Ghana and Switzerland collaborate for sustainable cocoa
The International Trade Centre (ITC) and its host country Switzerland are strengthening their partnership in promoting sustainable trade-led development worldwide. They hosted events in Bern on 12 September, with a special focus on collaboration in the cocoa sector for systemic change, led by Swiss and Ghanaian stakeholders.
The day began with the ITC flagship sustainability event, the Trade for Sustainable Development (T4SD) Forum, co-hosted with the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) at the Eventforum Bern. Speakers discussed pressing challenges facing small businesses today, including the impact of geopolitical tensions and evolving regulatory landscapes.
In her opening remarks, ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton highlighted the importance of partnerships in supporting small businesses not only to adapt to these changes – but to play an active role in creating solutions.
‘We don’t sit in a box, make decisions and impose them,’ she said. ‘We work with our partners, stakeholders and beneficiaries – that means small businesses, including those led by women and youth – to come up with ideas and to co-implement solutions.’
Her sentiments were echoed throughout the day, as various participants spoke of the need for joint efforts to address complex challenges like sustainability and economic development.
Lucy Afari is CEO of Flexy Foods in Ghana, and part of the cohort of entrepreneurs under the Netherlands Trust Fund V programme in Ghana implemented by ITC. She also underscored the critical role of women in driving economic change.
‘Women in Ghana support the family – education, healthcare, all of that. Empowering women to get income to sustain their families is what we achieve at Flexy Foods,’ she stated, highlighting how small businesses are at the forefront of promoting both gender equality and value addition in local economies.
Understanding policy impact from bean to bar
A tour at Swiss chocolate company Halba’s processing facilities, and a roundtable discussion reflected on the need for concerted action and partnerships in achieving ambitious targets for a sustainable cocoa industry.
The Sankofa multi-stakeholder initiative is making strides in Ghana by promoting income diversification, climate resilience, and biodiversity conservation in the cocoa value chain. The project is a collaboration funded by SECO, Coop, HALBA, and other partners.
The event let Ghanaian and Swiss cocoa sector stakeholders connect and discuss key issues, milestones, and plans for transformation. A guided tour of Halba’s chocolate processing facilities helped stakeholders better understand cocoa value addition, and the end journey of sustainable, ethically sourced cocoa beans from the Ghana Sankofa project.
The roundtable discussed and identified actionable strategies for sustainable change, in an honest conversation on how to transform the industry.
The heads of ITC, Ghana’s Cocoa Board, Niche Cocoa, Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union, and Swiss Partners including Max Havelaar CH, Coop, Halba, and other high-level participants attended the event.
Larry Attipoe, ITC-Alliances for Action coordinator of agribusiness and cocoa projects in Ghana, noted the rising contribution of semi-processed products to cocoa exports, citing an increase from 10% in 2006 to 37% today.
‘Adding value through differentiation is crucial,’ he stated. ‘We are doing this through the NTF V and UKTP projects, supporting small Ghanaian chocolate makers to streamline and scale.’
ITC Executive Director Coke-Hamilton said: ‘If we continue with our extractive trade models, especially in commodity-rich regions like Africa, we perpetuate systemic inequality. Value addition at origin is one way of breaking this cycle.’
The participants also explored how to leverage agroforestry and other climate-smart cropping systems to enhance sustainability. The discussions revolved around enhancing value addition, diversifying markets, and making cocoa farming a more attractive option for younger generations — a key to the long-term viability of the sector.
The day concluded with a parliamentary high-level dinner hosted by ITC. This event celebrated ITC's 60th anniversary and its enduring partnership with Switzerland in promoting fair and transparent international trade.
The dinner brought together key stakeholders from both the public and private sectors, including Switzerland’s State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Helene Budliger Artieda, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, CEO of Ghana Cocoa Board, and senior figures from Swiss institutions.
In her closing remarks, the ITC Executive Director said: ‘This collaboration with Switzerland has shown that when we work together, we can achieve incredible results — not just in terms of economic gains but in creating a fairer, more sustainable world for all.’
About the projects
The Netherlands Trust Fund V (NTF) (July 2021 – June 2025) is based on a partnership between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands and the International Trade Centre. The programme supports MSMEs in the digital technologies through its EcomConnect programme and agribusiness sectors through its Alliances for Action programme. Its ambition is two-fold: to contribute to an inclusive and sustainable transformation of food systems, partially through digital solutions, and drive the internationalisation of tech start-ups and export of IT&BPO companies in selected Sub-Saharan African countries.
The Sankofa programme is a multi-stakeholder project pioneering initiative aimed at enhancing sustainable livelihoods through a multifaceted approach to income diversification, climate resilience, and biodiversity conservation within the cocoa and associated crops value chains in Ghana. It is funded and supported by Coop and HALBA, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) through the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa’s Landscape Programme, the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Fairtrade Finland, Fairtrade Max Havelaar Switzerland and NTF V through the International Trade Centre (ITC). It is implemented by Fairtrade Africa (FTA), Kuapa Kokoo Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Union Limited (KKFU), International Trade Centre (ITC) and Nature and Development Foundation (NDF). Technical support to the project is provided by Ecotop Suisse GmbH and the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG).
The UK Trade Partnerships (UKTP) programme works with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to increase exports from SME suppliers to the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU). The UKTP programme is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is implemented by the International Trade Centre.
