Strengthening the rubber industry in Ghana by supporting GREL’s investment plan

GREL is the Ghanaian subsidiary of the International Rubber Plantations Company (SIPH), the lead holding company for the rubber activities of the West African agro-industrial group SIFCA. It is the largest rubber company in Ghana. The company operates practically throughout the rubber value chain, from nurseries to the industrial processing and export of latex. It has some 20,000 ha of plantations, 14,000 of which are planted. It also sources from 9,000 small-scale outgrowers who farm a total 30,000 ha. GREL has 4,000 employees.

Proparco’s loan will contribute to financing GREL’s investment plan in the Takoradi region in Western Ghana, where the company is traditionally established. This plan includes programs for the extension of its plantations, replantation and to increase its processing capacity. It will allow GREL to significantly increase its production, which is expected to double over the next eight years to some 25,000 tons a year.

This project is expected to create and maintain sustainable incomes for several thousand supplier outgrowers. In addition, GREL’s activity will create 560 direct jobs and some 3,000 indirect jobs with subcontractors. The project should also contribute to disseminating good CSR practices. Indeed, GREL has pledged to take measures to protect biodiversity on its new plantations.