Ghana’s next chapter in cashew may depend on what happens after the harvest and on the women building businesses around it.

The cashew nut is small. The opportunity around it is not.

On a warm afternoon in Accra, 32 women entrepreneurs gathered in the gardens of the Swiss Government’s Economic Cooperation and Development office. They came from businesses at different stages of growth, but with a common ambition: to move beyond selling raw cashew and begin capturing more of the value created from it.

Some are looking towards processing. Others want to build brands, enter new markets or strengthen businesses that have reached the point where growth requires more than determination alone.

What brought them together was the launch of the Women’s Agribusiness Incubation Programme, an initiative designed to help women-led businesses build the capabilities needed to move further up Ghana’s cashew value chain.

The proposition is simple. Ghana produces cashew. The bigger opportunity is to do more with it.

That means processing. Packaging. Branding. Market access. Finance. And the less visible work of building businesses that can compete and grow.

The Opportunity Beyond the Harvest

For years, conversations about agricultural transformation in Ghana have focused heavily on production: how much farmers produce, how productivity can be improved and how commodities can reach markets.

But there is another question. What happens after the commodity leaves the farm?

In cashew, that question carries particular weight. A raw nut can be traded as a commodity, but it can also become a processed food, a packaged product, a consumer brand or the foundation of a larger enterprise. Every step along that journey can create additional economic value.

For the women entering the incubation programme, however, moving along that chain will require more than a good product and an ambition to grow. It requires technical knowledge, business systems, market intelligence, mentorship and access to appropriate finance. That is where the programme comes in.

Through technical assistance, capacity development, mentorship and market access support, the initiative is designed to help 32 women-led businesses strengthen the foundations of their enterprises and explore opportunities for growth.

At the official launch, Pearl Esua-Mensah, Executive Director of the Ghana Climate Innovation Center (GCIC),distilled the challenge into four short instructions:

“Be bold. Be resilient. Be ethical. Show up and do the work.”

The words capture something fundamental about entrepreneurship. Support can open doors, but it cannot walk through them for a business owner.

The programme can provide training, connections, mentorship and access to markets. The entrepreneurs must turn those opportunities into stronger businesses. And that is where the question of finance becomes more complicated.

Ask many small-business owners what they need to grow, and the answer is often straightforward: money.

But capital does not automatically create a successful business. Without sound financial records, a clear business model, reliable markets and the capacity to manage growth, additional financing can solve one problem while exposing another. The Women’s Agribusiness Incubation Programme therefore places considerable emphasis on finance readiness.

First National Bank Ghana and RDF Ghana are working alongside the participating businesses to help them understand what the financing market requires and what it takes to present a credible case for investment.

The goal is not to promise that every business will secure financing.

It is to help entrepreneurs understand what investors and financial institutions look for—and to determine whether debt, equity or blended finance is appropriate for their particular stage and business model.

At the launch, Juliana Ofori-Karikari, Team Leader of the Ghana Private Sector Competitiveness Program II (GPSCP II), put the principle plainly:

“Many entrepreneurs say they need money to grow their businesses. But capital only works when you have the capacity to use it well. This programme is an investment in that capacity.”

That distinction is important. The question is not simply where an entrepreneur can find money. It is whether the business is ready to use that money productively and whether it has the systems, strategy and market opportunity to turn capital into sustainable growth.

Not every business will qualify for finance. But every business can become better prepared to understand the financing market and engage with it more confidently.

The gathering in Accra also reflected the wider network required to make such an ambition possible.

Representatives of the Embassy of Switzerland in Ghana, Benin and Togo and SECO Economic Cooperation and Development, including Janine Walz, Deputy Head of Cooperation, reaffirmed Switzerland’s commitment to jobs, skills and sustainable economic development.

Government representatives from the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment and the Office of the Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability also participated, underscoring the importance of building value chains that can create employment while supporting sustainable and climate-smart growth.

Their presence pointed to a broader reality: agricultural transformation rarely happens through one institution or one intervention. Entrepreneurs need markets. Markets need competitive businesses. Businesses need skills and finance. And all of them operate within an environment shaped by policy, institutions and investment. The cashew story, in other words, is not simply about the nut. It is about the ecosystem around it.

