global Agribusiness Department, stated : �Supporting the cocoa sector in Ghana and other West African countries is a priority for IFC. The sector has the potential to create significant rural employment and generate income.�
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