A working capital loan of up to $15 million has been given to Robust International by Swedfund to support food processing and smallholder farmers in Africa.
The credit facility is to ensure food security and an increased local processing capacity on the continent.
It was stated that the loan would enable Robust to source local commodities to new processing facilities and thereby spur job creation, economic growth and trade.
The company will buy sesame seeds and cashew nuts directly from cooperatives, aggregators and farmers locally to support operations at its new processing facilities in Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique and Burkina Faso.
The $15 million funding is part of a joint initiative together with the Dutch, British and French development finance institutions and the Dutch fund manager, ILX.
Robust is a multi-national trader of agricultural commodities, specialising in sesame seeds and cashew nuts, sourcing primarily from East and West Africa.
Swedfund now joins FMO (the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank), British International Investment (BII), Proparco and ILX, the Dutch fund manager, to further support the development of enhanced local processing. The total working capital facility amounts to up to $105 million.
Africa exports many agricultural products for processing and refining. Robust now takes the step to do this locally instead, leading to job creation, development of the local supply chains, increased capacity and lower emissions.
The organisation has a strong focus on human rights and decent conditions for workers and farmers in their supply chain.
“Through the working capital facility, we offer funding where local banks are not able to,” the Head of Sustainable Enterprises and Food Systems at Swedfund, Sofia Gedeon, said.