The World Bank’s private investment arm has agreed to lend a Ghanaian agritech business $2.4M on terms that can later convert into equity, and to add a further $660,000 in grants and advice. Complete Farmer runs a digital marketplace linking growers to buyers, lenders and suppliers.
The IFC led the transaction through the Business Investment Financing Track, a $75M blended-finance window under the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program aimed at lowering risk for investors backing smallholders and agribusinesses in low-income countries. Because the loan converts, the IFC could end up holding equity.
The package was announced on 18 September alongside a larger facility for Absa Bank Ghana. An IFC West Africa director said the two deals patch different weak points in the chain: cocoa purchases in one case, farmers’ access to inputs, services, credit and buyers in the other.
Complete Farmer, founded in 2017 by chief executive Desmond Koney, runs a digital platform linking farmers with buyers, banks, suppliers and service providers. It says its network covers more than 72,000 farmers across eight Ghanaian regions, with eight fulfilment centres and operations in Ghana and Togo. The IFC wants to reach 240,000 farmers by 2030.
