AV Ventures is pleased to announce two new investments in Ghana: G. I. Nyame Aye Awie Ampa Limited (GINAAAL) and Golden Link Savings and Loans Limited. AV Ventures, a subsidiary of ACDI/VOCA, is an impact investor providing mezzanine and revenue-based debt to small and growing businesses (SGBs) in developing countries. AV Ventures promotes markets in which business owners, smallholder farmers, and communities are empowered to succeed in the global economy.
AV Ventures has partnered with the ongoing USDA-funded Ghana Poultry Project, implemented by ACDI/VOCA, and collaborates closely on pre- and post-investment support, poultry market systems development, and fostering other private and public local partnerships.
New Investments, Expanded Impact
The first of AV Ventures’ new investments is GINAAAL, a commercial poultry farm producing eggs for the Ghanaian market. Urbanization, rising per-capita income, and an increasing population are driving significant increases in the demand for chicken meat and table eggs in Ghana where demand outpaces domestic supply—creating opportunities for local poultry farms to expand and fill this gap. AV Ventures’ investment will allow GINAAAL to increase its capacity by bringing an estimated 7 million more eggs to market annually. The investment is also expected to generate greater economic and social impact through:
- Increasing employment by an estimated 20 percent
- Improving incomes of its egg retailer network, over 90 percent of whom are women
- Providing access to markets for over 900 smallholder soy and maize farmers in Ghana, from whom GINAAAL sources its feed ingredients
Further, AV Ventures’ revenue-based financing helps to pioneer a new approach to SME finance: by sharing risk with the entrepreneur and tying repayments to success of the company’s future sales, while allowing the entrepreneur to retain full ownership.
“AV Ventures sees enormous potential for agriculture sector growth in Ghana, particularly in its growing poultry industry. Given its importance in rural Ghana, there is huge potential to catalyze inclusive growth by investing in this sector,” said Geoffrey Chalmers, Managing Director of AV Ventures LLC.
Golden Link Savings and Loans, AV Ventures’ second new investment, is licensed by the Bank of Ghana as a specialized deposit-taking institution, offering savings, loans, checking, deposit, mobile banking, and remittance services to its customers – many of whom operate in the informal economy. Golden Link has developed loan products specifically for poultry value chain businesses. AV Ventures’ investment creates an on-lending facility for Golden Link to significantly expand its poultry loan portfolio, thereby improving access to finance to smallholder poultry farmers, informal entrepreneurs, and micro-enterprises in Ghana’s poultry value chain.
“[AV Ventures’] support is already acting as a catalyst for our growth to the next level,” stated Dr. Emmanuel Owusu, Managing Director of Golden Link
More About AV Ventures
As a subsidiary of ACDI/VOCA, AV Ventures leverages ACDI/VOCA’s broad platform of expertise and services, including:
- A global network of 1,200+ staff implementing market systems development programming in 20+ countries
- Technical expertise in agriculture, financial services, business growth, gender, youth, and more
- Strong partnerships with local governments, funders, local communities & customer bases, and other international and local private companies
- Pre- and post-investment advisory support, drawing from our global networks
AV Ventures and ACDI/VOCA are proud members of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE), Convergence, the INGOs in Impact Investing Network, and the USAID INVEST Network.
For more details about AV Ventures or these recent investments, please contact Geoffrey Chalmers, Managing Director for AV Ventures, at gchalmers@av-ventures.com.
