Gebana Burkina Faso
BIO has granted a EUR 3 M loan to Gebana Burkina Faso, a company that processes and exports fairtrade and organic fruit and nuts.
Amount
€ 3,000,000.00
Type of investment
Debt
Development impacts
- Local economic growth
- Food security & rural development
- Promotion of ESG best practices
Beneficiary locations
Investment field
Enterprises
Activity
Gebana Burkina Faso processes and exports Fairtrade and organic cashew and dried mango, mainly to Europe. The company is established in Bobo-Dioulasso (Région des Hauts-Bassins, South-West Burkina Faso) in the heart of a productive region, where it sources its cashew and mangoes from over 3.000 smallholder farmers (mainly organised in cooperatives). GBF is operational since 2006 and majority-owned by Gebana AG, a Swiss company created to build integrated, sustainable food supply chains to B2B and B2C markets.
GBF currently has two processing sites in Bobo-Dioulasso, one site being dedicated to processing cashew nuts and another one for mangoes. However, these assets have become too small for GBF’s current operations and volumes, which prompted the company to start a project to build a new, state-of-the-art, integrated processing facility for cashew and dried mango near Bobo-Dioulasso.
Development impacts
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Local economic growth
The primary development goal of BIO's investment in GBF is to increase its scale, which is expected to lead to additional jobs within the company and within the ecosystem of the company (mainly small growers, but also collectors, transporters, mango driers, etc.).
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Food security & rural development
The project is expected to more than double the number of smallholder farmers from which GBF sources its cashew and mangoes, reaching ~7,000 by 2029. On top of the organic and Fairtrade premium, through Gebana's impact model, 10% of the sales price to the end consumer (European webshop) is distributed back to the farmer.
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Promotion of ESG best practices
GBF is training its supply chain towards certification and better traceability.
GBF is HACCP certified. The new factory is projected to be BRC certified. Such certification implies strict procedures for food quality, safety and traceability.
The ESAP foresees in a further strengthening of ESG best practices, e.g. training for agrotechnicians to undertake training on E&S risks of the supply chain.
E&S Impact
BIO and Gebana Burkina Faso have agreed on a series of actions to improve its management of E&S risks and practices. These include, but are not limited to, the formalisation of E&S policies and procedures, the strengthening of competencies for HR team and agri-technicians, the management of E&S risks during the construction of the new plant, the improvement of best practices in supply chain support and tracking, the increase of long-term contracts for workers, a gender-awareness program and a resources' consumption register.
Situation at the time of investment
Gebana Burkina Faso is HACCP and Bio/organic/FT certified, which contributed to shape some first E&S practices at factory and supply chain level. 20 agri-technicians support the 3,500 farmers to improve their agricultural practices. Furthermore, the group’s profit-sharing policy allows suppliers and employees to benefit from the economic success of the company.
Risk Category: B+
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