SIPH: Developing the rubber outgrowing sector in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire

SIPH (International Rubber Plantations Company) handles the “natural rubber” activities of SIFCA Group, a major client of Proparco. 

Proparco has allocated a EUR 20m credit line (as part of an EUR 85m syndication by Société Générale) to the agro-industrial group SIPH (International Rubber Plantations Company) to finance the Group’s investment plan in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.

On the social front, the project should support some 43,000 jobs over the next 5 years, mainly for village rubber outgrowers in SIPH’s countries of operation. On the economic front, this financing will allow SIPH to increase its processing capacity and handle larger volumes of the natural rubber produced by the village outgrowers, most of which is exported without being processed. This financing will thereby make it possible to relocate the processing margin in the subregion. The project will thereby contribute to SDGs n° 8 (Decent work and economic growth) and n° 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure).

More generally, the project will: 

• Provide access to financing for a leading African agro-industrial player, so that it can maintain its strategic investments despite the current health crisis. This financing is also an example of the development of the banking market in our geographical areas of operation, as commercial banks are providing most of the financing, with a medium/long-term tranche A, while Proparco is mainly financing a longer-term tranche B to further strengthen SIPH’s balance sheet. 
• Set up a real-time monitoring of deforestation movements (via technical assistance from Proparco) in SIPH’s supply basins (from village outgrowers). This will allow the Group to strictly comply with its Zero Deforestation commitment and document it through independent expertise.