Netherlands-based cooperative investor Oikocredit recently opened credit lines for entities involved in the cocoa industry in Côte d’Ivoire with ceilings of: EUR 3.5 million (USD 4.3 million) for Entreprise Coopérative Kimbe (Ecookim), a union of cooperatives that exports cocoa; EUR 2.5 million (USD 3.1 million) for cocoa exporter Ocean SA; and EUR 1 million (USD 1.2 million) for the cocoa cooperative Socak Katana. The proceeds will allow the borrowers to boost their acquisition, processing and exports of cocoa grown by cooperative members.
Diane Potey, Oikocredit’s investment officer in West Africa, said, “By providing smallholder cooperatives with access to affordable financing, Oikocredit supports the growing needs of smallholder farmers for funding. In addition, we help our cocoa partners to strengthen their capacities in financial management, risk management and agricultural practices.”
Founded in 2004, Ecookim works with 23 cooperatives whose membership includes a total of 21,000 cocoa producers and 1,500 cashew producers as of September 2020. Founded in 2013, Ocean SA has 15 employees, with its primary buyer being Switzerland-based Cocoasource. Both entities are certified by Fair Trade USA and the Utz initiative of the Rainforest Alliance for sustainable cocoa production.
Socak Katana procures raw cocoa from approximately 3,000 members for processing and sale to local and global buyers. With the goal of improving the living standards of cocoa producers, the organization “educates producers on issues related to gender balance, climate change and child protection.”
Founded in 1975, Oikocredit invests in microfinance, fair trade, agriculture and renewable energy. As of September 2020, the entity has total outstanding capital of EUR 856 million (USD 1.05 billion), including investments in approximately 700 partner organizations.
By Romil Pandey, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Oikocredit press release
https://www.oikocredit.coop/k/en/n2613/news/view/329867/9049/oikocredit-invests-7-million-to-support-smallholder-cocoa-producers-in-cote-d-ivoire.html
Ecookim homepage
http://ecookim.com/
Ocean SA homepage
http://www.ocean-ci.com/
Bamboo Capital profile on Socak Katana
http://www.bamboocp.com/investments/socak-katana/
Fair Trade USA homepage
https://www.fairtradecertified.org/
Utz certification homepage
https://utz.org/
Rainforest Alliance homepage
https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/
Oikocredit homepage
https://www.oikocredit.coop/
Past MicroCapital brief on Oikocredit
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-sempli-of-colombia-raises-8m-in-equity-round-led-by-incofin-oikocredit/
Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at http://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.
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