Some officials of Absa Bank Ghana displaying the awards
ABSA BANK Ghana has been recognised for its outstanding support to the agricultural sector by the Ghana Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (GIRSAL).
The Bank was adjudged the overall winner of the GIRSAL Partner Financial Institution Excellence Awards 2023 in four categories – Highest Total Number of GIRSAL Guaranteed Agricultural Credit; Highest Total Value of GIRSAL Guaranteed Agricultural Credit; Best Quality Agricultural Credit Guarantee Applications; and the Best Overall Partner Financial Institution of the Year 2023.
The awards recognised Absa’s commitment to supporting and growing the agricultural sector through lending and capacity building to agribusinesses along the entire value chain. These include processors, aggregators, input dealers and small-holder farmers working as out-growers for agribusiness.
The awards were based on a rigorous assessment of the institutions’ performance in areas such as the volume and value of agricultural loans provided, the quality of loan applications, and their participation in GIRSAL’s Technical Assistance and Advisory services.
“We are truly honoured to be recognised by GIRSAL for our commitment to supporting the agricultural sector in Ghana. These awards are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, who are passionate about making a difference in the lives of Ghanaian farmers,” said Kobla Nyaletey, Executive Director for Retail & Business Banking at Absa Bank Ghana.
He added, “Our commitment to the growth of the sector is absolute. Agriculture is essential to Ghana’s economic development and the high-risk challenges associated with the sector motivate us to continuously find pragmatic innovations, such as the partnership with GIRSAL, to improve access to funding for the sector, because we see opportunities in every farmer’s story.”
GIRSAL is a non-banking financial institution established to de-risk agricultural financing and stimulate increased lending to the agricultural sector, by financial institutions in Ghana, and Absa Bank has been a strong partner of GIRSAL since its establishment in 2019 playing a key role in helping to increase access to finance for Ghanaian farmers.
A business desk report