Global trader of sesame and cashew nuts Robust International is expanding its footprint in Africa with three new processing plants now operational in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Mozambique.

The company, headquartered in Singapore, is transitioning from traditional trading to a fully integrated supply chain model.

To support this shift, Impact Fund Denmark and Austria’s OeEB have each committed $25-million to a syndicated working capital facility originally arranged by Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO.

With additional contributions from FMO of $15-million and British International Investment of $5-million, the facility has grown from $105-million to $175-million.

The funding enables Robust to buy sesame and cashew directly from local cooperatives and farmers, ensuring that processing happens locally rather than overseas.

This approach strengthens agricultural value chains and also creates 1 100 jobs at the new plants and supports an estimated 600 000 smallholder farmers, where Robust is a major offtaker, the company points out.

“This investment reflects Impact Fund Denmark’s commitment to building just and inclusive economies in Africa. By enabling Robust International to source directly from smallholder farmers, we help create local jobs, strengthen agricultural value chains and unlock export potential in some of the world’s least developed countries.

“Crucially, we are supporting a shift in the food value chain, bringing more processing and value creation to the African continent itself, so that exports can increasingly go directly from Africa to Western markets, ensuring that more of the economic value stays where the raw materials originate,” says Impact Fund Denmark sustainable food systems co-head MD Otto Vinther Christensen.

“This third investment in Robust shows what development finance institutions and other impact investors can do when they work together. The new processing plants have created thousands of jobs, and the working capital provided to Robust enables cashew nuts and sesame to be sourced from local suppliers, stimulating the economy and adding value to the product locally.

“We would like to thank our partners and Robust for this impactful cooperation and look forward to continuing our joint efforts,” says FMO agribusiness, food and forestry director Hans Boogaard.