Proparco, Bic-Bred (Suisse) SA and Touton renew their partnership to support the development of agricultural trade in Africa
published on 19 December 2024
Building on the success of their first partnership in 2022, Proparco, Bic-Bred (Suisse) SA and Touton are joining forces once again to finance cocoa and coffee exports from Africa, thereby contributing to the development of agricultural trade on the continent.
In 2023, Proparco announced a strategic partnership with Bic-Bred (Suisse) SA and Touton to support the financing of African agricultural exports, with a particular focus on cocoa and coffee, some of which is processed in West Africa prior to export. The new agreement provides for Proparco's risk participation of $30 million in a financing facility granted by Bic-Bred (Suisse) SA to Touton.
This initiative is part of the FARM (Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission) initiative, launched in 2022 by the President of the French Republic, to promote food security in Africa.
As a 100% subsidiary of the French group Bred-Banque Populaire, Bic-Bred (Suisse) SA continues to support the financing of Touton's operations, a major player in the international trade of tropical agricultural products. With the majority of its subsidiaries and employees in Africa, Touton plays a key role in supporting the continent's agricultural value chain.
Trade finance is an essential lever for stimulating the African economy, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This partnership promotes the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 8 (“Decent work and economic growth”) and 10 (“Reducing inequalities”), by strengthening the ability of local economic players to access international markets.
According to Sandrine Chapuis and Nicolas Hoffmeyer, in charge of relations within the Agricultural Division of Bic-Bred (Suisse) SA, “we are delighted that this partnership has been renewed, and that our collective commitment has made it possible to provide Touton with additional financing capacity in a context of rising market demand. This enables us to support Touton in financing its import and export operations, in interaction with numerous local SMEs."
According to Abdoulaye Diallo and Margaux Chevrier, Proparco's Financial Institutions and Inclusion project managers: "Proparco is delighted to renew its partnership with Bic-Bred (Suisse) SA in order to support Touton's growing financing needs in a context of increased global demand for cocoa. This renewal demonstrates Proparco's commitment to supporting sustainable agricultural value chains and contributing to inclusive economic development.”
According to Patrick de Boussac, Chairman and CEO of the Touton Group: “We are making progress every day in building more sustainable cocoa, coffee and ingredients value chains. Our enterprising approach, which we call POSITIVE AGRI CULTURE, integrates sustainable development objectives and is based above all on a culture of trust. This relationship of mutual trust has enabled us to renew our financing partnership with Proparco and Bic-Bred (Suisse) SA to continue supporting our operations in collaboration with our African partners.”