The programme’s ambition extends beyond the 32 businesses in the first cohort. A dedicated employability track will support 100 National Service Scheme personnel, helping create a pipeline of young talent for Ghana’s evolving agribusiness sector. That is significant because value-chain transformation requires people at every stage.

People who understand production and processing. People who can build brands and reach consumers. People who understand finance, sustainability, technology and markets. The entrepreneurs in the programme are building businesses today. The young people entering the employability track may help build the businesses and institutions of tomorrow.

Together, they represent two sides of the same challenge: creating the businesses and the talent required for a more competitive agricultural economy.

The 32 businesses gathered in Accra are not simply participants in another entrepreneurship programme. They are part of an experiment in what Ghana’s cashew economy could look like when more of the value created around the commodity is captured locally.

The future of Ghana’s cashew sector will not be measured only by how many tonnes the country produces. It will also be measured by what happens to those tonnes afterwards. For the women gathered in Accra, that journey has now begun.

The cashew nut may be small. But the ambition surrounding it is anything but.

The Women’s Agribusiness Incubation Programme is funded by the Swiss Government through the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and jointly implemented by the Ghana Private Sector Competitiveness Program II (GPSCP II) and Ashesi University’s Ghana Climate Innovation Center (GCIC).

Accra, Ghana

The Tree Crops Development Authority signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday 4^th Augst 2026, opening national television, radio and digital platforms in 27 Ghanaian languages to the Authority’s mandate, programmes and regulatory requirements.

For GPSCP II, it is a good day to watch a document become a broadcast schedule.

The GPSCP II Programme worked alongside TCDA on the Communication Strategy and Communication Manual that underpin Tuesday’s agreement, and then on the roadmap that turned them into a delivery plan. That roadmap identified two routes to stakeholders the Authority was not reaching: national broadcast media, and direct engagement in the growing districts themselves. The GBC partnership opens the first. A nationwide stakeholder engagement programme, developed with the same team, follows.

The distinction matters for Ghana’s six priority tree crops – cashew, coconut, oil palm, mango, rubber and shea. A farmer in Jaman South and an exporter in Tema need the same regulatory information and rarely receive it through the same channel.

At the signing, TCDA Chief Executive Dr Andy Osei Okrah said the memorandum represents the practical implementation of the Authority’s Communication Strategy, noting that many Ghanaians remain unaware of TCDA’s mandate and of the opportunities inside the tree crop industry. GBC Director-General Professor Amin Alhassan described the agreement as two public institutions accepting a shared responsibility to make national agricultural policy legible to the people it governs.

The reasoning behind the Programme’s involvement is a competitiveness one. A regulator whose standards and support schemes are unknown across much of the value chain cannot apply them evenly, and processors cannot meet export requirements they have never been told about. Communication capacity, on that reading, is infrastructure.

GPSCP II is a bilateral initiative of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Government of Ghana, implemented by NIRAS International Consulting and Proforest. The Programme financed the development of TCDA’s Communication Strategy and Manual and is supporting both phases of their implementation.

GBC’s report on the signing: https://www.gbcghanaonline.com/general/tcda-partners/2026/

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.

The Ghana Private Sector Competitiveness Programme II (GPSCP II) has marked another significant milestone with the successful hosting of its Second Grant Award Signing Ceremony, alongside the official launch of the Third Call for Proposals.

The ceremony was witnessed by Ms. Paula Oberli, Program Manager for Private Sector Development at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) Headquarters, together with the SECO Ghana team. Their presence reaffirmed Switzerland’s continued commitment to strengthening Ghana’s private sector through targeted and results-driven interventions.

Under this second grant award cycle, ten (10) enterprises operating within the oil palm and cashew value chains have been selected to receive tailored business development and technical support. These enterprises demonstrated strong potential in competitiveness, productivity, sustainability, and market expansion.

The grants form part of GPSCP II’s broader strategy to enhance value addition, improve processing standards, and facilitate access to both domestic and international markets.

