Barry Callebaut Cote d'Ivoire RSF

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The proposed investment involves a Risk Sharing Facility with two Barry Callebaut (BC) subsidiaries in Cote d’Ivoire: Société Africaine de Cacao (SACO), a Barry Callebaut’s subsidiary in Cote d’Ivoire and Biopartenaire (BP) which is 100% owned by Barry Callebaut; to provide non-cash lending with a short to medium term tenor by directly delivering inputs/services (fertilizers) to a large number of smallholder/farmer suppliers within BP’s and SACO’s partner cooperatives. Repayment of the loan will be deducted from the payment of the cocoa delivered by each farmer and cooperative. The project will also involve participation from at least one local Microfinance Institution, at which participating farmers will maintain a savings account to be used as collateral for the loan. Each borrower will be required to deposit a significant loan amount upfront in a savings account to be located at the MFI (through mobile money technology where available). This will help them establish a bankable credit history.Headquartered in Switzerland, Barry Callebaut AG is the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products. Barry Callebaut is fully integrated, from the sourcing of raw materials through the production of semi-finished products to the production of liquid and molded chocolate products for the entire food industry. The Société Africaine de Cacao (SACO) is Barry Callebaut’s main processing subsidiary in Côte d’Ivoire, which sources cocoa from cooperatives. Biopartenaire is part of the Biolands Group (100% owned by Barry Callebaut as of February 2014), a direct sourcing and farm services entity operating across Tanzania and Cote d’Ivoire and dedicated to sourcing sustainably produced cocoa directly from farmers. Biopartenaire obtained UTZ certification in 2011 and Rainforest Alliance certification in 2012 and works directly with farmers and village coordinators to provide training and support professional services (such as tree pruners and pesticide appliers), inputs such as fertilizers, financial services, support and assistance in the production of certified cocoa. Headquartered in Abidjan, Société Africaine de Cacao has two cocoa processing units in San Pedro and Abidjan. BC does not own cocoa farms in Cote d’Ivoire. Instead, SACO sources a significant share of cocoa from partner cooperatives and through BP’s network of registered farmers and from other active suppliers (local traders and other cooperatives). Of the total cocoa beans procured annually, the large majority are ground in SACO’s processing units in Cote d’Ivoire, while the remaining are destined for export.