For traders & SMEs

The capital your trade already earns — released when you need it.

Banks ask for collateral and audited accounts you don't have. We underwrite the cash flow your business already generates, so a creditworthy trader gets funded in hours, not months.

Partner-bank model · No penalty for early repayment

GHS 5k–2M
Facility size, growing with your history
24–48h
Typical decision time
15–120
Day tenors, matched to your trade cycle
GHS 0
Cross-border settlement fee (PAPSS)
Why traders choose Sankofa

Built for how trade actually works in West Africa

Not a repackaged consumer loan. Working capital designed around the trade cycle, the phone in your hand, and the documents you already have.

No collateral

Your track record is the collateral

We read the cash flow that already runs through your business — mobile-money inflows and outflows, who you buy from and sell to, and your trade documents — and turn it into an explainable risk score. Creditworthy traders the banks turn away can finally qualify.
  • Underwritten on mobile-money and trade data, not fixed assets.
  • Every score comes with its reasons — no black box.
  • Limits grow automatically as your repayment history builds.
Cross-border, instant

Pay a supplier in Lagos from Accra — in seconds

Settlement runs over PAPSS, the Pan-African Payment & Settlement System. You send cedi, your supplier receives naira, settled between central banks — no dollar detour, no correspondent-bank spread, no days of waiting.
  • Local-currency settlement, near-instant.
  • Interbank mid-market FX shown before you confirm, plus a flat 0.5%.
  • Free to you — there is no PAPSS settlement fee.
On your phone

Apply, draw and repay from where you trade

Onboard with your ID and phone, connect your mobile-money history with consent, upload a trade document, and manage your facility from a phone built for low bandwidth. No branch visit, no paperwork queue.
  • Mobile-first, works on modest connections.
  • Draw only what you need; unused limit costs nothing.
  • Repay early with no penalty.
Transparent pricing

Every number, in the open

Transparency is the product. Here are the actual published ranges — no “contact us for pricing”, no spread hidden in the exchange rate.

Sankofa Trade published fees and facility terms
WhatRateThe detail
Financing fee1.5%–3.5%per 30-day cycle, priced to your risk tier — the stronger your data, the lower the rate
One-time origination fee0.75%charged only on drawn facilities, never on an approved limit you don’t use
Cross-border settlementGHS 0PAPSS local-currency settlement is free to traders — no correspondent-bank spread
FX conversioninterbank + 0.5%a single transparent margin; the mid-market rate is shown before you confirm
Advance sizeGHS 5,000 – 2,000,000per approved facility, with limits that grow as your repayment history builds
Tenor15–120 daysmatched to your trade cycle; repay early with no penalty

Your financing fee is set by your risk tier — the stronger and more consistent your data, the lower your rate within the 1.5%–3.5% band. Pricing is confirmed before you draw and written into your facility agreement.

Eligibility

What you need to get started

A short, honest list. If you run a real trading business and can show recent activity, you can likely qualify.

  • A registered trading business operating in a market we serve (Ghana today).
  • At least 3 months of mobile-money or bank transaction history you can share.
  • Genuine trade documents — invoices, purchase orders or shipping records.
  • A valid national ID for KYC verification.
The opportunity

Why this matters

$81B
Africa’s annual trade-finance gapAfrican Development Bank
54
AfCFTA member states trading as one marketAfrican Union
1.3B
People inside the AfCFTA free-trade areaAfCFTA Secretariat
~50%
Of SME trade-finance requests in Africa are rejectedAfDB / WTO
Built on trust

A regulated product, not a payday app

  • Bank of Ghana

    Partner-bank model

    Facilities originated with Bank of Ghana–licensed institutions while direct licensing is pursued.

  • KYC / AML

    FATF-aligned

    Risk-based identity verification and transaction monitoring on every trader and counterparty.

  • PAPSS

    Instant settlement

    Pan-African Payment & Settlement System — local-currency, near-instant cross-border settlement.

  • Act 843

    Data Protection

    Registered under Ghana’s Data Protection Act, 2012; data stays in-region and encrypted.

Questions

Trader FAQ

Straight answers, with the same real numbers you see everywhere else on this site.

Purchasing inventory, paying suppliers before goods ship, bridging the gap between shipping and buyer payment, and settling cross-border invoices. It is working capital for the trade cycle, not a personal loan.

Ready when you are

Turn your trade history into working capital

Open an account in minutes, or talk to a corridor specialist about your trade cycle first.

No collateral · No penalty for early repayment