USAID/MFA celebrates female-led agribusinesses

port over 29,000 smallholder farmers and rural enterprises to mitigate the negative impacts of the pandemic and become more resilient against possible future shocks,” he added.

The event was held to commemorate 2023 International Women’s Day celebration and it was under the theme “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”. It sought to explore the impact of the digital gender gap on widening economic and social inequalities. MFA collaborated with Ghana Resilience in Northern Ghana (RING II) Activity, Policy LINK and Market Systems and Resilience (MSR) Activity to organize it.

About Feed the Future Ghana MFA Activity

The Feed the Future Ghana Mobilizing Finance in Agriculture (MFA) Activity is a USAID activity that will improve access to nance for farmers and agribusinesses in Ghana. The Activity enables transaction advisors to support agribusinesses to secure loans and investment. MFA also assists diverse nancial institutions to expand nancing of farmers and agribusinesses, so that enterprises can purchase agricultural inputs (such as seeds and fertilizers), invest in processing, expand production, and scale operations.

The USAID-supported Feed the Future Ghana Mobilizing Finance in Agriculture (MFA) Activity has organized a breakfast meeting and mini fair for female-led agribusinesses in Tamale.

The event showcased the important role and contribution of female-led/owned agribusiness in the Feed the Future target value chains of maize, soy, groundnut, cowpea, mango, cashew, and shea to food security, and inclusive economic growth in Ghana.

It was attended by over 150 stakeholders in the agricultural sector including representatives of USAID, government and non-governmental organizations, women’s groups, trade associations, transaction advisors and nancial institutions.

The highlight of the celebration was the recognition of a women’s agribusiness group and two MFA partner nancial institutions for supporting women to realize their potential and contribute towards

Ghana’s agriculture sector.

Kusanaba Women’s Group was recognized for empowering over 1,200 women in the Upper East Region to process shea butter to mitigate the negative e ects of the COVID-19 pandemic on their livelihoods; Bawku East Small Scale Farmers Association Rural Bank for nancing the highest number of female-led/owned agribusinesses in the Upper East Region; and Tumu Cooperative Credit Union for disbursing the highest value of nancing to female-led/owned agribusinesses in the Upper West Region.

The Chief of Party, Feed the Future Ghana Mobilizing Finance in Agriculture Activity, Dr. Victor Antwi, said, “Agriculture is paramount in driving Ghana’s sustainable economic growth and journey to self-reliance. The contribution of women who constitute more than half of Ghana’s population is critical.”

“USAID through the MFA Activity is working with transaction advisors and partner nancial institutions to ensure agribusinesses including those led by females’ access to commercial nancing to increase their contribution to food security and improved livelihoods.

As of February 2023, MFA had facilitated $192.9 million to 25,408 agribusinesses including 54% female-led enterprises in the maize, soy, groundnut, cowpea, cashew, mango, and shea value chains.

“The US Government, also through the MFA, released $2.77 million under the COVID-19 Relief and Resilience Challenge Fund in 2022 to sup-

From 2020 to 2024, MFA is to help 81,493 enterprises access $261 million in nance, leading to $500 million in new sales. MFA is also supporting Ghana’s agricultural nancing system to mitigate the negative impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on farmers and agribusinesses.