Borrower Overview
TriLinc has provided financing to a wholly-owned and -operated Kenyan company engaged in the import and distribution of rice, cooking oils, and other basic foodstuff products in Kenya. Established in 2005, the borrower imports and distributes its products through a proprietary network that extends across 32 different routes transversing the greater Nairobi metropolitan area and the Eastern and Coast regions of the country. The borrower utilizes a fleet of 10 vehicles to ensure the timely delivery of products to wholesalers, retailers, and end-users, who are experiencing increased demand due to rising incomes and increasing urban populations, according to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service.1 TriLinc’s financing offers the borrower a source of short-term financing to purchase inventory, grow its market presence, and support its objective of enhancing food security throughout Kenya by increasing its trade capacity from 200 to 300 containers of rice per month.
Market Overview
Kenya is classified as a middle-income country by the World Bank.1 Between 2010 and 2014, GDP growth rates averaged approximately 6.0%.1 Kenya has emerged as both a technological and financial hub for East and Central Africa and is ranked number one in the world for mobile money transfer and financial services, utilized heavily by small business owners and farmers throughout the country.2 Kenya’s main exports are concentrated in tea, horticultural products, coffee, petroleum products, fish, and cement.3 Conversely, the country’s main imports are focused in machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, and resins and plastics.3
Kenya meets TriLinc’s country standards for its performance across relevant growth, stability, and access metrics.4 As the fourth largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa5 with a GDP of $60.9 billion, the country benefitted from an estimated $37 billion in net foreign direct investment that flowed into the region in 2014.6 Robust domestic demand across Sub-Saharan Africa helped spur GDP growth to 4.6% in 2014.7 Looking ahead, overall regional GDP growth is projected to strengthen to 5.0% by 2017.7
Additional Sustainability & Impact Highlights
- The borrower offers various capacity building initiatives for its employees, including first aid and fire marshal training, business negotiation techniques, and sales fundamentals workshops for sales executives.
- As a responsible corporate citizen, the borrower provides financial support to various local children’s homes and in particular, to the Salvation Army’s Mombasa Children’s Home.
1The World Bank, World Development Indicators Database, Kenya, 2015. 2Brookings Institution, Africa’s Powerhouse, 2014. 3CIA, The World Factbook, 2015: Kenya. 4There is no assurance that our investment in this company or this market will be successful. 5The World Bank, World Development Indicators Database, 2015. 6The World Bank, Data, Sub-Saharan Africa, 2015. 7The World Bank, Global Economic Prospects, June 2015.
The above information is as of the initial date of investment: November 6, 2015.
This borrower is no longer in TriLinc’s portfolio.
TriLinc originally performed an SDG mapping exercise in December 2017 to map all of our borrower companies, both current and exited from our portfolios, to specific SDGs based off of business activity. TriLinc’s official SDG alignment methodology was not finalized until June 30, 2018. For borrowers that had exited TriLinc’s portfolios prior to this time period, the selected SDGs for these borrower are a reflection of what TriLinc believes would have been the SDG alignment if 1) the SDGs had been in effect and 2) TriLinc had integrated the SDG alignment while the company was in the portfolio. The SDG mapping presented does not include input from Investment Partners or borrower companies given that the companies were no longer in the portfolio when the alignment was finalized.
RISK FACTORS
There is no guarantee that TriLinc’s investment strategy will be successful. Investment in a non-listed LLC involves significant risks including but not limited to: ownership is restricted; no secondary market; limitation on liquidity, transfer and redemption of ownership interest; distributions made may not come from income and, if so, will reduce the returns, are not guaranteed and are subject to management discretion. TriLinc selects investments and conducts operations on behalf of its clients, and will face conflicts of interest. Investment with TriLinc is not suitable for all investors. Securities Offered through CommonGood Securities, LLC, a member of FINRA and SIPC.
An investment with TriLinc carries significant fees and charges that will have an impact on investment returns. Information regarding the terms of the investment is available by contacting TriLinc. This is a speculative security and, as such, involves a high degree of risk. Investments are not bank guaranteed, not FDIC insured and may lose value or total value. Some investments may have been made in an investment vehicle that is no longer open for investment. The highlighted investment may or may not have been profitable. There is no guarantee that future investments will be similar.
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