The financing is tied to a set of sustainability performance targets that reward ETG with a lower interest rate if it meets agreed milestones.

These include expanding support for women farmers, increasing access to agricultural advisory services, and reducing deforestation and carbon emissions across its operations and supply chains.

Sustainability-linked loans have become an increasingly important financing tool for businesses seeking to align capital with measurable environmental and social performance.

The investment is being provided alongside a group of European and African development finance institutions, including FMO, Trade and Development Bank (TDB), Finnfund, and CDP, underscoring growing investor confidence in sustainable agriculture as a driver of economic growth and climate resilience across the continent.

ETG is one of Africa’s largest agricultural supply chain companies, operating in 32 African countries.

The company sources crops directly from millions of smallholder farmers while supplying domestic and international markets.

Beyond commodity trading, ETG also provides farmers with fertilizer, seeds, financing support, and agronomic advisory services aimed at improving productivity and strengthening food systems.

“Many farms across the African continent have enormous potential, but too much value is lost because farmers do not have access to the right markets and financing,” said Otto Vinther, Managing Director and Co-Head of Sustainable Food Systems at Impact Fund Denmark.

“By supporting ETG, we are backing a company that can make a tangible difference for farmers while strengthening local value chains.”

The financing comes at a time when investors and development finance institutions are placing greater emphasis on improving agricultural productivity while ensuring food production becomes more climate resilient.

Africa’s agriculture sector employs a significant share of the continent’s workforce, yet many smallholder farmers continue to face limited access to finance, quality inputs, extension services, and reliable market connections.

According to Søren Peter Andreasen, Deputy CEO of Impact Fund Denmark, the structure of the loan is designed to ensure commercial financing also delivers measurable development outcomes.

“Agriculture employs millions of people across Africa, but too much value is lost when farmers lack access to logistics, financing and markets,” Andreasen said.

“ETG is addressing this challenge at scale. What makes this investment particularly compelling is that the loan is structured to ensure that ETG places special emphasis on supporting women farmers, expanding advisory services and reducing deforestation.”

The transaction also reflects a broader shift in development finance toward linking the cost of capital to sustainability performance.

Rather than funding environmental and social initiatives separately, sustainability-linked financing creates direct financial incentives for businesses to improve their impact while maintaining commercial growth.

Development finance institutions have increasingly adopted this model to mobilize larger pools of private capital into sectors such as agriculture, energy, and infrastructure.