The Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX) in partnership with the Venture Capital Trust (VCTF) with the support of government has established a Commodity Aggregation Development Fund (CADeF) to improve liquidity for commodity brokers.

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, disclosed this at the inauguration of the reconstituted board of directors of the VCTF, and said the CADeF, was a special purpose vehicle to help commodity brokers to procure selected commodities.

The eight-member board chaired by Mr Kofi Yamoah, former Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange, has other members as Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr John Ampontuah Kumah, Mr Yaw Owusu-Brempong, Mrs KosiYankey-Ayey, Mr Antonio Kisseih, Mrs Mabel Nana NyarkoaPorbley, Mr Brian Frimpong and Mrs EfuaAppenteng.

Mr Ofori-Atta said the CADeF was jointly managed by the Ghana Commodity Exchange Coordinating Agency and the Venture Capital Trust Fund which was the fund managers.

“CADeF should be run as an efficient vehicle to support Aggregators and Brokers already trading or seeking to trade on the Ghana Commodity Exchange in specific value chains and farmer-based organisations producing commodities,” he said.

Mr Ofori-Atta said the programme was aimed at providing debt and convertible debt financing to GCX certified aggregators, brokers and farmers to support the production and aggregation of selected commodities, whilst improving liquidity on the GCX trading platform.

“This will not only boost activities on the Exchange but also, attract more players such as banks, venture capital and private equity firms, discount houses, leasing companies, among others, to the Exchange,” Finance Minister said.

In the last decade, Mr Ofori-Atta said VCTF had created seven funds, with investments in over 60 companies and having leveraged additional US$89.7 million from invested capital of US$29 million.

He said the VCTF had created sustainable direct job created of more than 3,400 with additional 13,500 indirect ones.

Mr Ofori-Atta said since the establishment of VCTF’s, the overall provision of venture finance for Small and Medium Enterprises had developed with new players entering the market.

The Finance Minister said the establishment of the VCTF was part of the government’s commitment to support the private sector to thrive.

The VCTF was established in 2004 to provide long term patient capital for growth, wealth and job creation.