BIO and EDFI AgriFI co-invest EUR 6 M in AgroServ
EDFI AgriFI and BIO co-invest for a total of EUR 6 million in AgroServ to scale up local agriculture value chain in Burkina Faso.
24-10-2022
EDFI AgriFI and BIO co-invest for a total of EUR 6 million in AgroServ to scale up local agriculture value chain in Burkina Faso.
AgroServ, a leading Burkinabe maize processor closed a EUR 3 million senior loan from EDFI AgriFI, complemented by a similar deal with BIO to further expand and diversify its processing capacity and increase the sourcing from local smallholders around its plant. The loan is complemented by equity commitments from Investisseurs et Partenaires and Oikocredit.
We aim to build an ultramodern agri-food complex for corn processing.
Siaka Sanon, CEO of AgroServ
Agroserv is located in Ouagadougou. It has been processing and marketing maize products since 2008: gritz, semolina, flour and bran. It also provides technical and financial support to a large network of small producers and farmers' organisations from which the company obtains its supplies. In the same vein the company’s products target the local market and contribute to local food security.
As global food security and political stability challenges mount, AgroServ is essential to make the region’s economy more resilient, achieving sustainable growth, and improving smallholders' inclusiveness.
Aude Sauvaget, AgriFI investment officer at EDFI Management Company.
Amid colliding crises of conflicts, smallholder farmers have seen skyrocketing costs of food, fuel and fertilizer. In 2022, food insecurity was a reality for 12.7million people in the Central Sahel region only - three times the figure for 2019. While Burkina Faso’s economy is based on agriculture, investing in promising companies such as AgroServ is a top priority for impact investors such as BIO and EDFI AgriFI.
With this funding round, AgroServ aims to increase and diversify its product line, by building an agri-food transformation complex in Bobo-Dioulasso. In turn, the objective is twofold: increase its primary processing capacity sourced from local farmers and diversify its product range thanks to secondary processing lines.
BIO is pleased to contribute to the development of an agrifood transformation plant in Burkina Faso which will increase the company’s processing capacity, improving efficiency, and diversify its product range and customer base.
Elsie Ndada, Investment Officer at BIO
About
AGROSERV INDUSTRIE SA is a Burkinabè industrial company specialised in the transformation of corn into semolina and flour, inspired by African traditions and modern industrial techniques. The company provides the market with food products adapted to the consumption needs of populations on the national and sub-regional markets. It is also investing in the organisation of the maize sector with a view to improving and stabilizing the quality and quantity of its raw material, any choice which positively impacts the income of small producers.
EDFI AgriFI, the EU Agriculture Financing Initiative, is an impact investment facility funded by the European Union, with a mandate to unlock, accelerate and leverage investments with a value chain approach in developing countries, focusing on smallholder’s inclusiveness and/or agri-business medium, small and micro enterprises (MSME).
AgriFI is managed by EDFI Management Company on behalf of the 15 European Development Finance Institutions (DFI).
Contacts
- EDFI AgriFI: Mathilde Poncelet, Senior Communications Specialist
- BIO: Ben Jehaes, External Relations Manager
- Agroserv Industrie : Siaka Sanon, CEO
EDFI AgriFi
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