17 Sep YYTZ Agro-Processing receives SIINC through Daraja Impact
YYTZ Agro-Processing (August 2024) – AlphaMundi Foundation, whose mission is to strengthen the long-term commercial viability of SMEs in Africa and Latin America to drive economic transformation, has selected YYTZ Agro-Processing Company Limited (YYTZ), a cashew processing company based in Zanzibar, Tanzania, as the first recipient of a social impact incentive (SIINC) through Daraja Impact. Daraja Impact is a 5-year project that seeks to support enterprises by providing capital and technical assistance to advance inclusion and empowerment for women and youth in Tanzania. The project is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (“SDC”) through the Embassy of Switzerland in Tanzania and implemented by SEAF, a global impact organization, in partnership with AlphaMundi Foundation.
Women cashew farmers working with YYTZ
Founded in 2016, YYTZ sources, sorts, roasts, flavors, and packages its premium processed cashews domestically, trading them in East Africa, Europe, US, and Saudi Arabia. YYTZ is committed to creating an inclusive and sustainable cashew nut value chain in Tanzania, empowering women and increasing the income of smallholder farmers. YYTZ works with 4,500 local cashew smallholder farmers in Mtwara and Singida (60% of them being female) training them on good agronomic practices and cashew health and safety. The company works with farmers to source high-quality shelled cashews, paying them a premium price. It also provides these farmers with hybrid cashew tree seedlings.
YYTZ seeks to strengthen the local cashew value chain and increase local value addition to ensure that farmers increasingly participate in the value chain benefiting from its revenues as they are its backbone. This supports more value remaining in the rural communities where they work. The company also has a fully integrated local cashew value chain with single-source traceability through blockchain technology which creates visibility for its farmers. Daraja Impact’s SIINC seeks to support YYTZ to deepen its impact.
Cashew Farmer
Fahad Awadh, co-founder and CEO YYTZ commented, “We are excited to partner with Daraja Impact to enhance the work we are doing to create value for smallholder cashew farmers through inclusive value addition – I strongly believe that local value addition is the best way to uplift rural cashew communities.”
Sawa Nakagawa, Executive Director of AlphaMundi Foundation commented, “We are excited to partner with YYTZ to amplify its social and environmental impact in Tanzania. The innovative use of the SIINC allows for enhanced investor-investee alignment, fostering a stronger commitment to achieving measurable social outcomes. This approach not only supports YYTZ’s mission but also has the potential to attract and catalyze additional capital.”
Media Contacts:
For more information on this release, contact: Claire Njoki | claire.njoki@alphamundi.ch
For more information on Daraja Impact, contact: Nora von Wintersdorff | noravonwintersdorff@alphamundi.ch
About Alpha Mundi Foundation:
The AlphaMundi Foundation (AMF) is a US not-for-profit 501(C)(3), with a Kenyan branch based out of Nairobi. AMF provides blended finance products (technical assistance, returnable grants, concessional loans, first loss guarantees, etc.) to scale small and medium-sized businesses operating in Africa and Latin America. AMF supports these companies to incorporate gender- and climate-smart operations that create financial returns and positive social and environmental outcomes. https://www.alphamundifoundation.org/
About SEAF:
SEAF is a global impact organization dedicated to improving lives and communities through entrepreneurship and small businesses. We invest in debt and equity capital and provide advisory and mentorship to support SMEs in underserved markets, creating jobs and building sustainable communities. Since 1989, SEAF has made more than 433 investments across 46 funds in over 31 countries globally. https://www.seaf.com/