Borrower Overview
 

TriLinc has provided financing to a rice producer in Tanzania. Since beginning operations in 2006 with the acquisition of unproductive land and nonoperational farm assets, the borrower has positioned itself as one of the leading rice harvesting and processing companies in the country. In addition to its commercial operation, the borrower uses a village outgrown program through which it contracts local smallholder farmers and supports them with land preparation, seed, farm supplies, irrigation, and technical assistance. TriLinc’s financing provides the borrower with timely and flexible short-term liquidity for the procurement of rice stock and inventory, thereby facilitating timely delivery to local markets. The borrower anticipates TriLinc’s financing will support its efforts to create new employment opportunities, promote participation of women in the workplace, and improve agricultural productivity.

 


Market Overview

Between 2010 and 2014, Tanzania’s annual GDP growth rate averaged approximately 6.73%.1 With an abundance of wildlife, 16 national parks make up 32.2% of Tanzania’s land.1 Tanzania’s main exports are concentrated in gold, coffee, cashew nuts, manufactured goods, and cotton.2 Conversely, the country’s imports are focused in consumer goods, machinery and transportation equipment, industrial raw materials, and crude oil.2

Tanzania meets TriLinc’s country standards for its performance across relevant growth, stability, and access metrics.3 As the sixth largest economy in the Sub-Saharan African region4 with a GDP of $49.2 billion, the country’s efficient labor market, with a high ratio of women in the labor force, has led the country to benefit from the estimated $37 billion in foreign direct investment that flowed to the region in 2014.5 Robust domestic demand across Sub-Saharan Africa has helped spur regional GDP growth to 4.6% in 2014, and GDP is projected to strengthen to 5.0% by 2017.6


Additional Sustainability & Impact Highlights

  • As a responsible corporate citizen, the borrower assists with municipal infrastructure improvements. For example, it has built a school in the local community and provides free education for over 200 children.
  • The borrower focuses on employee welfare by offering substantial employee benefits which are uncommon in the region, including on-site housing, health insurance, maternity/paternity leave, retirement provisions, and a fair hiring and recruiting policy.
  • The borrower emphasizes the importance of human capacity-building by providing tailored training for employees and local farmers, as well as for students from universities and agricultural colleges.

1The World Bank, World Development Indicators Database, Tanzania, 2015. 2CIA, The World Factbook, 2015: Tanzania. 3There is no assurance that our investment in this company or this market will be successful. 4The World Bank, World Development Indicators Database, 2015. 5The World Bank, Data, Sub-Saharan Africa, 2015. 6The World Bank, Global Economic Prospects, June 2015. 

The above information is as of the initial date of investment: January 22, 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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