Tingo’s Entry into Ghana to Transform Agriculture Sector Welcomed | Economic news

Leading African agri-fintech company, Tingo, has launched its Ghanaian operations with a bang, securing a landmark deal with the Ashanti Investment Trust.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Ashanti Investment Trust promised to enroll a minimum of 2 million new members on Tingo Mobile’s platform within 120 days and further agreed on a target of to increase these registrations to at least 4 million members.

As a leading Agri-Fintech company operating in Africa, with a marketplace platform that enables social upliftment through mobile, technology and financial access for rural farming communities, Tingo Mobile is expected to support the “seed to sale” value chain through its Agricultural Platform, Nwassa and other services, including airtime top-ups, utility bill payment services, access to insurance services and microfinance.

Tingo enters the Ghanaian market with a proven track record of success, having supported around 10 million farmers in Nigeria since its inception, and at a time when the demand for support and investment in the West African country is extremely necessary.

While Ghana presents a ripe opportunity, being one of the main agricultural markets on the continent, it is severely underserved when it comes to Agri-fintech.

Currently, Ghana is struggling with rapid inflation, affecting the prices of many food items, largely due to the country’s overreliance on imports of various foods.

The launch of Tingo in Ghana is part of the government’s desire to reorganize the agricultural sector in Ghana. The goal of their initiative is to increase local produce, as well as increase Ghanaian exports of various agricultural products and expand the product basket beyond its reliance on coir.

Several Tingo executives met with the Ghanaian Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto and his technical team on Thursday, November 10, 2022, to announce the launch of its operations and seek support and open dialogue for a public-private partnership in the future.

The company has pledged to work with the ministry to help the government achieve the goal of increasing Ghana’s agricultural sector’s contribution to gross domestic product to over 25% by 2025.

Discussions also focused on the ministry’s 7 Crops Initiative, under which they are targeting annual revenues of $12 billion from six selected tree crops: oil palm, shea, rubber, coconut, mango. and cashews – to compete with annual cocoa revenues.

Tingo brings value in achieving all of these crucial state goals, making the company indispensable and placing it in an enviable position to achieve its stated goals in Ghana.

Since the Ashanti Kingdom of Ghana is the agricultural hub of the country, covering the current Ashanti region but exerting influence over more than half of the country, including mainly the arable parts of the Eastern, Central, Bono and West, Tingo management also met with the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to brief him on Tingo’s diverse and unprecedented agricultural initiatives.

Key crops such as cocoa – of which Ghana is the world’s second largest producer – are widely grown in the territory of the Asantehene sphere of influence. And throughout his rule of more than two decades, the Asantehene never ceased to profess how highly he held agriculture in high esteem. He always emphasized agriculture as a key part of Ghana’s development and was a great supporter of the farmers in his kingdom.

The visionary King has pressured successive governments and financial institutions to be more proactive in financing farmers, a huge challenge that has haunted the sector for generations.

During the meeting with the Otumfuo, the Ashanti King expressed how much agriculture is dear to him, adding that Tingo’s investment in agriculture will not only create jobs, but allow his people to feed themselves and to become the food basket of other nations around the world.

Speaking at the meeting, the company’s CEO for Africa, Tsola Barrow, noted that agriculture is key to unlocking economies and pledged that Tingo Mobile would be run in line with values ​​and ethics. of the Ghanaian people.

Tingo brings over 20 years of experience in adding value to agriculture and creating new opportunities where there were few before, which positions it as a great international partner to the Government of Ghana in the transformation of the sector.

Ghana is facing economic challenges – as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine crisis – crippling debt, high inflation and the currency, the cedi, declared by Bloomberg as the least popular currency. efficient in the world.

Despite these challenges, Tingo Mobile has chosen Ghana for expansion, sending a message of the faith it has in the country’s potential – particularly in the agricultural sector, which remains underutilized.

Alao Ayaode, COO Africa of Tingo said at its launch: “I spoke to several farmers when I came here. What I see is great growth potential for Ghana. As much as Nigeria has agriculture, so much I believe Ghana has the potential to feed the world,”

President of Tingo Inc.; Dr. Chris Cleverly has also assured Ghanaian farmers and subscribers of top-notch services with state-of-the-art technology.

“The seed of agriculture in Africa and West Africa is starting to sprout. It grows because it is maintained by companies like ours. Fintech companies that create efficiencies in the way we put our trees, plants, and crops together…. We will actually integrate technology and agriculture into a seamless partnership,” he said.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana

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