Mexico City, July 7, 2010
— IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, Ecom Agroindustrial Corp. Ltd., a global leader in green coffee trade, Nespresso and the Nestlé Group announced today that their Central American project helped implement sustainable practices, improve productivity, and increase the income of coffee growers included in Ecom – Nestlé supply chain in Central America and Mexico.
“We knew that by collaborating with multiple stakeholders, we would be challenged to see how good we could get. Through continuous learning, and building new sets of tools and abilities, we’ve been able to strengthen our local capacities and provide a better service to our producers,” said Eric Ponçon, Ecom’s Regional Director.
The project assisted producers in capturing market premiums for their sustainable coffee and provided advice on how to reduce costs and increase productivity. Together, these effects enabled the project’s farmers to earn an additional $3.7 million in premiums during the course of the project. By bringing together technical assistance, access to financing, and a strong commitment to buying increasing amounts of sustainable coffee, producers clearly saw the incentives behind implementing sustainable practices on their farms.
The $1.5 million advisory services project budget was co-financed by the Nestlé Group. To promote farm-level investments, IFC also provided Ecom with a $25 million loan to on-lend to producers as short-term harvest finance and for longer-term sustainability investments on their farms.
Juan Gonzalo Flores, IFC Advisory Services Program Manager in Latin America and the Caribbean, said, “This project is an excellent representation of how, through a mix of financing, technical assistance, and access to markets, small and midsize coffee producers are able to make sustainability improvements on their farms and increase their income.”
IFC’s strategy in Mexico is focused on priority areas that contribute to increasing economic growth and reducing poverty. Agribusiness is one of these areas. IFC also promotes access to finance for low-income individuals and microenterprises. IFC develops frameworks for effective private sector participation, supports energy efficient projects, and develops infrastructure to strengthen competiveness. In the same manner, IFC supports municipalities and state governments to improve business regulation and promote formalization.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing capital for private enterprise, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $14.5 billion in fiscal 2009, helping channel capital into developing countries during the financial crisis. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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