The European Investment Bank (EIB) has strengthened its partnership with the COFINA Group in order to ensure the development of sustainable agriculture in Côte d'Ivoire.

The partnership established thanks to the support of the European Union (EU), aims to support the Group in agricultural value chains, including cocoa. A press release mentions that around 6,000 jobs in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies will be supported thanks to funding from COFINA subsidiaries. The agreement includes ambitious goals for climate action, environmental sustainability, and financial inclusion, especially for women. More specifically, this development vision foresees the deployment of long-term financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB) by COFINA Côte d'Ivoire for approximately 16 million euros, with the support of the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+

To this end, 26 loans have already been granted by COFINA to agricultural cooperatives eligible for the EIB, including 24 in the cocoa sector, representing a total cumulative amount of nearly 1.5 billion CFA francs.