The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has stepped in to ease financial pressure on Ghana’s cocoa sector, providing more than $100 million so far, with support potentially reaching $300 million this year.
IFC Senior Country Manager Kyle Kelhofer told Channel One TV that delays in the Ghana Cocoa Board’s (COCOBOD) financing had left licensed buying companies (LBCs) struggling to fund operations.
“Well, the big thing that we’ve been trying to support over the last 18 months, because there’s been a bit of a financing gap with the cocoa board… and the LBC supply chain has had to self-finance,” Kelhofer said.
Ghana, the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, relies heavily on a coordinated financing system to move cocoa from farms to international markets. Disruptions in this system, coupled with production challenges, have created liquidity stress across the value chain.
To address this, IFC has worked with local banks, the Bank of Ghana, and the Ministry of Finance to channel funding in local currency, ensuring LBCs have the liquidity needed to continue operations.
“We’ve tried to step in, including with some support from the regulators, the central bank and the Ministry of Finance. We’ve tried to help the LBCs have sufficient liquidity, but local currency liquidity, hence via local banks,” Kelhofer said.
The IFC says its intervention aims to keep the entire cocoa supply chain viable and ensure farmers receive competitive prices at the farm gate.
“And so we’re proud to have provided over $100 million and maybe up to $300 million this year to help ensure that the whole cocoa supply chain remains viable and that farmers at the farm gate are seeing all the LBCs and getting as price competitive and the best return possible,” he added.
The move highlights the role of international development finance in supporting Ghana’s cocoa industry as it faces funding and operational challenges.
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