Ecobank supports Pre-Harvest in belief of Ghana’s agricultural sector

Ecobank Ghana has linked its consistent support for the Annual Pre-Harvest Conference and Exhibition to its belief in the potential of Ghana’s agricultural sector to transform the economy.

The Pan-African bank’s Head of Small and Medium Enterprises, Mr. Kingsley Adofo-Addo, made this assertion at a recently held pre-event media briefing for the 9th Annual Pre-Harvest Conference and Exhibition coming up in Tamale at the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium, from the 25th to 27th September, 2019.

“Ecobank’s continuous sponsorship of the (Pre-Harvest) event gives credence to our belief in the potential of the Agricultural sector in transforming the economy of Ghana through job creation, food and cash crop production for consumption and export, growing foreign reserve and poverty reduction,” Mr. Adofo-Addo told journalists at the USAID, conference Hall where the briefing took place.

Ecobank’s commitment to sponsoring the event, he added, affirms their commitment to “making meaningful contributions towards the achievement of SDGs 1 and 2, respectively aimed at No Poverty and Zero Hunger.”

Right from its inception nine years ago, the pan-African universal bank has dedicatedly sponsored the annual agricultural event that is now being regarded as Ghana’s leading agricultural event that has become national and consistent.

Elaborating further, Mr. Adofo-Addo said: “The bank has a dedicated desk specialised in the provision of Agricultural financing, across its entire value chain, from production to processing and marketing.

We do this by leveraging our unique technological platforms and digital solutions, thereby enabling customers to do banking wherever, whenever.

“We believe this event will promote dialogue and forge business partnerships amongst value chain actors and players, especially farmers, buyers, processors, transporters, input dealers, financial institutions and telecom companies.”

Mr. Adofo-Addo spoke of the opportunity the event offered them to educate the participants on the need to digitize their operations, to improve transaction turnaround times, record keeping, and access to finance for their businesses.

“We will take participants through Sustainable Financial Management and how to embrace and utilise digital technology in their everyday financial transactions. (Indeed) participants will be resourced with key takeaways on how to build financial freedoms for Individuals and businesses and secure ways to make and receive payments to and from third parties.

They will specifically be taken through Sustainable Financial Management and how they can utilize the Ecobank Mobile App to develop savings and investments culture for wealth creation, as well as manage digital and online payments safely.

“Financial sector is gradually shifting away from over dependence on brick and mortar channels, in favour of digital and virtual banking. It is, therefore, imperative for forward looking businesses and individuals to be prepared to derive the inherent benefits of this shift. We will also create awareness on how to leverage technology to access new markets and further explore opportunities for deepening business in existing markets,” Mr. Adofo-Addo said.

“Ecobank strongly cherishes this longstanding partnership and we are, indeed, very excited to be part of the 2019 Pre-Harvest Conference.”

Ecobank, whose presence covers the entire Africa, has been in operation in Ghana since 1990, with 67 physical branches across the country and over 200 ATMs, more than 1,000 Point of Sale Terminals, 2,200 Xpress Points (serving as agents) and some 15,000 accredited Merchants at EcobankPay points, who deploy payment solutions (Mvisa and MasterPass QR codes) for customers.

The 9th Annual Pre-Harvest Conference and Exhibition being organized by Agri-house Foundation, in partnership with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Northern Development Authority and the Northern Regional Coordinating Council, together with other private and international organizations, seeks to assist farmers and agribusinesses to expand their businesses before and after harvesting, and to create enabling environment for new partnerships to promote the growth of Ghana’s agricultural sector.

Now in its 9th year, the event that won the 2018 Agribusiness event of the Year Award promotes business partnerships among value chain actors, especially farmers, buyers, processors, transporters, input dealers, equipment dealers, financial institutions, telecom companies and policy makers.

Partners and Sponsors for this year’s event includes the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Northern Development Authority, the Northern Regional Coordinating Council, USAID Advance, UKaid, the MADE Programme, Yara Ghana, Ecobank, Kosmos energy, Chemico and Ghana commodity Exchange (GCX).