The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and South Africa’s Absa Group Limited, have teamed up to provide a $50 million commodity trade finance facility to Valency International, a Singapore-based company active in Africa’s agricultural commodities market. The facility is designed to support the pre-export of key agricultural products in West and East Africa.
An IFC statement on Wednesday said Valency will use the funds to purchase crops such as cashew nuts, sesame seeds, shea nuts, ginger, and soya beans. These commodities will be sourced from an estimated 150,000 smallholder farmers and local traders across Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Ghana, and Tanzania. Agriculture is the backbone of Africa’s economy, with around 80 percent of farmland managed by smallholder farmers. However, many of these farmers lack access to financing, limiting their ability to compete in global markets.
The facility, split equally between IFC and Absa, will provide vital working capital to Valency, allowing the company to offer financial support to cooperatives and local agents. This, in turn, will enable farmers to have better access to markets and improve their livelihoods. IFC’s involvement is part of its $1 billion Africa Trade and Supply Chain Recovery Initiative, which aims to support trade across the continent.
Sérgio Pimenta, IFC’s Vice President for Africa, highlighted the importance of the initiative: ‘As one of the largest global investors in African agribusiness, IFC sees a tremendous opportunity to support economic growth and job creation in this critical sector.’
Tshimbi Ntuli, Head of Structured Trade and Commodity Finance for Absa’s Regional Operations, emphasised the partnership’s strategic vision. ‘Collaborations like this are essential in driving Africa’s economic transformation, and we are thrilled to work with IFC and Valency to bring sustainable impact to Africa’s agricultural sector.’
Valency’s Group CEO, Sumit Jain, expressed the company’s enthusiasm for the partnership, noting that the facility will further integrate farmers into the value chain and help bring their produce to broader markets.
This joint effort is expected to provide much-needed financial support to African farmers, strengthening the continent’s agricultural exports and improving the livelihoods of thousands of smallholder farmers.
