The Ghana Export-Import Bank (GEXIM) has approved financing for three companies and is advancing a pipeline of additional applicants as it shifts its credit strategy firmly toward import substitution and export-led industrialisation.
Sylvester Adinam Mensah, Chief Executive Officer of GEXIM, made the disclosure at the 2026 Kwahu Business Forum, naming Rockmer Pharmaceuticals, Nobi Farms, and Perfect Logistics as companies that have completed the bank’s credit assessment process and received internal approvals, with disbursement pending. He added that further firms are progressing through the pipeline following engagements at last year’s edition of the forum.
The announcement signals a concrete step in the bank’s push to translate policy commitments into actual lending activity, particularly in agriculture, manufacturing, and non-traditional exports.
Production Before Export
At the centre of GEXIM’s strategy is a sequenced production agenda: increase domestic output of goods consumed locally, expand processing of raw materials, and then scale exports of finished and processed products. The bank said the approach is designed to strengthen food security, reduce import dependence, and support foreign exchange stability.
Rice, poultry, garments, and apparel have been identified as priority financing sectors. Officials cited market data indicating that Ghana spends more than $1 billion annually importing rice and poultry products, a figure the bank described as unsustainable given domestic production potential.
Mensah stressed that access to finance alone is insufficient to drive export growth, noting that many Ghanaian businesses face challenges beyond funding, including high capital costs, limited market information, weak logistics, and difficulty meeting international standards. “Finance by itself is not enough. Businesses need a complete support system, not just a single facility,” he said.
Non-Traditional Exports in Focus
The strategy also extends to processed agricultural goods, with cashew, cocoa derivatives, mangoes, and coconut products identified as high-priority value chains. The emphasis, officials said, is on moving beyond raw commodity exports toward higher-margin, branded products.
Beyond lending, GEXIM is expanding what it describes as strategic support services, covering advisory assistance, standards development, market access facilitation, and value chain coordination. The bank also indicated a shift in its lending criteria to place greater weight on production capacity and export potential, reducing the collateral burden on smaller enterprises seeking credit.
The CEO said commitments were anchored in GEXIM’s 2025 to 2030 strategy, which aims to increase non-traditional exports, improve food security, create jobs, and increase foreign exchange earnings.
2030 Targets
GEXIM set out specific targets to be achieved by 2030, including more than a 60 percent increase in rice production, at least 60 percent self-sufficiency in poultry, a two to threefold rise in non-traditional export revenue, a fourfold increase in foreign exchange earnings from non-traditional exports, the creation of over 100,000 direct jobs, and a reduction of up to 40 percent in imports across selected categories.
The bank’s loan portfolio has already grown from less than $70 million in 2016 to nearly $300 million by the fourth quarter of 2025, supporting about 147 businesses across the country.
Officials were candid about the limits of financial intervention alone, acknowledging that the success of the strategy will depend on coordinated execution across agriculture, industry, and logistics.
