GIRSAL proudly unveils the distinguished recipients of the GIRSAL Partner Excellence Awards 2023, recognizing their contributions to agricultural finance in 2023. The 2023 honorees, including Absa Bank, Fidelity Bank, CBG Bank, and GCB, alongside two outstanding agricultural and agribusiness finance training facilitators.
Acknowledging Excellence in Agricultural Finance
GIRSAL’s annual Partner Excellence Awards celebrate our valued institutional and individual partners’ commitment and efforts towards de-risking agricultural lending and boosting lending to agribusinesses.
Award recipients are selected based on their active involvement in GIRSAL’s key programs, specifically the Credit Risk Guarantee Scheme which offers guarantees to financial institutions, facilitating increased lending to agribusinesses, as well as their engagement in GIRSAL’s Technical Assistance and Advisory services offered during the award period.
GIRSAL has been recognizing and honouring its most active partner financial institutions for three consecutive years. These institutions play a crucial role in boosting lending to the agricultural sector in Ghana.
Highlighting Exceptional Performances
Absa Bank emerged as the Overall Best Financial Institution, highlighting remarkable performance in the number of agribusiness applications submitted and active involvement in the GIRSAL Agriculture and Agribusiness Training Program. The bank also secured top positions in categories such as Highest Total Number of GIRSAL Guaranteed Agricultural Credit, Highest Total Value of GIRSAL Guaranteed Agricultural Credit, and Best Quality Agricultural Credit Guarantee Applications in 2023.
Fidelity Bank, renowned for its support of agribusinesses, received the title of Most Responsive Partner Financial Institution of the Year. Their exceptional responsiveness to issues related to agribusiness applications earned them this prestigious re cognition. Additionally, Fidelity Bank excelled in the Highest Staff Participation category, having trained over 70 staff members in effective agricultural loan application appraisal, and managing lending to the agribusinesses.
Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG) was recognized as the bank with the Highest GIRSAL Guaranteed Credit for 2023, a testament to the substantial amount extended in a loan facility to a prominent agribusiness entity.
Mr. Eric Nkansah, a relationship manager with GCB Bank, received the GIRSAL CEO’s Special Award for being the best-performing relationship manager of the year, highlighting his exceptional efforts in managing and assisting GCB’s agribusiness clients.
Under the Technical Assistance and Advisory Service, Mr. Eyram Atsu and Mr. Ricky Aboagye-Poku were recognized as the Best Facilitators for Finance Courses and Agribusiness Courses, respectively. Notably, Mr. Atsu and Mr. Aboagye-Poku have achieved this honour for the second consecutive time, underscoring their consistently exceptional performance in the training program.
GIRSAL takes pride in honouring its partners for their exceptional contributions, furthering our collective endeavour to build a resilient agricultural economy in Ghana. The GIRSAL Partner Excellence Awards stand as a beacon, motivating financial institutions to increase lending to agribusinesses and align with our shared objectives.
Congratulations to all the winners, whose dedication and excellence serve as an inspiration to the entire agricultural finance community.