Mastercard and Ecobank Group partner to digitize agricultural value chains in Africa

Mastercard and Ecobank Group partner to digitize agricultural value chains in Africa

Farm Pass brings together various agri-sector stakeholders from the supply and demand sides, in one agricultural marketplace, amplifying the collective positive impact on farming communities. Smallholder farmers can sell their produce at a better price, access quality inputs and farming information, get paid and pay digitally and develop a financial profile that can unlock financing opportunities for working capital and inputs.

According to McKinsey and Company (https://mck.co/2XHsEcv), more than 60% of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa are smallholder farmers, with the agricultural sector contributing an estimated 23% of the continent’s GDP. Yet only 3% of the sector (https://bit.ly/3tyvLEW) receives banking credit, limiting the farmers capacity to grow their business or mitigate poor harvest losses. By integrating their businesses with payment systems, Farm Pass enables smallholder farmers to build a digital transaction record that can facilitate formal credit or other financial services from banks and other financial institutions.

“Food security is a critical and urgent need in these times. We must therefore rise to the task by creating growth opportunities across the agriculture value chain in Africa. Our partnership with Mastercard has come at the right time to accelerate smallholder farmers’ access to urgently needed financial services, which are vital to realising Africa’s