The Facility Investing for Employment supports projects by Bio Amandes and Prime Prestige
Côte d'Ivoire is a major producer of natural rubber and shea butter. With the support of Invest for Jobs, the two partner companies Bio Amandes and Prime Prestige are investing in the expansion of their production. The aim is to promote employment in rural areas.
The two companies had applied for a grant from the Facility Investing for Employment, that is part of Invest for Jobs. They then successfully took part in a multi-stage selection process. Both were able to demonstrate that their investment projects would create a significant number of jobs in rural areas. In addition, the projects should help to bring processing steps to Côte d’Ivoire that have so far mainly taken place abroad. In this way, the projects will also contribute to reaching one of the Ivorian government’s declared goals. The Facility Investing for Employment will disburse the funds in stages. The disbursement is linked to the achievement of firmly agreed interim targets. All new employees will be formally employed by the two companies, which means they will also benefit from the social benefits required by law in Côte d'Ivoire.
In addition to other guests, the following were present at the signing ceremony: Stella Gaetani, Deputy Head of Cooperation at the German Embassy, Jürgen Fechter, Director of the KfW Office in Abidjan, and Anke Afflerbach, Managing Director of IFE. Mohamed-Adane Achirou, Managing Director of Prime Prestige, and Eric N'Guetta, Managing Director of Bio Amandes, signed as grant recipients. Rodrigue Esse, Director at the Ivorian Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Siaka Minayaha Coulibaly, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Coffee and Cocoa Association, were also among the invited guests.
Anke Afflerbach wished the two investors success and said: "We want to help ensure that economic growth in Côte d'Ivoire also contributes to job creation. This is reflected in these two projects, which respond to an existing demand on the market and thus create good jobs in regions characterised by high unemployment."
© IFE // New partners Prime Prestige and IFE.
As part of the investment project, Prime Prestige will build a plant for the production of raw rubber to international quality standards in the city of Diapé, 80 kilometres north of Abidjan. In addition, six new collection centres are soon to be opened in the country's most important rubber cultivation regions. At full capacity, the plant will be able to produce around 30,000 tonnes of so-called TSR rubber per year. The product will meet the standards of international buyers. The development of further processing capacities will create jobs and further increase the competitiveness of the Ivorian rubber industry.
© IFE // Partner company Bio Amandes and IFE sign their partnership agreement.
Bio Amandes is based in Ferkéssédougou in the north of Côte d'Ivoire. The company produces and processes shea butter and is the only West African producer to be certified according to international organic and fair trade standards - ECOCERT and Fair for Life. Following a period of strong growth, the company is looking to expand further. The aim is to produce 2,000 tonnes of shea butter per year instead of the current 500 tonnes. A new oil mill and a plant for refining the shea butter will be purchased to make the expansion a success. This will ensure that the end product meets the high quality standards of customers, particularly in the cosmetics industry.
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