Proparco, Bic-Bred (Suisse) SA and Céréalis renew their partnership to support food security in Africa

In 2023, Proparco announced its partnership with Bic-Bred (Suisse) SA and Céréalis to support the financing of trade in Africa, particularly imports of cereals and oilseeds.

The renewal of this partnership enables Proparco to support Bic-Bred (Suisse) SA, a 100% subsidiary of the French group Bred Banque Populaire, in the financing it provides to Céréalis, a company specialising in the international trade of soft wheat for the milling industry in sub-Saharan Africa. Céréalis will thus continue to pursue this activity, which is essential to the economic development of sub-Saharan African countries, by helping to facilitate trade in cereals and guaranteeing supplies of basic agricultural products to vulnerable countries. The partnership will also support African SMEs whose business is based on importing foodstuffs, processing them and selling them locally. In addition, as Céréalis has recently developed a wheat bran trading business, the partnership will also support inter-African trade in surplus wheat bran from certain West African mills, which is exported mainly to feed mills in North Africa.

For Emmanuel Haye, Head of Africa in Proparco's Financial Institutions and Inclusion Division, ‘ we are delighted to be able to strengthen our partnership with BIC-BRED and indirectly with Céréalis to facilitate the supply of wheat to a number of African countries, at a time when this supply has become more difficult, particularly as a result of the war in Ukraine ’.

Michael Jackisch, Head of the Agricultural Division of Bic-Bred (Suisse) SA, commented: ‘ BIC-BRED has been involved in financing international commodities trading for almost 10 years, and has made a long-term commitment to high-quality trading clients and financial partners. We are delighted that our partnership with Céréalis and Proparco, which began in early 2023, is continuing. Together, we are helping to meet some of the growing wheat and fodder needs of African industrial groups active in the milling and feed industries, and are also facilitating inter-African flows, which are increasing every year ’.

For Hugo Depoix, Managing Director of Céréalis, ‘ We would like to thank Proparco and Bic-Bred for renewing and strengthening our partnership. This is fully in line with Cerealis' support for the growing demand from the milling and feed industries in Africa and Madagascar. These are major challenges for a continent whose demographic growth is exponential and whose food security needs to be ensured.