Digitizing payments in the cocoa value chain in Ghana

• Jul 26, 2025
• 1 min

Moving away from cash-based transactions to digital payments could enhance financial security, improve efficiency, and increase transparency in the cocoa trade. However, Ghana’s smallholder cocoa farmers and local cocoa-buying companies struggled to adopt digital payment systems. Recognizing these adoption challenges, the Earthworm Foundation (EWF) Ghana partnered with MSC to train their team and equip them with the tools needed to evaluate the digital readiness of cocoa farmers and cocoa-buying companies.

The Helix Institute at MSC developed a customized training program for the Earthworm Foundation Ghana’s staff. The training covered digital payment feasibility assessments, market research techniques, stakeholder engagement, and evaluation methods. Additionally, MSC created digital readiness assessment tools to help the team analyze the preparedness of farmers and cocoa-buying companies to adopt digital payments. We also provided hands-on support during initial assessments to ensure that the team gained both theoretical knowledge and practical experience to evaluate digital payment integration.

As a result of MSC’s intervention, the Earthworm Foundation Ghana’s staff developed the skills to assess the digital readiness of cocoa-buying companies and gained a deeper understanding of the factors that influence digital adoption. The team also learned market research techniques to evaluate cocoa farmers’ willingness to transition to digital payments. As part of the initiative, we assessed three cocoa-buying companies and provided specific recommendations on digitization strategies.

The Gates Foundation commissioned the project.