Notably, women represent 50% of the grantees, reflecting the programme’s strong emphasis on inclusive growth and gender-responsive private sector development. This milestone underscores the commitment of GPSCP II and its partners to empowering women-led businesses and strengthening female participation across value chains.

With each grant cycle, the programme is laying the foundation for measurable impact within Ghana’s agribusiness ecosystem particularly in the oil palm and cashew sectors, which remain critical to rural employment and industrial growth.

During the ceremony, the Third Call for Proposals (DPP Call 3) was officially launched, opening new opportunities for additional enterprises to benefit from the matching grant facility. The launch signals continued momentum in strengthening Ghana’s private sector competitiveness through strategic partnerships and targeted financial support.

GPSCP II is financed by the Government of Switzerland through the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), in collaboration with key national stakeholders including the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) and implemented by NIRAS.

As the programme progresses, it remains focused on building resilient, export-oriented enterprises capable of driving sustainable economic growth and creating decent jobs across Ghana. We congratulate all grantees and look forward to witnessing the transformative impact of their projects on their businesses, their communities, and the Ghanaian economy

The Team Lead of the Ghana Private Sector Competitiveness Program (GPSCP II), Juliana Ofori-Karikari is calling for coordination, governance, and competitiveness to strengthen Ghana’s growing tree crop sector.

The Ghana Private Sector Competitiveness Program II (GPSCP II) is initiated through a bilateral initiative between the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Government of Ghana and is being implemented jointly by NIRAS International Consulting and Proforest.

Speaking at a policy development workshop jointly organized by the Business Regulatory Reform Unit of MOTAI and GPSCPII, aimed to collaboratively design a subproject focused on enhancing policy coherence and institutional leadership across these value chains, Team Lead, Juliana Ofori-Karikari said the success of this intervention hinges on the willingness of every institution to embrace radical transparency and collaboration.

“The Tree Crop Sector, particularly cashew and oil palm, is not just an agricultural activity; it is a pillar of our national development. This sector holds immense, untapped potential for driving significant economic growth and generating crucial foreign exchange earnings”, she mentioned.

Charlotte Afudego, the Private Sector Development Specialist from SECO (Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs) reaffirmed the commitment of the Government of Switzerland for its continued financial and technical support toward Ghana’s tree crop agenda, describing SECO’s contribution as vital to building a globally competitive sector.

By building on the achievements of GPSCP Phase I, the second phase (GPSCP II) aims to continuously provide an enabling environment for the cashew and palm oil sectors and contribute to higher private sector productivity and competitiveness by fostering inclusive and sustainable growth.

Participants at the workshop focused on deriving a coordination framework including an Inter-ministerial coordination platform co-chaired by MoFA and MoTAI to align mandates and clarify institutional roles.

The three-day workshop, marks the beginning of a comprehensive process to streamline regulatory functions and build a harmonized governance system for the cashew and oil palm value chains.

OPDAG 2025 Annual General Meeting: Charting a Sustainable Future for Ghana’s Palm Oil Sector

Cape Coast, Ghana — September 26, 2025.

The Organization of Palm Oil Developers’ Association of Ghana (OPDAG) held its 2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the BH Hotel in Cape Coast, bringing together policymakers, processors, farmers, and private sector actors to reimagine the future of Ghana’s palm oil industry. The two-day meeting, sponsored by the Ghana Private Sector Competitiveness Programme (GPSCP II), underscored a unified call for sustainable growth, responsible practices, and deeper collaboration across the palm oil value chain.

The conference served as a critical forum for dialogue at a time when Ghana’s oil palm sector faces rising pressures from illicit imports, low access to finance, and dwindling productivity linked to poor-quality seedlings. Yet, amid these challenges, the AGM also revealed a growing spirit of resilience and reform among industry leaders determined to reposition palm oil as a cornerstone of Ghana’s agro-industrial transformation.

“This meeting marked more than an annual review it was a turning point,” said Mr. Paul Amaning, President of OPDAG. “Our members have moved from identifying problems to designing practical solutions that can sustain livelihoods, protect the environment, and make Ghana’s palm oil globally competitive.”

