IFC backs food supply chain strengthening initiative in West, Central Africa
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), Swiss bank BIC-BRED (Suisse) and Swiss commodity trading group Agro Companies International (ACI) have partnered to help finance the importation of grain into Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana and other African countries.
The partners aim to boost food security in West and Central Africa amid a growing global food crisis.
The IFC has agreed to invest $20-million through a risk participation agreement, in a $60-million trade finance facility arranged by BIC-BRED, for ACI.
The facility will help ACI buy wheat, corn and animal feed from international suppliers and distribute these products to West and Central African buyers, mainly local milling companies.
Africa is highly dependent on imported wheat and other grains, with 44% of the continent’s wheat have been sourced from Russia and Ukraine in 2020.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to wheat supply chain disruptions and highlighted the urgent need for grain trade financing to ensure food security in Africa.
IFC regional industry director Aliou Maiga says strengthening food security in Africa is imperative at the moment, as inflation and market turbulence are hampering trade and imports.
He adds that supporting firms such as ACI speaks to the IFC’s strategy to fill the trade finance gap in Africa and help limit disruptions in the food commodity supply chain.
ACI CEO Erwan Boubet considers the financing support from the IFC as instrumental to sustain the milling wheat and animal feed supply chains of the company’s clients in West and Central Africa.
In turn, the partnership with the IFC enables BIC-BRED to increase its existing trade finance facility granted to ACI at a time when the need for more financial support has become crucial for Africa, explains Suisse deputy GM François Monnier.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest News
Showroom
Goodwin Submersible Pumps Africa is sole distributors for Goodwin electrically driven, submersible, abrasion resistance slurry pumps.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
