African Cashew Alliance

24 February 2009

$25 million grant to expand assistance to African cashew industry a culmination of a year’s work of African Cashew Alliance and partners

See Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Press Release here. 

“The African Cashew Alliance, along with key partners, contributed significantly to the proposal,” said
Vanessa Adams, chief of party of USAID’s West Africa Trade Hub, which is implemented by CARANA
Corporation. The Trade Hub helped found the ACA in 2005 and is home to its secretariat.
The ACA, composed of cashew industry stakeholders from across the continent and around the world,
provided key data on the cashew industry in Africa, international market intelligence and linkages to
international industry buyers.

Adams traveled twice to Germany in 2008 to work with partners to the project and guided visits of the
Gates Foundation project manager and large international buyers to West Africa and facilitated links
among these key players at the ACA’s 2008 annual conference in Tanzania.
“We provided data on production, processing capacity and marketing,” she explained. “We also put
project partners in touch with our many contacts in the industry.”

The $25 million grant is complemented by $25 million in in-kind contributions from the cashew
industry itself. The project will improve the quality of raw cashew nuts, increase farmer productivity,
improve links between smallholder farmers and the marketplace, increase African processing capacity,
and promote a sustainable global market for African cashews.

“The way this project has been designed will make a huge difference for the African cashew sector,”
said Carlos Costa, president of the African Cashew Alliance. “This is a tremendous opportunity: It will
integrate our cashew value chains better into our regional and the global markets. We, the
stakeholders along the entire cashew value chain, are very excited to start work on this.”
The project will contribute to sustainably reducing rural poverty Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire,
Ghana and Mozambique.

“Making real progress against global hunger and poverty starts with small farmers,” said Dr. Rajiv
Shah, director of agricultural development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Innovative, longterm
investments and creative partnerships like these have the potential to help millions of farmers
boost their yields and incomes so they can improve their lives.”

Since its inception, the ACA has promoted cashew for the enormous economic potential it holds for
Africa. As many as 250,000 new jobs and over $150 million revenue could be generated on the
continent through the industry. An estimated 2.5 million farmers grow cashew in Africa, most of
whom are smallholders living in poverty.

The potential is clear at companies like Sotria-B in Burkina Faso. In 2006, the company employed 130
workers, mostly women, and processed about 60 tons of cashew. In 2009, with technical assistance
from the project, the company’s 350 workers will produce as much as 195 tons, said the company’s
director.

“The assistance will help us increase production and help us connect to the international market,”
said Minata Kone. “I really need this kind of technical assistance because I don’t have these skills.”
“This is a unique collaboration of four agencies, each bringing complementary expertise to the table,”
said Herman uit de Bosch of FairMatch Support. “By pooling resources and focusing specifically on
the cashew sector, the impact will be significant.”

At 40% of world output, Africa is the biggest producer of raw cashew nuts but only about 12% are
processed in Africa for export.

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) Gmbh will lead the cashew project withassistance from the African Cashew Alliance (ACA), FairMatch Support, and TechnoServe. Financial
support, in-kind contributions and other support for the cashew project come from supply chain
managers and processors Global Trading Agency BV (GTA) and Olam International Ltd.; branded
manufacturers Intersnack Group GmbH & Co. KG and Kraft Foods; retailer Costco Wholesale
Corporation; equipment manufacturer Oltremare; and other contributors, the German investment
and development company DEG - Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft GmbH and the
United States Agency for International Development.

About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to
help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving
people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In
the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—
have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. www.gatesfoundation.org

About GTZ
As an international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations,
the federally owned Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH supports the
German Government in achieving its development-policy objectives. It provides viable, forwardlooking
solutions for political, economic, ecological and social development in a globalised world.
Working under difficult conditions, GTZ promotes complex reforms and change processes. Its corporate
objective is to improve people’s living conditions on a sustainable basis. www.gtz.de.

About the African Cashew Alliance
The African Cashew Alliance is a public-private partnership founded in 2005. More than 50 members
from Africa’s 14 cashew-producing countries and companies and public agencies spanning the globe are
working together to promote the African cashew industry. USAID’s West Africa Trade Hub is home to the
secretariat of the African Cashew Alliance. www.africancashewalliance.com.

About Technoserve
TechnoServe is leading a movement that empowers people in the developing world to build businesses
that break the cycle of poverty. Growing enterprises generate jobs and other income opportunities for
poor people, enabling them to improve their lives and secure a better future for their families. Since its
founding in 1968, the U.S.-based nonprofit has helped to create or expand thousands of businesses,
benefiting millions of people in more than 30 countries. The Financial Times has rated TechnoServe one
of the top five NGOs for corporate partnerships. Charity Navigator has also awarded its highest Four Star
ranking to TechnoServe. www.technoserve.org

About FairMatch Support
FairMatch Support is a not for profit organisation, based in the Netherlands and founded in 2007.
FairMatch Support contributes to the socio-economic development of small-scale producers and SME
developing countries through the creation of fair and organic supply chains by matching the different
chain actors and providing necessary support. FairMatch Support provides services in innovative supply
chain development for end markets that are of interest to small-scale producers and SME in developing
countries, such as the Fairtrade and organic food market. www.fairmatchsupport.nl.

About the West Africa Trade Hub
The West Africa Trade Hub works to alleviate poverty and end hunger by working directly with West
African companies in 21 countries and by working on issues that affect their competitiveness, including
transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, financial services and the business environment.
The Trade Hub, implemented by CARANA Corporation, works in six targeted value chains – cashew, shea,
fish & seafood, home décor & fashion accessories, specialty foods and apparel – to increase exports and
investment, ultimately creating jobs. www.watradehub.com.

About USAID
The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, have provided economic
and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years. www.usaid.gov.