The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Export-Import Bank (EximBank), Sylvester A. Mensah, has said the bank is ready to support the government’s Akoko Nkintikiti initiative by providing low-interest loan facilities to farmers participating in the programme.

According to him, the bank is keen to see a future in which chicken imports are drastically reduced and the consumption of locally produced poultry is prioritised.

He noted that EximBank has therefore put in place the necessary measures to support the initiative, to boost the country’s poultry sector and strengthen domestic production.

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"We are looking at EximBank giving low-interest rate funding, and we are looking at commercial banks and EximBank coming together to blend the finance such a way that the high interest rates of the commercial banks will be tempered by the low rate of EximBank.

We at EximBank have gone ahead to visit some countries that have excelled in poultry, particularly in the Ivory Coast. In the Ivory Coast today, they don't import frozen chicken. The poultry industry is at its peak, and they produce 100 per cent poultry and chicken that they produce,.Ghana wants to get to that stage," he told journalists, responding to a question on how the bank is supporting the initiative, after the press launch of the bank's 10th anniversary on Wednesday, January 14.

"We have gone there (Ivory Coast) as EximBank to look at the policy framework, to look at government support for their poultry industry, and what has enabled the Ivory Coast to be able to be independent of frozen chicken," he said.

"We believe that from the experience that we have and from the knowledge that we have acquired from many other countries, we will be able to move faster in ensuring that we achieve at least sufficiency in poultry sooner than later," he added.

The 10th anniversary International conference of the bank is scheduled for 25–26 March 2026 in Accra, under the theme: “A Decade of Enabling Export Trade and Industrial Transformation: Resetting GEXIM for the Next Frontier.”

As part of its anniversary conference, the bank is prioritising rice, garments and apparel, poultry, and export facilitation.