Financely Launches $50M Trade Finance Syndicate to Fund Soft Commodity Flows from Africa to Europe

Access to working capital is still the number one challenge for African exporters — particularly those in soft commodities like cocoa, coffee, cotton, and cashews. Even established producers with confirmed purchase orders face the same issue year after year: European buyers set payment terms that make no provision for the realities on the ground in Africa. Financely is stepping in to close that gap.

Today, we are pleased to announce the launch of a $50 million trade finance syndicate specifically structured to fund soft commodity export flows from key African producers to reputable European buyers. This facility will directly address liquidity gaps in places like Ghana, Ivory Coast, Uganda, and the DRC, where exporters often lack affordable pre-shipment funding options.

Why This Market and Why Now

Soft commodities remain critical exports across Sub-Saharan Africa. Cocoa, coffee, cashew, sesame, and cotton represent billions in annual trade value. Yet, local producers and traders remain chronically underfunded. Their challenges are straightforward:

• European buyers impose 60-120 day payment terms, tying up working capital.
• Local banks in markets like DRC, Uganda, and Ghana offer limited credit, often at punitive rates.
• FX risks, political instability, and commodity price swings make these credits unattractive to traditional lenders.

Producers may have signed purchase orders and confirmed delivery terms — but without reliable pre-shipment finance, they are forced to either scale down production or sell early into less favorable markets. Financely's syndicate solves this problem by funding directly against export contracts and receivables.

What the Syndicate Will Fund

The Financely $50M syndicate targets short-tenor, self-liquidating trades with strong commercial logic. Typical deals include:

• Cocoa shipments from Ghana and Ivory Coast, pre-financed against signed European offtake contracts.
• Coffee exports from Uganda and Ethiopia to EU-based roasters and distributors.
• Cashew and sesame exports from West Africa, financed against irrevocable purchase orders.
• High-grade cotton trades from Mali and Benin into the European textile market.

Each financing line is structured against real orders, insured where appropriate, and designed for short repayment cycles (typically 90-180 days). Our focus is not speculative. We fund where the buyer and supply chain counterparties are credible, and where the only missing link is capital to fulfill the trade.

Filling a Real Funding Gap

Trade flows from African markets carry more friction and risk than those from developed nations. Buyers rarely take this into account when setting terms. Local producers face issues the buyers don’t see — ranging from political unrest to currency controls to poor domestic logistics. These factors create significant funding gaps between confirmed orders and export readiness.

Financely’s syndicate was designed precisely to bridge this gap, providing a secure, transparent investment vehicle for professional capital while enabling African exporters to scale production and deliver under firm sale contracts.

Institutional Participation and Access

The syndicate is open to qualified institutional investors seeking short-duration, credit-insured, and commodity-backed trade exposures. Syndicate participants receive access to deal flow on a pooled or direct participation basis, with reporting, monitoring, and payments handled via Financely's digital platform.

Conclusion

African exporters don’t lack buyers — they lack capital. Financely’s $50 million trade finance syndicate offers a solution that works for all sides: exporters receive the liquidity they need to fulfil large European orders, and investors access yield in a secured, short-duration structure that is uncorrelated to public markets. This is trade finance the way it should work — practical, transparent, and commercially grounded.