Proparco is supporting an agricultural company in Kenya
Kenya
Proparco has allocated a loan to support Kenya Nut Company, a family-run company that has diversified and has been operating in the nut sector (macadamia and cashew nuts) in Kenya for over 40 years. The company sources from over 30,000 small-scale nut producers. Over a thousand full-time equivalent jobs should be supported at KNC over the next five years, including 90 jobs created and 585 jobs held by women.
Client presentation
Kenya Nut Company (“Kenya Nut”, “KNC”) is a Kenyan family-run company set up in 1974 and a subsidiary of the International Controls Limited (ICL) Group. It mainly produces macadamia nuts and wants to strengthen this activity and develop new side activities for cashew nut production, cattle breeding and wine production.
Project description
Proparco’s long-term financing will mainly finance the company’s 2019-2021 development plan. To help Kenya Nut cope with the health crisis, part of Proparco’s financing will also be earmarked for short-term cashflow needs to give Kenya Nut flexibility in this particular period.
Proparco will also help meet Kenya Nut’s request to improve corporate governance and environmental performance, which are key areas of development for this company experiencing strong growth. This project is thereby supporting a developing agriculture sector that creates jobs and is a source of diversification for Kenya’s export revenues, which are still too dependent on coffee and tea. The project is also contributing to improving living conditions for the most vulnerable farmers (<2 ha) and to their professionalization. In addition, it is strengthening Kenya’s industrial fabric and, finally, has a climate change adaptation dimension by generating water savings in an area sensitive to water stress.
Project impact
The expected impacts of this financing are as follows:
- The project should support over 1,000 full-time equivalent jobs at KNC over the next five years, including 90 jobs created and 585 jobs held by women. In addition, the project should support some 8,200 indirect jobs, mainly for macadamia nut producers.
- The project should also contribute to strengthening KNC’s adaptation to climate change, as USD 4m will be invested in a drip irrigation system. This will allow KNC to save water and will reduce its vulnerability to water stress, as droughts are increasingly frequent in the Thika region due to climate change.
This information is given at the time of signature, without prejudice to any developments in the operation/project
05/28/2020
Date of signature of the project
Sectors
Kenya
Location
15 859 553
Euros
Amount of funding
USD 18.7m loan
Kenya Nut Company Limited
Kenya
PKE1136
CES