Tag: Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast receives US$200m blended financing from Proparco, EAIF for establishment of oil palm waste electricity project

Editor

IVORY COAST – Biovea Energie, an Ivorian incorporated firm owned by Électricité de France (EDF), Meridiam and Biokala, a joint venture created by Meridiam and a major agro-industrial player in West Africa, Sifca has closed a financing deal for its Biovea project in the country. The Biovea project which seeks to set up the first biomass power plant with grid injection in Africa, is set to receive Euros 165m (US$200m) loan and Euros 13m (US$15.76m) grant from Proparco, the subsidiary of the French Development Agency (AFD) group responsible for financing…

Read More

Ivory Coast to add value to cocoa waste, invests US$244m in cocoa-powered bio-diesel plant

Editor

IVORY COAST – Ivorian specialist in the biomass sector, Société des Energies Nouvelles (SODEN), has partnered with US Trade and Development Agency to establish a cocoa-powered renewable energy plant. The project, which will innovatively put to use the cocoa-waste is expected to cost about 131 billion West African CFA francs (US$244m). Ivory Coast is the world’s leading producer of cocoa beans contributing over 40% of the global supply. The cocoa beans which are exported to power the US$130billion per annum cocoa and chocolate industry, make up a small portion of…

Read More

World Bank to finance smallholder farmers and agri-enterprises in Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire

Editor

WEST AFRICA – The World Bank has approved new financing through the International Development Association (IDA), to increase productivity and market access for smallholder farmers and agri-enterprises in Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire. In Liberia, the bank is injecting US$55 million credit financing into the Rural Economic Transformation Project (RETRAP), focusing on improved production of cassava, rubber, poultry, and pigs. This new financing targets 60,000 persons, 50 percent of whom are women, mainly smallholder farmers and agri-entrepreneurs (private agribusiness investors, cooperatives, and SME processing or providing other services to agri-food systems)…

Read More

Nigeria secures US$700m from IDA for water, sanitation project while French company Vergnet Hydro to rehabilitate 1,000 boreholes in Ivory Coast

Editor

NIGERIA – The West African nations of Nigeria and Ivory Coast are currently ploughing in funds to finance water and sanitation projects in their communities. In Nigeria, the International Development Association (IDA), a subsidiary of the World Bank, has granted the region’s most populous country, a US$700 million loan for implementation of its Sustainable Urban and Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (Surwash) Programme. The loan will finance access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for 6 million people, mainly in rural areas and small towns. The World Bank funding…

Read More

ABC Fund supports three agribusiness ventures in West Africa with working capital

Editor

WEST AFRICA – The Agri-Business Capital Fund (ABC Fund), managed by Bamboo Capital Partners, Injaro and Agriterra, has provided loans to three agri-businesses in West Africa, to support their working capital needs and expansion strategies. The backing from the blended-finance impact fund, will also enable the farmers to secure market access in their respective sectors and foster higher rural employment opportunities. The ABC Fund has provided a loan of EUR450,000 (US$546,421) to Kaworo based in Burkina Faso, a producer of grains (mainly maize, millet, sesame, cowpeas and sorghum) and seeds,…

Read More

Ivory Coast, Ghana strengthens cocoa alliance to safeguard sector priorities

Editor

WEST AFRICA – Ivory Coast and Ghana, the two West African nations who together produce more than 60% of the world’s cocoa, have pledged to further strengthen and expand the existing economic relations on cocoa and other related matters between their respective countries. In August 2020, the two countries formed the Ivory Coast-Ghana Cocoa Initiative (ICCIG) aimed to promote their cocoa industries internationally and defend their collective position in the global market. To that end, the two countries are expected to expedite action on the setting up of a permanent…

Read More

ITFC, OCP Africa partner to build Côte d’Ivoire’s rice value chain, Malawi government plans US$40m rice scheme

Editor

CÔTE D’IVOIRE – The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has partnered with OCP Africa to support 20,000 rice farmers in Côte d’Ivoire’s agriculture value chain, to boost local agricultural production, minimize exposure to imports and advance food security in the country. The initiative will be undertaken trough OCP Africa’s Agribooster Program with participation from the Arab Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) Program, a multi-partner program led by ITFC. The agreement was signed by Dr. Mohamed Anouar Jamali, Chief Executive Officer of OCP Africa, a subsidiary of OCP Group, and Eng.…

Read More

Leading chocolate ice-cream brand Magnum commits to planting 465,000 trees in Ivory Coast

Editor

IVORY COAST – Unilever-owned Magnum ice cream brand has announced a tree planting programme in the Cavally Forest region in Ivory Coast, targeting to plant 465,000 native trees as it marks International Day of Forests. This is part of a multi-year, strategic plan to preserve and restore the region where it sources its cocoa for its ice-creams. Magnum’s Brand Director, Ben Curtis, said, “We are proud to announce our work to protect and preserve forests in Côte d’Ivoire, where the majority of Magnum’s cocoa is sourced. “It helps us continue…

Read More

West Africa to earn US$1.5 billion from sale of cashew, spearheaded by new USDA, TechnoServe programs

Editor

WEST AFRICA – TechchnoServe, an international non-profit organization has received two grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support the development of the cashew sector in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria. The support will enable the expansion of the BeninCajù project in Benin and launch of the new Prosper Cashew program in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria, which will help drive change across this important value chain, benefitting thousands of farmers and others employed in the sector. According to TechnoServe, the five-year Promoting Opportunities for Cashew Processing…

Read More

Ivory Coast eyes US$1.2 billion financing from EU to aid its gradual transition to sustainable cocoa production

Editor

IVORY COAST – The world’s leading cocoa producing country Ivory Coast, is set to clinch €1bln (US$1.2 billion) financing from the European Union over the next six years, to aid the country’s cocoa sector adapt to EU supply chain laws towards sustainable cocoa production, due to be introduced later this year. The loan will be provided under the “Team Europe” initiative set up by the institution to assist its member countries, with the resources expected to come from all 27 EU member states as well as financial institutions in the…

Read More