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Grainpulse Limited, a leading Ugandan agribusiness company, has received an $11 million loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the Private Sector Window of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP). The investment will enable Grainpulse to support its expansion and strengthen its farmer supply chain, increasing food production and economic growth in the country, according to a statement released today.

Grainpulse processes and exports coffee, sources and mills grain and cereals from local farmers, and blends fertilizer at its blending plant, the first in Uganda. The company’s fertilizers are optimized to increase the yields of crops grown by Ugandan smallholder farmers. The investment will also help Grainpulse to expand to become a one-stop-shop for farmers, providing them with multiple services, including fertilizer blending.

“Our partnership with IFC will help Grainpulse move to the next stage of growth,” Hannington Karuhanga, CEO and Founder of Grainpulse, said. “We chose to work with IFC because it takes a long-term view of our partnership and adds value beyond financing, in areas such as farmer linkages. We are aligned with IFC on our goal of supporting Ugandan farmers.”

The Private Sector Window, managed by IFC, is a global financing mechanism dedicated to fighting hunger, malnutrition and poverty in developing countries. It is supported by the governments of Australia, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. It also specializes in early-stage agribusiness projects with a high potential for development impact.

“Supporting the agribusiness sector is a major focus for IFC in Africa,” said Tomasz Telma, IFC’s Senior Director for Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services. “This investment in Grainpulse will contribute to food security and economic growth in Uganda by helping increase farmers’ fertilizer use and improving their access to markets.”

IFC said it will also help Grainpulse launch an online platform so farmers can easily access information on best practices, and train agro-input dealers and retailers on financial management skills to help them expand and secure access to finance. Grainpulse expects its IFC-supported expansion to increase its reach from 36,000 farmers to more than 300,000 by June 2023.

Formerly known as Savannah Commodities Company, Grainpulse became a joint venture between Savannah and K+S AG, a global potash and salt company headquartered in Germany, in September of last year.
 
“For K+S, the partnership with Grainpulse is the very first step in building a presence in sub-Saharan Africa, which is an important part of our Shaping 2030 Strategy,” Janina Kaiser, K+S’s Head of Strategy & Innovation for Sub-Saharan Africa, said. “K+S welcomes IFC as a partner who understands the African business environment as well as global best practices.”