GWFP Volcafe

active

The proposed investment consists of a funded participation of up to US$30 million by IFC in an $80 million senior secured one-year trade facility (the “Facility’’) arranged by Absa Bank Limited for Volcafe Ltd East African subsidiaries, with an option for renewal for two additional years. Volcafe (https://edfman.com/coffee/) is the coffee division of ED&F Man Group (https://edfman.com/), an agricultural commodities merchant trading sugar, coffee, molasses, pulses, and animal feed. The Facility is intended to finance the sourcing, processing, and storage of Arabica and Robusta coffee beans in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, the majority of which are produced by smallholders. Volcafe operations in East Africa are supported by a network of warehouses, 2 dry mills and 6 wet mills in Uganda and 1 dry mill in Tanzania. Volcafe does not own coffee farms.   The Facility proceeds will be used as working capital by Volcafe for the purchase of coffee from small-scale farmers and suppliers (coffee aggregators) in Uganda and green coffee beans primarily from the Kenyan auction system (https://www.nairobicoffeeexchange.co.ke/) and the Tanzanian auction system ( https://www.coffeeboard.or.tz/auctions.php). There is no physical asset acquisition, expansion, or Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) program as part of this financing.