Country: Ghana

The challenge and what MTN wanted to achieve

Agriculture is a critical source of employment and income across many of MTN’s markets, yet agricultural value chains are often fragmented and heavily cash based. For smallholder farmers and seasonal workers, cash payments increase risk, reduce transparency and limit access to formal financial services. MTN aimed to support more efficient, secure and inclusive payment mechanisms within agricultural value chains, enabling farmers to receive income digitally and participate more fully in the formal financial system.

What we did

MTN partnered with Cargill Kokoo Sourcing to digitise payments within its cocoa sourcing value chain in Ghana. The initiative replaced cash-based transactions with mobile money payments, enabling farmers and labourers to receive payments directly into their mobile money wallets. MTN worked with partners to onboard participants across farming communities, ensuring access to active mobile money accounts, agent support and reliable payment channels.

Outcomes and impact

The initiative onboarded more than 60 000 smallholder farmers across 20 districts in the Eastern, Western, Western North, Ashanti and Ahafo regions, alongside over 800 casual workers supporting the value chain. Digitising payments improved efficiency and transparency, reduced payment delays and enhanced security for farmers and workers. For many participants, receiving income digitally represented a first entry point into the formal financial ecosystem.

Lessons learnt

Embedding digital payments into everyday economic activity can accelerate financial inclusion by linking income generation directly to access to financial services.