Ghana Commodity Exchange, IFC launch Warehouse Receipt Financing Product

The Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX) in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Ghana Warehouse Receipt System (WRS) Project has launched the warehouse receipt financing product with Savings and Loans Companies.

Mr. Robert Owoo, the Chief Operating Officer of the Ghana Commodity Exchange, speaking at the launch, emphasized that through the Warehouse Receipt System project, farmers will have the chance to store their produce, access finance whilst waiting for the price of their produce to appreciate before selling.

Explaining how the arrangements work, Mr. Owoo noted that receipts issued by warehouse operators serve as evidence that specified commodities with stated quantity and quality have been deposited at particular locations by a named depositor(s).

Whilst the warehouse operator holds the stored commodity in a certified warehouse approved by the Ghana Standard Authority and Securities and Exchange Commission, the depositor can use the receipts to access funds from any of the participating financial institutions.

Appreciating the support from IFC and SEC, Mr. Robert Owoo called for deepened collaboration to make the project better.

“The IFC and SEC have been supporting us since day one. This is very important to us…. We need to work hard to ensure that access to finance is made solid. The work we are doing is helping helping us and the Ghana Commodity Exchange. We have to work together. That is very important. Let’s identify with the farmers if we want to make this successful” Mr. Robert Owoo made it known.

On his part, Justice Sagoe, Head of MSME Lending & Deposits Mobilisation at Letshego Savings and Loans noted that his outfit is elated to be working with the Ghana Commodity Exchange as well as all the other partners.

In a plea, Mr. Sagoe called for access to capital to ensure funds given to farmers come with smaller interest rates.

“As a business, we are committed to this business and we look forward to doing more by increasing our commitment. I believe that as a country we need to pay more attention to our farmers. We are in to do all we can to improve the lives of farmers” he added.

Having raised concerns about a number of challenges facing farmers including long distances to access the various warehouses from the farming communities and the bad state of roads, Mr. Sagoe appealed to the government to step in and help solve the problems.

SEC Boss Commends Partners

The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Rev. Ogbarmey Tetteh in a statement read on his behalf at the launch, commended the partners for coming on board to delve into an area “that a lot of people are skeptical about.”

The warehouse receipt financing product was launched with four (4) Savings and Loans Companies including Sinapi Aba, Opportunity International, Adehyeman, and Letshego.

The IFC Ghana WRS project is being implemented in nine regions in the grains value chain of the country with financial support from Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

It is a technical assistance and advisory services project aimed at setting up a well-functioning and regulated WRS that is expected to facilitate increased access to credit to smallholder farmers and the supply chain, access to structured markets, and professional warehousing to reduce post-harvest storage losses.

The project also aims to strengthen the key elements of WRS for the successful operations of the GCX.