Hey there, welcome to This Week in StartupGhana, the pulse of Ghana’s innovation ecosystem. Here are the biggest signals shaping the ecosystem this week.
- Standard Chartered Women in Tech Incubator backs 5 new startups with $50,000 to scale their products.
- IFC provides $2.4 million convertible loan to Complete Farmer to scale agricultural finance.
- Entrepreneurship Avenue, Europe’s largest student entrepreneurship festival, launches in Ghana.
- EU, Netherlands, Fidelity Bank launch $7.5 million Green Innovation Fund for SMEs.
- TankVolt taps Kofa’s battery-swapping network for its electric motorcycles.
- Impact Fund Denmark backs Complete Farmer with $2.9 million.
Hot Topic: $5.3 million to Complete Farmer(s)
The Ghanaian agtech secured a $2.4 million convertible loan from IFC, plus $660,000 in advisory support. The bigger issue behind the package is a familiar one in agricultural finance. Complete Farmer has farmers on its platform, but getting institutional lenders to finance them at scale has been harder.
The company has more than 60,000 registered farmers and 400+ field agents. Its lending model has shown promise. A pilot with 150 ginger farmers recorded a 94% repayment rate. The model still needs to meet the risk requirements of financial institutions before larger-scale lending follows.
That is where the $660,000 IFC support comes in. Complete Farmer will work with selected financial institutions in Ghana to test its lending model and strengthen its credit scoring, risk management and farmer financing systems.
The IFC deal comes alongside DKK 18.97 million, about $2.9 million, from Impact Fund Denmark. Together, the two investments put $5.3 million toward Complete Farmer’s Series A round.
Funding
Standard Chartered Women in Tech Incubator backs 5 new startups with $50,000 to scale their products.
The Standard Chartered Futuremakers Women in Tech (FWIT) program, an initiative by Standard Chartered Bank, has invested $50,000 in five startups from its 2026 incubator program.
The five top-performing businesses, Edu3Dcation, WADMET, Verte Tower, SisiMarie and Porducare, will each receive GH₵113,500 in grant funding to support the growth and scaling of their climate-smart, technology-enabled ventures, which address local and broader market needs.
EU, Netherlands, Fidelity Bank launch $7.5 million Green Innovation Fund for SMEs.
The European Union, the Netherlands and Fidelity Bank Ghana have launched a €6.67 million Green Innovation Fund to back companies as they adopt green technologies, expand and create jobs.
The EU and the Netherlands are putting in €4.3 million, while Fidelity Bank Ghana is adding €2.37 million. The fund will focus particularly on small and medium-sized businesses, with financing aimed at helping them grow while improving their environmental performance.
Accelerator & Incubator
Entrepreneurship Avenue, Europe’s largest student entrepreneurship festival, launches in Ghana
Entrepreneurship Avenue, Europe’s largest festival for student entrepreneurs, has launched in Ghana, bringing its entrepreneurship programme to a new African market. The initiative gives university students a platform to develop business ideas, connect with founders and investors, and gain practical support as they build startups.
The Ghana launch expands Entrepreneurship Avenue’s work beyond Europe and creates a new channel for student founders in Ghana to connect with the wider startup ecosystem.
Partnership
TankVolt taps Kofa’s battery-swapping network for its electric motorcycles.
TankVolt has partnered with Kofa to support battery swapping for its electric motorcycles in Ghana. Under the partnership, Kofa will manage battery-swapping operations for TankVolt vehicles, giving riders access to its network for convenient and reliable energy. The deal brings TankVolt’s electric motorcycles and Kofa’s battery-swapping infrastructure into one ecosystem as both companies expand electric mobility in Ghana.
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Until next week,
Kwame
Editor, Ghana Innovation Journal