Deadline: Ongoing
Applications are open for the Mastercard Foundation BRIDGE-in-Agriculture Program 2025. Building Resilience and Investing in the Development and Growth of Entrepreneurs in Agriculture (”BRIDGE-in Agriculture” or “BIA”) is a 5-year Mastercard Foundation initiative that aims to make affordable capital and technical support available for SMEs in agriculture and related sectors in Ghana. The program also equips young people and women with skills through training for dignified and fulfilling work.
To ease the financial burden on the youth, BRIDGE-in Agriculture is working with commercial banks to lend to agribusinesses at single-digit interest rates. This helps them expand operations and create new jobs, which lead to poverty reduction among the youth and women in Ghana.
Program Components
- Loan Program: BRIDGE-in Agriculture partners with commercial banks to offer affordable and accessible loans to agribusinesses in Ghana. These loans are tailored to the Ghanaian agribusiness sector, addressing some of the existing challenges of access to loans for SMEs in agriculture and adjacent sectors.
- Training Program: BRIDGE-in Agriculture partners with business development service (BDS) providers to offer free targeted training and technical support to agribusinesses. It also aims to train youth and women and equip them with skills to secure dignified and fulfilling employment.
Benefits
- Loan amounts available to SMEs in agriculture and adjacent sectors will vary depending on the needs of the business and can go up to GHS11,000,000.
- Training participants can be selected to win a grant of up to GHS27,500 to support their businesses’ growth.
Eligibility
Eligibility criteria for applying for a loan under the BRIDGE-In Agriculture program include:
- SMEs in agriculture or adjacent sectors (sectors impacting agriculture at some point in the value chain)
- SMEs owned, led, or managed by youth (aged 15-35) and/or women, or mainly employing youth and/or women
- SMEs that have been operating and generating revenues for at least 6 months Focus on middle and southern Ghana (subject to change over the years)
Eligible participants for the training program:
- Are young entrepreneurs (aged 18-35) and women involved in agriculture and adjacent sectors who are seeking to improve their skills, grow their businesses, and/or find employment opportunities.
Application
- To apply for a loan under this program, applicants will need to submit their application through the program portal by first selecting the bank they would like to apply to.
- For training under BRIDGE-In Agriculture, you will need to apply through the program portal for a specific training offered by one of the two Business Development Service (BDS) providers – Africa Skills Hub (ASH) or Mind Builders Africa (MBA).
For more information, visit BIA Programme.
