COTE D’IVOIRE - SUCDEN Côte d’Ivoire (SUCDEN-CI)

The Project is a EUR 100 million corporate loan to SUCDEN Côte d’Ivoire (SUCDEN-CI) and its parent company Sucres & Denrées S.A for pre-export, export and value chain financing of sustainably produced cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire. In addition to financing from the Bank’s own resources, the Bank is also mobilizing co-financing of EUR 25 million from the Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF) and USD 10 million from the Agri-Food SME Catalytic Financing Mechanism (ACFM), a Special Fund managed by the Bank, with a focus on supporting Agri-SMEs. The tenor for the Facility will be 2 years, renewable once at the discretion of the Bank and subject to satisfactory performance and full repayment of the first loan. These programs, implemented by SUCDEN throughout the production season, focus on improving smallholder farmers' livelihoods, enhancing their capacity to implement good agricultural practices, and strengthening the overall traceability and sustainability of the supply chain. To further deepen the overall impact, the Bank is also processing an accompanying Technical Assistance Grant from ACFM with a focus on supporting cocoa farmers and cooperatives address key capacity gaps, increase investment readiness and to better adapt to the increasing impact of climate change through an upgraded digitalization of climate smart agriculture curriculum. This Project builds on the Bank’s existing relationship with SUCDEN, beginning from 2015 with facilities to support the Group’s cocoa operations in Côte d’Ivoire, and more recently, in 2024, with a facility focused on Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon. The Group has successfully implemented previous Bank facilities and demonstrated strong capabilities in improving agricultural supply chains and smallholder farmer livelihoods.