Smallholders farmers are the backbone of cocoa production but most farmers lack access to finance with negative impact on their income and ability to produce in the long-term. Although increasing access to finance to farmers in a sustainable manner is not easy, a number of players have experimented innovative approaches to overcome the sector’s specific challenges that have shown promising results.
In a study commissioned by the Working Group Access to Finance of the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa, Gaëlle Bonnieux analysed successful cocoa financing schemes. She identified five key success factors that are required to successfully implement financing schemes: Effective partnerships, technical assistance, a customer centric approach, the bundling of products and services, cash less systems, and an enabling environment.
The study also provides a recommendation of tools and solutions that could be implemented by the Cocoa Platform to decrease risks and costs, address hurdles of accessibility and ensure that products serve the real needs of cocoa farmers. Ultimately, the report provides an estimate of the budget required to implement those tools and solutions, and key performance indicators to be measured.