Neumann Gruppe and BNP Paribas partner on sustainable sourcing farmers facility

$25mn loan facility helps empower 100,000+ coffee farmers through ‘NKG Bloom’ initiative

BNP Paribas announced today that it has established a $25 million revolving facility for Neumann Gruppe, the Holding company of Neumann Kaffee Gruppe - the world’s leading sustainable green coffee service group - in partnership with ABN AMRO and Rabobank. The facility supports NKG BLOOM, Neumann Gruppe’s long-term, sustainable-sourcing initiative designed to empower more than 100,000 coffee farmers financially and tackle poverty in coffee communities.

NKG BLOOM provides loans to smallholder farmers and farming groups in 10 countries.  In addition to financing, the NKG BLOOM initiative also provides farmers with access to farming inputs, sustainability consulting and education on coffee markets.  Together, this enables farmers to secure, manage and diversify their supplier base, adopt sustainability principles, and ensure their farm is economically viable.

The loan facility is uniquely structured in that the partner banks share the direct risks if a farmer defaults through a Risk Sharing Agreement (RSA), which sits alongside two complementary default guarantees by USAID and the Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH).

Catalina Eikenberg, Head of Sustainability Business Unit at Neumann Gruppe said: “Ultimately, the Smallholder Livelihoods Facility enables us to bring the power of the global financial markets — long the missing piece — to smallholder coffee farmers. We’ve set ourselves an ambitious goal and we’re excited to make it happen.”

Yannick Jung, Head of Global Banking EMEA at BNP Paribas said: This loan facility is an example of how a responsible corporate citizen – Neumann Gruppe – and the finance sector can put in place a solution that helps entire communities currently at risk to poverty and financial inclusion. The positive impact is material: thousands of farmers and their dependents will benefit from more sustainable businesses.  In short, great for coffee-dependent communities and another step forward in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals by tackling poverty, climate action, and inequalities through partnerships.

About BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas is a leading bank in Europe with an international reach. It has a presence in 72 countries, with more than 202,000 employees, of which more than 154,000 in Europe. The Group has key positions in its three main activities: Domestic Markets and International Financial Services (whose retail-banking networks and financial services are covered by Retail Banking & Services) and Corporate & Institutional Banking, which serves two client franchises: corporate clients and institutional investors. The Group helps all its clients (individuals, community associations, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporates and institutional clients) to realise their projects through solutions spanning financing, investment, savings and protection insurance.  In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the European leader in consumer lending.

BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail-banking model in Mediterranean countries, in Turkey, in Eastern Europe and a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Institutional Banking and International Financial Services activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas as well as a solid and fast-growing business in Asia-Pacific.