Participants adopted a series of resolutions focused on financial sustainability, transparency, and quality assurance. A central highlight was the announcement of an OPDAG Development Fund, envisioned as a revolving facility to support farmers and processors with affordable loans for replanting, milling equipment, and value addition. This fund will be complemented by new partnerships with banks and development institutions to unlock credit for small and medium enterprises in the value chain.

Recognizing the sector’s vulnerability to inconsistent seed quality, the AGM approved the establishment of an OPDAG Certified Nursery Program in collaboration with the Oil Palm Research Institute (OPRI). The initiative will certify nurseries, enforce quality standards, and ensure that only high-yielding hybrid Tenera seedlings are distributed to farmers.

Delegates also adopted a comprehensive communication strategy to strengthen OPDAG’s visibility at both the national and zonal levels. This includes digital outreach, local radio engagement, and enhanced farmer training through decentralized workshops.

A persistent concern at the AGM was the infiltration of smuggled foreign palm oils into the domestic market a trend that undermines local processors and drains national revenue. Members called for intensified collaboration with border security agencies and the Ghana Revenue Authority to clamp down on illegal imports and protect local value chains. Plans for a traceability system and public awareness campaigns were also advanced to help consumers identify and support Ghana-made palm oil.

To extend the association’s reach, OPDAG is rolling out a grassroots mobilization strategy that empowers zonal chapters to recruit members, strengthen community partnerships, and facilitate local capacity-building. This bottom-up approach will bring the association closer to smallholders, ensuring their voices shape national advocacy and policy dialogue.

The AGM reaffirmed OPDAG’s evolution into a credible national institution with representation on the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) Board. The association’s strategic realignment toward sustainability and inclusive governance mirrors Ghana’s broader agricultural modernization agenda. The 2025–2026 operational budget, conditionally approved during the meeting, directs more funding toward training, sustainability initiatives, and the OPDAG Development Fund.

“The energy in this year’s AGM was remarkable,” noted Frederick Sarpong, the association’s Executive Secretary. “Our members recognize that the future of Ghana’s palm oil sector depends not on technical fixes, but on building institutions that empower farmers, embrace innovation, and defend the integrity of our market.”

As Ghana’s oil palm sector confronts global market volatility and climate pressures, the outcomes of the OPDAG AGM underscore a growing determination to turn challenges into opportunities. With renewed leadership, stronger financial mechanisms, and a deepened partnership with programs like GPSCP II, OPDAG is positioning itself as a linchpin in Ghana’s drive toward a competitive, inclusive, and sustainable palm oil economy.

Accra, September 29, 2025 
At the Kempinski Hotel yesterday, Ghana’s policymakers, farmers, processors, academics, and international partners gathered under one roof to confront a pressing question: how can Ghana make its cashew and oil palm sectors globally competitive in an era of tightening trade rules and sustainability demands?

The event, titled the Policy Dialogue on Cashew and Oil Palm Value Chains, was organized under the Ghana Private Sector Competitiveness Program II (GPSCP II), a bilateral initiative of the Government of Ghana and Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). It was held in collaboration with the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA), the institution mandated to oversee the development of Ghana’s six tree crops of industrial importance.

The theme of the dialogue “Strengthening Governance and Competitiveness in Ghana’s Cashew and Oil Palm Value Chains”  reflected the urgency of the challenge. Both crops support hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers and generate crucial foreign exchange. Cashew alone now brings in over USD 400 million annually, while oil palm remains an indispensable source of food and raw materials for the domestic industry. Yet both sectors remain plagued by familiar constraints: overlapping mandates, weak enforcement of regulations, low farm productivity, chronic underinvestment in processing, and exposure to illegal imports that undermine local markets.

Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the Hon. Eric Opoku, Minister for Food and Agriculture, the Ministry’s Chief Director placed the conversation in stark terms. Ghana, he said, is at an inflection point.

“We are at a crossroads,” he told the audience. “We either strengthen the institutions that govern cashew and oil palm now, or we consign our farmers to being price-takers in a global market where sustainability and compliance increasingly dictate who participates.”

