Request for Application: Ghana CARES, Interest Rate Subsidy for Agribusinesses

REQUEST FOR APPLICATION

GHANA  COVID-19 ALLEVIATION AND REVITALISATION OF ENTERPRISES SUPPORT (GHANACARES)  ‘OBAATANPA’ PROGRAMME

INTEREST RATE SUBSIDY FOR AGRIBUSINESSES 

1. Introduction

The Government of Ghana is implementing the Ghana COVID-19 Alleviation and Revitalization of Enterprises Support (Ghana CARES) programme as its response to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives and livelihoods of Ghanaians.

The programme identifies agriculture as one of the critical sectors that has the capacity to revitalize and transform the Ghanaian economy.

One of the key interventions  to facilitate  access to affordable financing is to provide interest rate subsidy (IRS) to private actors in the rice,tomato,poultry and soyabean value chains  in support of Government’s import substitution agenda.The Government,through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture(MoFA)  in collaboration with Ghana Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (GIRSAL) is partnering financial institutions to implement this intervention.

2. Scope Of Interest Rate Subsidy Intervention

The Government  IRS intervention seeks to grant 50% subsidy on Financial Institutions’ (FIs) interest charges for loans advanced to qualified  agribusinesses. Four value chains have been selected for 2021.The  value chains’ segments or operations to be supported are as follows:

3. Eligibility

1. Agribusinesses must be operating within the four (4) selected value chains.
2. Loan applications must be through selected Financial Institutions (list indicated in section 4) that have signed master agreement with GIRSAL.
3. Only loans approved by Participating Financial Institutions with/without Credit Risk Guarantee will qualify for Interest Rate Subsidy;
4. Loans will be granted for both Operational and Capital Expenditure(OPEX and CAPEX)
5. Capital Expenditure component will only be for replacement of parts, retooling of existing equipment and facility to improve operational efficiency.

4. Application Processs

Interested Agribusinesses must apply for the loan facility through the following Participating Financial Institutions for subsequent assessment and approval. The Selected Financial Institutions for IRS implementation are:

1. ABSA Bank
2. Agricultural Development Bank (ADB)
3. Consolidated Bank of Ghana (CBG)
4. Injaro Investments
5. National Investment Bank(NIB)
6. Ecobank Ghana Limited
7. Universal Merchant Bank (UMB)
8. Fidelity Bank Ghana limited
9. Stanbic Bank Ghana limited

For further information, please contact any of the participating financial institutions

or send enquiries through: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.