GuarantCo, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), has partnered with Symbiotics to arrange a USD 20 million debt facility for Robust International Pte Ltd (Robust) to finance a cashew nut processing plant in Côte d’Ivoire. To mobilise the private sector investment, GuarantCo provided a 100% payment default guarantee of up to USD 23 million (EUR equivalent) to support the loan facility.
The transaction features a novel structure, combining funding provided by institutional investor M&G Investments Ltd – the structure benefits from a guarantee provided by GuarantCo – with uncovered funding provided by impact funds advised by Symbiotics Asset Management.
This is the latest in a series of successful collaborations between GuarantCo, Symbiotics and M&G Investments, and their second transaction with Robust following a deal announced earlier this year in Nigeria, also supporting localised cashew processing. This is also their second transaction within Côte d’Ivoire’s cashew industry after a 2025 deal with another producer in the market.
The transaction will finance the development of a greenfield cashew nut processing plant with 15,000 MT/year processing capacity located in Toumodi. It will also support a new cashew aggregation warehouse centre with 25,000 MT/year capacity in Bouaké and 19,000MT/year capacity in Toumodi, which is expected to strengthen seasonal procurement and inventory management while reducing Robust’s reliance on leased warehousing.
Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s largest cashew producer but currently processes only circa 30% of its output in-market due to limited capacity and storage availability, as well as financing constraints. Processing cashews adds value; by enabling an increase in local processing, this deal will support government targets to process 50% of its cashews by 2030, promoting higher economic returns for the market.
The deal is forecast to result in the procurement of cashews from c. 1,500 local smallholder farmers and an increase of USD 79.2 million in export revenue. It is also expected to create 510 jobs, of which 40% of short-term and 80% of long-term jobs will be taken up by women.
The project applies circular economy principles by maximising resource efficiency and eliminating waste through the conversion of cashew shells into Cashew Nutshell Liquid (CNSL) and the reuse of residual shell cake by selling to a third party who will convert it to fertiliser.
The deal has very high relevance to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals: 2 – Zero Hunger and 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.
The debt facility was provided by a Symbiotics-arranged vehicle, which in turn issued covered notes with the benefit of the GuarantCo guarantee. These covered notes have been subscribed to in full by M&G Investments. At the same time, uncovered notes were issued, without the benefit of the GuarantCo guarantee, which have been subscribed by impact funds advised by Symbiotics Asset Management.
John Marshall, British Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, said: “The United Kingdom is proud to support another major investment in Côte d’Ivoire’s cashew processing sector, that creates jobs, strengthens local industry and drives sustainable economic growth. This transaction demonstrates how UK-backed development finance can mobilise private funding and support the Ivorian Government’s ambition to increase local processing of cashew nuts to 50% by 2030.”
Dave Chalila, Head of Africa Investments at GuarantCo, said: “This Côte d’Ivoire transaction builds on the established precedent set by our earlier Robust deal in Nigeria. It largely replicates the transaction structure and documentation framework to materially reduce execution and delivery risks. We are delighted to continue our highly effective collaboration with Symbiotics and M&G, driving innovation in sustainable infrastructure finance. The project mobilises private institutional capital into an agro-industrial asset in a market that has to date been consistently underserved.”
Vishanth Narayan, Group CEO of Robust International Group, said: “We are pleased to deepen our partnership with GuarantCo, Symbiotics and M&G through this important investment in Côte d’Ivoire. The new processing plant and aggregation warehouse will allow us to source more cashews from local farmers, expand in-country value addition and create meaningful employment, particularly for women. By also converting cashew by-products into commercially useful materials, the project reflects our commitment to building a more efficient, sustainable and inclusive cashew value chain in Côte d’Ivoire.”
Philipp Jung, head of structuring & arranging at Symbiotics UK Ltd, said: “We are extremely pleased to continue our successful co-operation with both GuarantCo and M&G Investments, in this instance through the establishment of a structure that produces a matching-adjustment eligible investment by adding an uncovered tranche to the transaction which meets the requirements of an impact investor.”
