Access Bank Ghana Plc has secured certification from Ghana’s Carbon Market Office (CMO) to operate as a carbon credit broker, positioning the bank to play a larger role in the country’s emerging carbon market and climate finance ecosystem.
The certification, granted under Ghana’s Framework for International Carbon Market and Non-Market Approaches and the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 2025 (Act 1124), allows the bank to facilitate, intermediate and broker transactions involving carbon credits, including Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs).
The move places Access Bank among institutions authorised to participate in Ghana’s regulated carbon market as demand grows for financing mechanisms that support climate and sustainability projects.
Under the new certification, the bank can connect carbon credit buyers and sellers, facilitate transactions in both primary and secondary markets, and act as a market arranger between Ghanaian project developers and international buyers, carbon funds and climate finance institutions.
Access Bank will also provide carbon market advisory services, complementing its existing green lending, sustainability-linked financing and transition finance products.
Managing Director of Access Bank Ghana, Pearl Nkrumah, said the certification strengthens the bank’s role in supporting Ghana’s transition towards a low-carbon economy.
“As a licensed carbon credit broker, we connect project developers, investors, and corporates with credible, well-structured carbon market opportunities while upholding the highest standards of transparency and regulatory compliance,” she said.
Head of Public Sector and Sustainability at Access Bank Ghana, Priscilla Ashiam, said the certification could also support government institutions pursuing decarbonisation commitments.
She noted that the bank could assist public sector institutions in structuring carbon transactions that align with Ghana’s climate objectives while maintaining transparency and regulatory compliance.
The certification builds on Access Bank Group’s wider involvement in climate finance. In 2019, Access Bank Plc in Nigeria became the first African corporate issuer to receive Climate Bonds Initiative certification for a green bond, raising N15 billion to finance low-carbon projects in manufacturing, transport and agriculture.
Access Bank Ghana said it will continue working with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Carbon Market Office to support the development of Ghana’s regulated carbon market.
The bank’s entry could potentially create new financing and investment channels for Ghanaian businesses and project developers seeking to monetise verified emissions reductions while attracting international climate capital.
