Finnfund, a Finnish impact investor, has invested $10m (€9.3m) in a project that will help set up a new cashew processing plant in Côte d’Ivoire, with the expectation to become a leading cashew kernel processor in the country. The debt facility commitment is to be made through Valency International Trading SARL, a Valency International Group company. Valency International Group is a diversified, integrated supply chain manager in agri-commodities and agri-inputs with subsidiaries in 15 countries. The facility is expected to contribute to the development of sustainable cashew production and processing in Côte d’Ivoire. Through this investment, Valency will increase domestic cashew nut processing capacity, create quality jobs particularly for low-skilled workers, especially women, and develop supply chains relying on smallholder cashew producers in the rural areas, it was announced. Once operational, the new processing plant is expected to have a processing capacity of 45,000 tons of raw cashew nut per year. With this capacity, the company is expected to generate approximately 2,000 direct jobs and cooperate and provide income for up to 10,000 smallholders. Due to the large capacity of the processing plant, the company is expected to reach up to 5% of the cashew farmers in the country. Valency is committed to responsible business practices and to developing sustainability and transparency in the cashew supply chain. Markus Pentikäinen, investment manager at Finnfund, said: “We are glad to support the growth and development of Valency’s operations in Côte d’Ivoire, and simultaneously, enhance sustainability in cashew production. With the new processing plant, the company will generate jobs and income for thousands of people.â€