Truecoco, an aggregator, processor and commodities trading company based Ghana’s Western Region has secured an undisclosed funding from Growth Investment Partners— an investment vehicle established by British International Investment, the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor.
The capital injection will support Truecoco in expanding its soybean processing operations and launching an industrial carbon capture project using biochar. The company will source discarded coconut husks from surrounding farms and processing firms in surrounding areas to convert them to biochar.
Biochar from coconut husk captures carbon by locking it into a stable form during the pyrolysis process, preventing it from re-entering the atmosphere. When added to soil, it further enhances carbon sequestration by improving microbial activity and reducing the release of greenhouse gases.
By 2030, the company aims to remove more than 250k metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while improving the lives of 30,000 smallholder farmers. Founded in 2017 by Freddy Lydford, Truecoco sources high-quality agricultural commodities from over 4,000 small-scale farmers and processes it into products that meet international standards.
Growth Investment Partners provides long term flexible capital in local currency to small and medium-sized enterprises. It employs a royalty financing model which involves flexible repayments linked to revenue and cash flows, which insulates the borrowers from risk in return for higher payments when business performance is strong. It invests between $500k to $5 million in SMEs to address a critical gap in accessing finance for SMEs
