Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire and Corus International announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at strengthening the development, structuring, and professionalisation of agricultural cooperatives in West Africa.
This collaboration comes at a time when cooperatives remain a key pillar of the region’s agricultural value chains: in Côte d’Ivoire alone, more than 1.2 million smallholder farmers depend on cocoa cooperatives (ICCO, 2023), while producer organisations play an increasingly central role in cashew and food crop production.
The partnership reflects the shared ambition of both institutions to provide cooperatives with a more robust governance framework, stronger operational foundations, and better conditions for sustainable value creation. The agreement establishes an operational mechanism to identify high-potential cooperatives—particularly those with strong women’s participation, given that women represent nearly 60% of the agricultural workforce in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ecobank and Corus, through its agricultural development organisation Lutheran World Relief, will co-tailor solutions, including capacity building, technical assistance, governance improvement, financial structuring, access to management tools, and compliance reinforcement.
A pilot phase will be launched in Côte d’Ivoire and Togo, focusing on cocoa, cashew and food crops. The objective is to support approximately 50 cooperatives over the next 12 months, followed by a scale-up to 300 cooperatives, in line with the ambition outlined in the MOU.
On this occasion, Paul-Harry Aithnard, Managing Director of Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire and Regional Executive for the UEMOA zone, stated, “This collaboration establishes a structured framework to help agricultural cooperatives strengthen their professionalism, stability and access to opportunities. By combining the field expertise of Corus International with the operational capacity of Ecobank’s Agribusiness Desk, we aim to build solutions adapted to farmers’ realities, at the heart of the value chains that sustain our territories. Our shared ambition is to reinforce these essential actors and accelerate sustainable local value creation. ”
Mahmoud BAH, Chief Operating Officer of Corus International, welcomed the initiative, saying, “Agricultural cooperatives are the economic backbone of many communities in West Africa. By joining forces with Ecobank, we can amplify our action, provide greater financial stability to farmer organisations, and help them access tools that strengthen their autonomy. This partnership creates a vital bridge between community-level development and the financial solutions needed to transform agricultural value chains. ”
The MOU also formalises a mutual commitment to operate under strict transparency and compliance standards, in line with the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) signed in September 2025. This includes data protection requirements, anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing measures, as well as Ecobank’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and responsible value-chain principles.
About Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire
Ecobank Côte d'Ivoire is the Ivorian subsidiary of the Ecobank Group, which operates in 34 countries across Africa. As a major financial player in the country, the bank supports businesses, institutions and individuals through a comprehensive range of digital, transactional and financing solutions. The bank has a specialised Agribusiness Desk, responsible for supporting agricultural stakeholders, structuring cooperatives, facilitating their access to financing and strengthening the country's strategic value chains. This facility mobilises tools dedicated to financing agricultural campaigns, risk management, support for farmers' organisations and improving traceability and compliance in the sectors.
About Corus International – Lutheran World Relief
Corus International is a social impact organisation that unites an array of nonprofits and businesses, each with specialised expertise — from health to technology to economic development to emergency response. Alongside communities and local partners in fragile settings, the expert teams at Corus integrate disciplines, approaches and resources to overcome poverty and suffering for those living in the world’s toughest and most difficult circumstances.
Lutheran World Relief leads rural economic development programming at Corus. Founded in 1945, Lutheran World Relief, works across Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East collaborating with local partners to grow inclusive and resilient rural economies, reduce poverty, and respond to natural disasters and humanitarian crises. Its reach and capabilities are amplified by the other global leaders in the Corus family, including IMA World Health, CGA Technologies and Ground Up Investing. Together, they bring the multi-dimensional, holistic solutions needed to truly achieve lasting change.
