The Ghana Private Sector Competitiveness Programme II (GPSCP II) has reached another significant milestone in its mission to strengthen Ghana’s agricultural value chains through the formalization of a strategic partnership between the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and USIBRAS Limited. The collaboration, sealed through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), will deliver industry-focused capacity building for actors in Ghana’s cashew processing sector.

The initiative reflects GPSCP II’s commitment to fostering a more competitive, resilient, and inclusive private sector by investing in the skills and capabilities required to drive value addition within Ghana’s agribusiness ecosystem.

Funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and implemented by NIRAS, GPSCP II supports sustainable growth across Ghana’s cashew and oil palm value chains by strengthening market systems, improving productivity, and creating stronger linkages between industry, academia, and public institutions.

Although Ghana’s cashew sector continues to present enormous opportunities for industrialization, export growth, and rural employment, sustaining that growth requires a workforce equipped with modern technical and managerial skills.

Under this partnership, UCC has developed a competency-based curriculum that combines classroom instruction with practical industry experience at USIBRAS Limited. Participants will receive hands-on training in key areas including food safety, quality assurance, traceability, documentation, certification readiness, and international market compliance.

The programme also incorporates a Training-of-Trainers model designed to institutionalize knowledge transfer and ensure the sustainability of skills development long after the project concludes.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Acting Vice-Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Denis Worlanyo Aheto, underscored the transformative potential of the cashew industry and the importance of building a skilled workforce capable of meeting international standards. He reaffirmed the University’s commitment to strengthening collaboration with industry to support Ghana’s economic transformation.

The partnership exemplifies one of GPSCP II’s core approaches—creating stronger collaboration between knowledge institutions and private enterprises to address skills gaps, improve enterprise competitiveness, and unlock new opportunities for growth within strategic value chains.

The implementation of this initiative will draw on expertise from UCC’s School of Business, School of Agriculture, and Eco-BPC, working alongside USIBRAS Limited to deliver high-quality training tailored to industry needs.

Representatives from the GPSCP II implementation team at NIRAS, including Juliana Ofori-Karikari, Jane Bech Larsen, Matej Dudak, Asare Agatha, and Stephen Debre, attended the signing ceremony together with the UCC project team led by Professor Daniel Agyapong, Mr. Isaac Kosi, Professor Michael Osei-Adu, and Dr. Osman Light.

As GPSCP II continues to support strategic partnerships across Ghana’s priority agricultural value chains, initiatives such as this demonstrate how collaboration between academia, industry, and development partners can build the skilled workforce needed to enhance productivity, improve product quality, and strengthen Ghana’s position in competitive regional and international markets.