The Development Bank Ghana (DBG) has disbursed more than GH¢2.5 billion to businesses since its inception, with women-led enterprises, agriculture and manufacturing receiving a significant share of the funding.

Chief Executive Officer of DBG, Prof Randolph Nsor-Ambala, says more than 60% of the bank’s disbursements have gone to women-led and women-owned businesses.

He said over 50% of the funding has also been directed towards agribusiness, agriculture and manufacturing.

“There are components of those disbursements that have gone into energy transition. There are components; about 40% of that disbursement has gone into micro, small, and medium enterprises.”

Prof Nsor-Ambala said the bank’s financing strategy is based on evidence of the sectors Ghana needs to transform its economy.

“Our focus areas are essentially agriculture, manufacturing, ICT, and what we call high-value services.”

He said the high-value services include education, health, transportation and tourism.

According to him, these sectors have significant growth potential but face market failures and binding constraints that require deliberate interventions.

“These are the sectors that will contribute massively; we call them growth pole areas, yet they’ve got market failures and binding constraints that require deliberate interventions, and those interventions must be considered as a public good because they cannot necessarily be financed by private capital or money.”

Agriculture has been a major area of focus for DBG because of its potential to create jobs and strengthen food security.

“Top among those reasons are around jobs that need to be created. And we are here, we are talking about decent jobs that deliver on upward social mobility and economic empowerment.”

Prof Nsor-Ambala said agricultural investment could also help ease economic pressures linked to food imports.

“And then aside from the jobs, there’s the other element around food security, and that food security translates into lower economic pressures, i.e., inflation, exchange rate problems because of high levels of imports, etc., etc.”

The bank has therefore targeted specific agricultural value chains, including maize, rice, cassava, sorghum and poultry.

“Our interventions have been targeted because the value chains are many. And considering that we are focused on sector transformations and full value chain transformations, we have necessarily focused on areas around maize, rice, cassava, sorghum, poultry.”

Prof Nsor-Ambala said DBG has so far reached almost 1,000 businesses, with about half located outside Greater Accra.

“As we speak, we have a footprint in every region except one.”

He said development partners supporting the bank have expressed satisfaction with its performance over the past five years.

“The Minister for Finance, for example, says, I expect a lot more from you guys, but I’m happy that you’ve held your own.”

He said DBG would continue to focus its financing on sectors critical to Ghana’s economic transformation.