Norfund in Nigerian cocoa processing deal
Norfund, Norway’s investment fund for developing countries, has invested $12 million into OH Ecosystems, a company that develops cocoa processing businesses in Africa. The investment is aimed at reviving FTN Cocoa Processors, a Nigeria-based, publicly-traded cocoa processing company that had been dormant and underutilised for several years.
OH Ecosystems, which has acquired a majority stake in FTN, will use the funding to upgrade FTN’s processing facilities, and expand its reach into additional areas of the cocoa supply chain.
The initiative holds significance as the West African region produces more than 75% of the world’s cocoa, yet exports the majority of it as raw material with little added value.