For one coffee company in Rwanda, the year is off to a potentially exciting start. The purchase of a coffee hulling chain machine means Green Mountain Arabica Coffee is able to process cherry coffee into parchment coffee and finally green coffee, ready for export.
The company, which was founded by Jeanne Niyonsaba in 2012, has also just received funding for a dry milling plant, as well as a processing plant and storage warehouse. It’s all part of plans to expand its operations this year and reach more farmers in its 1,200-strong, predominately female, network.
The funding – $260,000 (£211,491) for the plant and $250,000 for the factory and warehouse – has come from Bamboo Capital Partners’ Build Fund, a blended impact finance vehicle designed to support business opportunities that contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in lower-income countries, with co-financing from Rabo Foundation, Rabobank’s impact fund.
“This investment will mean decent, secure, well-paid jobs, which in turn supports worker communities and lifts people out of poverty,” says Jean-Philippe de Schrevel, managing partner of Bamboo Capital Partners.
“Green Mountain Arabica Coffee showcases how innovative financing solutions can make a real difference to improve economic opportunities and simultaneously reduce environmental damage.”
Read the full article in ESG Clarity’s February 2023 digital magazine.
