AgDevCo has announced an investment in Tradin Organic to source organic cocoa directly from certified small-holder farmers in Sierra Leone linking them to manufacturers in Europe, the USA and Asia
AgDevCo's US$3mn revolving facility is expected to allow Tradin to purchase cocoa at premium prices from up to 20,000 certified farmers.
Tradin Sierra Leone began operations in the Kenema region of Sierra Leone in 2017, successfully developing a network of trained buying agents and ensuring each bag of cocoa was traceable directly to the farmer.
This is AgDevCo's first investment in Sierra Leone. It is set to benefit a region that was severely affected by the 2014 Ebola outbreak. The crisis caused international cocoa companies to halt buying operations, leaving cocoa farmers with limited access to the world market.
With AgDevCo support, Tradin aims to develop a network of farmer field schools to lift productivity by providing education on improved harvesting and fermenting techniques.
Through this investment, Tradin and AgDevCo hope to revitalise the cocoa sector in Sierra Leone where, despite enormous potential, cocoa export volumes have remained stagnant over the past decade.
AgDevCo is an impact investor specialising in agribusiness investments in sub-Sahara Africa. AgDevCo's portfolio consists of over 50 investments in production, processing and distribution. AgDevCo is headquartered in London with representative offices in eight African countries.
