The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved a €100 million financing package for Sucres et Denrées Côte d’Ivoire to strengthen cocoa production and exports, reinforcing supply from the world’s top cocoa producer at a time of heightened global market volatility.
The package includes €25 million from the Africa Growing Together Fund, a joint initiative with the China Development Bank, and $10 million from the Bank Group’s Agribusiness SME Catalytic Financing Fund. The renewable two-year facility is designed to expand pre-financing arrangements with cooperatives and local suppliers, easing liquidity constraints in the cocoa sector.
Côte d’Ivoire accounts for more than 40% of the world’s cocoa output, producing 2.3 million metric tons in the 2022–2023 season. Weather shocks and climate-related challenges have disrupted yields, fuelling concerns over global supply and rising prices in international chocolate markets.
The new facility will support supply chain traceability, strengthen climate resilience, and promote sustainable practices, while creating employment opportunities in rural communities, particularly for women and youth. It also aligns with Côte d’Ivoire’s National Development Plan 2021–2025, which prioritizes agro-industrial diversification and aims for GDP growth of 6.5% in 2025.
By boosting liquidity and technical assistance for cooperatives, the financing is expected to increase export volumes by up to 10% annually and benefit more than 50,000 smallholder farmers. Beyond cocoa, the deal signals renewed investor interest in West African agribusiness, underscoring the region’s potential to attract international capital into broader agricultural value chains.
