Wienco Liberia is a 100% subsidiary of Wienco Ghana limited, which was established in 1979 and is the leading supplier of crop protection products in Ghana with over 50% market share. Wienco specializes in the import and distribution of high quality agro-inputs that meet international standards. Wienco Ghana is part of the RMG Group, a fully vertically integrated player in the agricultural inputs value chain with a strong presence in more than 15 countries in West Africa. The major objective of the Wienco Ghana is to continue in the development of new areas to strengthen key partnerships with farmer associations that could further enhance the productivity of smallholder farmers and ensure increased incomes.

The total Project cost of approximately US$5.0 million is expected to be financed by an A loan of up to US$2.5 million for IFC’s own account and a loan of up to US$2.5 million from the Private Sector Window of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (“GAFSP”). GAFSP is a multilateral mechanism launched by the G20 with the purpose of scaling-up support to help less developed countries alleviate poverty and improve food security, and IFC is the implementation entity of the Private Sector Window.

Part of the investment will used for pre-harvest financing of fertilizers and other agricultural inputs for small farmers through Wienco (Liberia) Limited and the rest of the funding is to support capital expenditure including the construction of warehouses in up-country Liberia.

Refer to other sections for details.

2.50 million (USD)

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan	2.50
Equity

* These investment figures are indicative

Wienco Liberia is partnering with Cocoa Lela Association (CLA), a non-profit organization established in 2011, to increase its provision of fertilizers and crop protection products to cocoa farmers within the association. CLA is located in Gbarnga in Bong County of Liberia which is a key cocoa growing area. The Association also operates in three cocoa growing counties (Bong, Lofa and Nimba) in up-country Liberia.

The financing plan of capital expenditure is to build about 6 warehouses in 5 counties in Liberia for the storage of cocoa beans and agro-inputs in order to strengthen cocoa beans collection from farmers as well as Wienco Liberia’s distribution system of agro-inputs.

The Project has substantial develop impact in terms of the following: (i) Farmer Benefits: Through this Project, farmers will be able to receive soft credit in the form of fertilizers and agro-chemicals to improve yields; expected to increase to from 1375 kgs per hectare to 1750 kgs per hectare.in 5 years; reach 7,500 farmers by 2019; increase awareness at the farmer level of pest management and effective management of agrochemicals though the extension services and training on cocoa agronomy provided by Wienco Liberia; (ii) Alleviate Effects of Ebola Crisis: This Project will support the cocoa industry in Liberia at a moment when many Liberians' source of income has been threatened by the spread of Ebola and will contribute to the long-term sustainability of the sector, and Liberia's economic recovery post-Ebola; (iii) Create Jobs: This project will favor local job creation with an incremental 73 permanent positions by 2019; (iv) Improve E&S Practices: This Project will help the Company improve its Environmental and Social standards; and (v) Positive Demonstration Effect: IFC's investment in Liberia will send a positive signal to international markets about IFC's commitment to these fragile economies and will encourage other investors to follow. In addition, IFC can play a catalytic role in market development by bringing other participants to the countries to augment IFC's crisis response efforts.

The proposed Project relies on IFC's deep knowledge in the cocoa sector and strong responsibility to support private companies in Liberia as a timely response to the Ebola crisis. IFC's role is critical to this Project in the following ways: (i) IFC will provide Wienco Liberia with affordable long-term financing which is not available in the market. As part of this engagement to provide affordable financing for the cocoa sector, IFC is mobilizing blended finance on concessional terms from the private sector window of the Global Agricultural Food Security Program (GAFSP) which is subordinated to the IFC loan and substantially reduces the risk of the Project; (ii) IFC will seek to mobilize other private sector capital by building up a long-term partnership with RMG Concept Ltd. (and with Wienco Ghana) which has a strong presence in Africa with 14 fully owned on-shore subsidiaries all acting as the market leaders in their respective geographies and business areas. The group is looking to expand in other African countries where IFC could provide further support.

Indicator	Metrics	Comments	Calendar Year 2022	Calendar Year 2023	Calendar Year 2024
Farmers Reached	Farmers Reached (#)		Not Available	Not Available	Not Available

This investment is classified as a Category B project in accordance with IFC’s Policy on Environment and Social Sustainability. Based on information reviewed by IFC, this investment will have limited adverse E&S impacts that are few in number, are generally site specific, largely reversible and readily addressed through mitigation measures, as outlined in the Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) attached to this Environmental and Social Review Summary document (ESRS). IFC’s E&S review has confirmed that the project must be managed consistent with the following IFC Performance Standards on Social and Environmental Sustainability: PS1 (Social and Environmental Assessment and Management Systems); PS2 (Labor and Working Conditions); PS3 (Pollution Prevention and Abatement); PS4 ( Community Health, Safety and Security) and PS6 (Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Natural Resource Management).

Please refer to the related Environmental and Social Review Summary (ESRS) document for this project.

Please refer to the Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) tab in the related Environmental and Social Review Summary (ESRS) document for this project.