UGANDA – IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the Private Sector Window of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), today announced an US$11 million loan to Ugandan agribusiness company Grainpulse to support its expansion and strengthen its farmer supply chain, increasing food production and economic growth in the country.
The investment will help Grainpulse expand to become a one-stop-shop for farmers, providing them with multiple services, such as fertilizer blending.
Hannington Karuhanga, Grainpulse CEO and Founder, said, “Our partnership with IFC will help Grainpulse move to the next stage of growth.”
“We chose to work with IFC because it takes a long-term view of our partnership and adds value beyond financing, in areas such as farmer linkages. We are aligned with IFC on our goal of supporting Ugandan farmers.”
IFC will also help Grainpulse launch an online platform so farmers can easily access information on best practices, and train agro-input dealers and retailers on financial management skills to help them expand and secure access to finance.
Grainpulse processes and exports coffee, sources and mills grain and cereals from local farmers, and blends fertilizer at its blending plant, the first in Uganda.
The company was formerly known as Savannah Commodities Company. In September 2018, Grainpulse became a joint venture between Savannah and K+S AG, a global potash and salt company headquartered in Germany.
Janina Kaiser, K+S’s Head of Strategy & Innovation for Sub-Saharan Africa, said “For K+S, the partnership with Grainpulse is the very first step in building a presence in sub-Saharan Africa, which is an important part of our Shaping 2030 Strategy.”
“K+S welcomes IFC as a partner who understands the African business environment as well as global best practices.”
Tomasz Telma, IFC’s Senior Director for Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services, said, “Supporting the agribusiness sector is a major focus for IFC in Africa. This investment in Grainpulse will contribute to food security and economic growth in Uganda by helping increase farmers’ fertilizer use and improving their access to markets.”
Grainpulse expects that its IFC-supported expansion will increase its reach from 36,000 farmers to more than 300,000 by June 2023.