Announcing promising new partnership to strengthen agribusinesses in Ghana

We are proud to announce that MDF Training & Consultancy is the newest member of our Local Expert Network (LEN). This partnership will extend our data-led services to West Africa to help agribusiness improve their business skills and link to markets. Combining MDF’s local training and consultancy services with our standardized assessment tools will provide a boost to agribusinesses in Ghana.

The Need

Ghana is one of the largest economies in West Africa and agriculture is essential to its economy. More than half of the Ghanaian labor force and one-fourth of the country’s entire gross domestic product depends on crops such as cocoa, maize, yams, and cassava. However, a number of gaps are apparent in Ghana’s agribusiness ecosystem. Some of these challenges include a weak business acumen among some agribusinesses, a lack of access to relevant information, mismatches in investment size supply and demand, poor access to markets, excessive cost of physical infrastructure, and limited access to finance.

MDF: A master of impactful training

MDF is a training and consultancy company with ten offices around the world. They have thirty-five years of experience in helping businesses reach their full potential. They offer training, advisory services, and evaluations to the organizations they work with. By focusing on the past experience and current situation of the people they train, MDF is able to create long-lasting positive change. They offer multiple training approaches so all trainees can learn in the way that works best for them. Their West African office is located in Ghana, with a branch in Burkina Faso.

Working together in Northern Ghana

Previously, we have worked with MDF on the Nathan Associates’ Market Development Programme for Northern Ghana (MADE). This program used our assessment tools to create focused training programs for fifty-three agribusinesses. MDF, alongside two other consultancy firms, led the selection and training of the assessors. The MADE program had massive success, with nearly 140,000 farmers seeing improvements.

A graphic showing the success of the MADE program. 109,867 farmers and rural enterprises had higher sales and turnover since 2014, 44% women. 139,139 farmers were reached with new inputs and services since 2014, 43% women. The average rise in farmer income since 2014 in GHS was 7,972. 114 firms had new business practices facilitated by MADE. 121,115 farmers were supported to adapt to the effects of climate change since 2014, 47% women. 94,993 farmers have earned higher incomes since 2014, 45% women. — MADE saw great success and had a massive impact on Northern Ghana. Image adapted from the MADE website.

The Local Expert Network: Global Standard, Local Expertise

The LEN is a partnership program that both creates value for market players and capacity builders in target countries and also creates value for local businesses. Through the LEN, we attract organizations that share our vision of professionalizing agribusinesses and will serve as reliable SCOPE tool implementers. These experts provide the much-needed local infrastructure with the capacity to offer ongoing business development support to agribusinesses, working well beyond donor-funded initiatives. Through partnering with these like-minded businesses, we ensure that international capacity builders can efficiently implement their projects while strengthening the local economy.

Enormous potential to be unlocked

This partnership is poised to strengthen Ghanaian agribusinesses so that they have access to the necessary inputs, finance, and markets. The combination of a standard tool to advance agribusiness professionalism, with MDFs top-notch BDS trainings, is exactly what is needed to help agribusinesses and the rural economy thrive in Ghana.

We stand by MDF’s commitment to providing empowering and effective training to create a positive impact, and we are proud to welcome them as the newest member of our Local Expert Network.

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