GIRSAL Partners ARB Apex Bank to De-Risk Agricultural Lending by Rural Banks

GIRSAL Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding with ARB Apex Bank to de-risk Agricultural Financing for Rural and Community Banks (RCBs) in Ghana. The collaboration aims to optimize the expert resources of both parties to promote investment in the agricultural sector and provide institutional capacity for Rural and Community Banks in Ghana.

Through this arrangement, GIRSAL intends to extend its credit risk guarantee scheme to qualified RCBs, support them with agricultural loan application assessment, structuring, management and access to our knowledge portal. GIRSAL and ARB Apex Bank will also develop and deliver customized agriculture and agribusiness lending courses targeting RCB staff across Ghana.

This aligns with GIRSAL’s 5-year strategy plan to expand coverage of its Agricultural Credit Risk Guarantee scheme and Technical Assistance Facility to RCBs in Ghana and sign on at least 10 of them.  

In light of this, both organizations organized stakeholder engagements to introduce the credit risk guarantee scheme and technical assistance offerings to RCBS within Ghana’s Northern and Southern zones. The program was attended by 43 participants, including CEOs, Directors, Board Members and Credit Managers of 18 RCBs. 

Speaking at the event, the managing director of Apex Bank, Mr Alex Awuah, stated that Apex Bank is pleased to collaborate with GIRSSAL to move the agricultural sector forward.  He continued that, a careful look at the original idea of setting up Rural and Community Banks in Ghana shows a clear indication of a missing gap which needs to be filled; thereby, the need to have a credit guarantee scheme that will support the RCBs to lend more to the Agric sector. He further encouraged the RCBs present to take advantage of the opportunity to do more for agribusinesses.  

The GIRSAL team, led by the Chief Operating Officer Mr Takyi Sraha presented the operations of GIRSAL, the credit guarantee scheme, on-boarding processes and the technical assistance facility. 

As of 29th April 2022, two RCBs, Toende Rural Bank and Mataaba Rural Bank in the Upper East Region, have signed on to GIRSAL’s agricultural credit guarantee scheme.