The Minister’s address laid out a candid diagnosis of the problems facing the two value chains. For oil palm, the major hurdles include low on-farm productivity, illegal importation of palm oil and vegetable oils, and weak enforcement of regulatory standards. For cashew, the concerns are somewhat different, high export of raw nuts with little value addition at home, fragmented farmer organizations, and insufficient financing for smallholder production.

He also highlighted that the challenges are not simply technical, but institutional and political. Multiple agencies currently share overlapping authority, from the Ministry of Trade and Industry to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and allied regulatory bodies. This creates inefficiencies, slows decision-making, and undermines investor confidence.

Still, the Minister struck an optimistic note, stressing that reforms are already underway. The government’s strategy, he explained, is to empower the TCDA as the apex regulator with clearer coordination mandates. Investments are being directed toward seed certification, farmer training, and research-to-farm linkages, while new initiatives are exploring opportunities for scaling up processing and value addition.

“Policy must not be developed in silos,” he cautioned. “It must be inclusive, evidence-driven, and harmonized across institutions. Cashew and oil palm are not simply commodities; they are lifelines for our people, and engines for rural transformation.”

If the Minister’s keynote provided the framing, the release of the Policy and Institutional Mapping Report commissioned by GPSCP II and presented by Taylor Crabbe Initiative provided the hard data.

The report’s conclusions were blunt without sweeping reforms, Ghana risks being left behind in a rapidly changing global trade landscape. The European Union’s deforestation regulation (EUDR) will soon require exporters to prove traceability and sustainability, or risk exclusion from the EU market. Meanwhile, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) offers enormous opportunities to position Ghana as a hub for regional trade but only if the country can consolidate its fragmented institutions and strengthen its regulatory regime.

The policy dialogue itself was designed as more than a ceremonial event. It was structured to force difficult conversations.

Breakout sessions were convened around four thematic clusters:

1. Institutional coordination and regulatory enforcement
2. Investment and financing for value addition
3. Sustainability and compliance with international market standards
4. Farmer livelihoods and competitiveness under AfCFTA

The project provided framing on how to sequence reforms, while the Taylor Crabbe team unpacked the institutional mapping study. The mood, several participants observed, was frank bordering on restless. Everyone in the room seemed to acknowledge that the cashew and oil palm sectors, long touted as potential engines of Ghana’s rural transformation, had been held back by inertia, turf wars, and chronic underinvestment.

By the end of the day, the dialogue had produced a tentative roadmap for reform. Key priorities included:

• Streamlining mandates under TCDA to reduce duplication and improve accountability.
• Scaling up local processing capacity to reduce dependence on raw exports, especially for cashew.
• Strengthening enforcement against illegal imports that undercut domestic oil palm producers.
• Mobilizing private investment into processing and value addition through blended finance mechanisms.
• Ensuring compliance with sustainability standards to keep Ghanaian products competitive in EU and other premium markets.
• Investing in farmer productivity through improved planting materials, training, and accessible finance.

Still, participants acknowledged that the hardest work lies ahead. Reforms agreed to in the halls of Kempinski will need to survive the grind of politics, bureaucratic turf battles, and the day-to-day realities of smallholder farmers.

As the Minister’s representative concluded: “We cannot continue business as usual. The cashew and oil palm sectors are at the heart of Ghana’s agricultural transformation agenda. This dialogue must be the beginning of sustained action to action that strengthens governance, supports our farmers, and positions Ghana as a leader in sustainable and competitive tree crop production.”

For now, the Policy Dialogue has set a marker. With stakeholders from government, industry, and development partners aligned on the urgency of reform, the challenge will be in execution.

The next twelve months will be critical. Delivering on the commitments made will determine whether Ghana can seize the opportunities of AfCFTA, comply with evolving EU regulations, and finally unlock the potential of cashew and oil palm as engines of inclusive growth.

The Kempinski meeting may be remembered as a turning point, the moment when Ghana decided that its farmers, processors, and institutions deserved more than incremental fixes, and that the time had come for bold reform.