• AAK signs MoU with Ghana to expand shea sector activities
• Company to add 70,000 women collectors, boost skills and processing
• Deal aligns with Ghana’s push for local shea value addition

Swedish agribusiness company AAK has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture through its local subsidiary, AAK Ghana, to strengthen its activities in the country’s shea sector.

Under the agreement, AAK plans to integrate an additional 70,000 women shea nut collectors into its national supply network over the coming years, Ghanaian media reported on Monday, Feb. 9.

The partnership also covers skills development and local value addition, including the planned creation of an AAK Ghana Innovation Academy as a center of excellence. Authorities said cooperation will extend to investments in processing capacity and the preservation of shea parklands.

“This partnership reflects our confidence in Ghana’s shea sector and our commitment to investing in local capacity, sustainable sourcing, and inclusive economic growth,” said Lasse Skaksen, vice president of AAK West Africa.

AAK’s renewed interest in processing comes as the Ghanaian government plans to gradually suspend exports of raw shea nuts from 2026 as part of a strategy to develop domestic processing.

The company has operated in Ghana since 1958, mainly through its “Kolo Nafaso” programme, which sources shea nuts directly from women collectors. AAK does not currently operate a processing facility in the country and exports most of the nuts it collects to plants abroad.

If implemented, the processing investments announced by AAK could strengthen local industrial capacity and align with the government’s new policy direction for the shea sector.

On Jan. 31, President John Dramani Mahama launched the Shea Park Resource Hub in Wa in the Upper West region. The project aims to attract investment into shea-based cosmetics, agribusiness, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries.

Stéphanas Assocle