Accra, 17th September, 2021 – Hon John Ampontuah Kumah, a Deputy Minister for Finance has urged the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) to collaborate with the soon to be established Development Bank Ghana (DBG) to grant medium and long-term financial assistance to industries to bridge the existing gap between commercial banking and Ghana’s developmental agenda.
He said ADB should also explore professional technical support services to assist with projects to be domiciled at both DBG and financial institutions. “The anticipated areas of collaboration include grant of financial assistance through ADB to medium and long-term industries (i.e., 1D1F companies currently being financed by ADB)”.
Speaking during the inaugural ceremony of a reconstituted nine-member Board of Directors for ADB, the Deputy Minister for Finance, noted that the collaboration between the two financial institutions would help channel private investments into productive sectors, new technologies and to help accelerate market efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals.
Dr Kumah, who is also the MP for Ejisu constituency inaugurated the board on behalf of the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta. He commended the bank for re-strategizing to focus on agricultural sector to increase the share of agriculture loan portfolio from 28% to 50% by 2022.
“The new vision and mission emphasis agribusiness and its centrality and potential for wealth creation of Ghana. It is expected that the refocused strategy of the Bank would lead to general growth of the Bank, particularly in the areas of brand visibility, increased industry market share and growth in the agriculture loans portfolio”.
To achieve this, the bank over the past couple of years has among other things, created agriculture desks at 36 branches; created agri-business division; restructured the Agricultural Financing Department and created two new departments, i.e., the Agricultural Value Chain Department and the Agricultural Services Department.
The Deputy Minister also commended ADB for supporting government development programmes such as the Planting for Food and Jobs, 1D1F, National Food Buffer Stock Company, among others.
The nine-member Board has Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong II as the Chairperson, the members are, Dr. John Kofi Mensah, Hon. Abena Osei Asare, Madam Mary Abla Kessie and Mr. George K. Abankwah-Yeboah. The rest are Hon. Alhaji Habib Iddrisu, Mr. Evron Rothschild Hughes, Prof. Peter Quartey and Prof. Eric Yirenkyi Danquah.
The Chairperson, Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong II together with the members assured stakeholders of taking the Bank to higher heights. He also expressed the hope that with hard work, the Bank will continue to pay dividends to shareholders.
“I assure you and all our stakeholders – shareholders, customers, employees, regulators - that we will work even harder to move the Bank to greater heights to justify the trust reposed in us. We will strive to improve the bottom line to ensure payment of dividends to shareholders”. END