Moringa to Invest Us$5m in Ghanaian Company

By Clement Adzei Boye

Takoradi — Moringa SCA SICAR, an investment firm that specialises in agroforestry projects, is to invest 5 million US dollars (GH?24million) in B-BOVID Limited, a Ghanaian company.

This was after Moringa, originally from France, announced that it had taken a stake in B-BOVID to enhance and strengthen the company's out-grower palm oil polyculture model aimed at engaging up to 4,000 farmers within the next few years.

Additionally, the investment would support the modernisation of B-BOVID's manufacturing plant and expand its production capacity to meet growing local and regional demand as well as improve the livelihood of the out-grower farmers.

Confirming the deal in an interview on Friday, the Managing Director of B-BOVID, Issa Ouedraogo, said the agreement with Moringa was recognition by the international investor community of B-BOVID's credibility and viability as a social enterprise, providing sustainable solutions to deforestation, unemployment and poverty in the country.

He explained that Moringa was an investment company that provided equity financing for sustainable agroforestry projects in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, adding that the agroforestry model combined tree planting with agricultural crops to create positive economic, environmental and social outcomes.

Mr Ouedraogo said the B-BOVID was committed to transforming agribusiness in Ghana and called for support from the government and the banks to make agriculture attractive to the youth.

B-BOVID Limited, which was established in 2004, produces crude and palm kernel oil from fruits harvested from more than 2,000 farmers and trained several farmers and students on climate smart agriculture.

He said B-BOVID first developed a 110-hectare demonstration plantation showcasing oil palm agroforestry practices and had implemented a comprehensive training structure to promote the best agroforestry farming models and management practices toward revenue diversification, social inclusion and low environmental impacts.

The Investment Director of Moringa, Adrien Henry, in statement noted that the cooperation with B-BOVID was the first investment in Ghana, and it aimed to reinforce its presence in Western Africa as part of the strategy to create strong sustainable practices on the continent.

Currently, he said Moringa was working to strengthen B-BOVID's human resource base, and increase its overall efficiency to make it a centre of agroforestry and livelihood enhancement activities in Ghana and beyond.

Mr Henry said that Moringa's investment strategy would strive to achieve a sustainable polyculture model around palm oil farming that served both local and regional markets.

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