Sucafina Coffee in Rwanda

Project Description

This summary describes the application made to MIGA to provide political risk insurance coverage to Sucafina Holding SA of Luxembourg, and/or COFCO Ltd and/or MILLCO Ltd of Mauritius (Sucafina), for its equity and/or quasi-equity investments made into the project enterprise Rwacof Exports Ltd. (Rwacof) and Rwacof Estates Ltd. (REL) (together the Project Enterprises), against the risk of Expropriation, Transfer Restriction and Inconvertibility and War and Civil Disturbance for an amount up to US$9,975,081.60 and for a period up to 11 years. 

The proposed MIGA guarantee aims to support Sucafina’s investments in the Republic of Rwanda through the Project Enterprises where it conducts procurement and processing of coffee cherries in the Host Country. Among its main activities, the Project Enterprises focus on (i) the purchasing and processing of semi-washed and fully washed parchment coffee beans from farmers, traders, and partners; (ii) the operation of coffee washing stations, machinery, equipment and related leased property located across the Host Country; (iii) the selling, trading and exporting of semi-washed and fully washed green coffee to the local and international market; and (iv) the purchasing and management of seeds and fertilizers; and (v) the ownership and leasing of coffee washing stations, machinery, equipment, and related property located across the Host Country, among others.

MIGA’s risk exposure under the guarantee is proposed to be shared with the IDA Private Sector Window (PSW). The PSW involvement is proposed via a shared first loss facility that will assist in spreading the risk and result in a reduced cost of the guarantees for the Project Enterprises.

Environmental Categorization

The Project has been categorized as category [B] under MIGA’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability. Click here to view The Environmental and Social Review Summary.

Development Impact

The Project Enterprises have been operating in Rwanda since 1996 and has generated positive development impact through i) supporting farmers to obtain certifications which increase the value of the coffee beans, ii) training farmers on sustainability and resilience practices to improve long-term productivity, and iii) income diversification through skills training. The Project will support the Project Enterprises’ continued development impact with its farmer supply chain, including a gender action plan that identifies specific activities to support youth and female farmers. The Project is aligned with the World Bank Groups’ Country Partnership Framework (FY21-26) for Rwanda, which includes an Objective focused on increased agricultural productivity and commercialization. The CPF calls for more private investment into the agribusiness value chain, for agriculture to become more responsive to market signals, and for agribusinesses to integrate more effectively with regional and global markets. The Project also contributes to the WBG’s goal of supporting climate-resilient agriculture technologies including irrigation, sustainable land management infrastructure, and value-addition infrastructure.