The Impact of Afrimac’s Supply Chain: Impact Assessment Summary Report
AgDevCo is an impact investor supporting the development of agribusinesses in sub-Saharan Africa. The company provides working capital and patient capital in the form of debt and/or equity to African-based companies that have the potential to achieve far-reaching development impact.
In 2019, AgDevCo provided a syndicated working capital facility to a consortium of Kenyan macadamia processing companies to fund macadamia purchases from smallholder suppliers and cooperatives. The facility was renewed and increased for 2020 . The consortium companies include AfriMac Nut Company; Sagana Nuts; The Village Nut Company, Batian Nut, and Jumbo Nuts (“the AfriMac companies”). Each business purchases nuts from networks of smallholder suppliers surrounding the processing facility, collectively purchasing from >30,000 suppliers. AgDevCo was interested in better understanding Afrimac’s supply chain.
Nuts are weighed electronically and purchased directly in the field. Information is uploaded in realtime which allows payments to be made within 24 hours via mobile money. The AfriMac companies process the nuts into shelled and graded kernels for export. AgDevCo supports AfriMac companies because of their strong relationships both with their global buyers as well as their suppliers, to whom they provide macadamia and avocado seedlings as well as supplier training and extension. Kenya is the third largest producer of macadamia nuts after Australia and South Africa. The AfriMac consortium accounts for about an eighth of the Kenyan industry.