Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership, recently arranged a 7-year financing deal of USD 200 million for Ecom, a corporation based in Switzerland that specializes in the trading and processing of coffee, cocoa and cotton. The deal is 30-percent funded by FMO, with the remainder coming from other, unidentified European development finance institutions.
“Via Ecom we will reach rural areas in developing countries and those who need our support the most, while looking out for the environment,” said Pieternel Boogaard, FMO’s Director of Agribusiness, Food and Water.
The funding is to be used to “finance farmer initiatives throughout the supply chain, capex investments and permanent working capital needs.” Nearly all of the 800,000 farmers that sold crops to Ecom during 2019 were classified as smallholders, and 200,000 were women. As of 2021, Ecom operates in 40 countries across Europe, the Americas, and Africa. The firm holds certification for various forms of sustainability from 4C, AAA, CAFE Practices, Rainforest Alliance and Utz.
Established in 1970, FMO is 51-percent held by the Dutch government and 49-percent by private sector institutions. The entity works toward the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by funding capacity development as well as placing debt and equity investments in sectors such as agribusiness, financial institutions and energy. During the six months ending June 2020, FMO lost EUR 280 million (USD 330 million) on a total portfolio of EUR 12.7 billion (USD 14.9 billion).
By Tejas Gumudavelly, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
FMO press release
https://www.fmo.nl/news-detail/2991fa23-6c66-4054-82e3-fd2ba532b6b7/fmo-arranges-a-usd-200mln-syndicated-facility-to-support-ecom
Ecom webpage
https://www.ecomtrading.com/
FMO webpage
https://www.fmo.nl/
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