SilverStreet awarded ‘Ethical Investor of the Year’ in Corporate LiveWire’s 2018 Global Fund Awards
16 July 2018 - SilverStreet Capital, a leading investor across the agricultural value chain, has been awarded Ethical Investor of the Year award as part of Corporate LiveWire’s 2018 Global Fund Awards.
The Corporate LiveWire Global Awards 2018 recognise excellence in companies from all sectors, who have stood out for being ethical, results driven, innovative, and service focused. This accolade highlights SilverStreet’s continuous efforts to invest in projects in Africa with the potential to achieve both a strong commercial return twinned with a positive social and environmental impact aimed at the small-holder farmer group.
With a mission to build profitable and sustainable businesses that permanently strengthen local economies, raise living standards and meet the needs of a rapidly growing population, SilverStreet Capital has a strong track record in executing complex projects in Africa. Projects include:
World class development hubs to create a market for a higher value crop for small-holder farmers, typically through a processing plant development – small-holder farmers can make higher incomes by growing this higher valued crop.
Access to high quality, improved seed. We are building a regional seed business bringing high quality and regionally adapted seed to small-holder farmers, helping to increase crop yields.
Increasing storage availability to help preserve harvests and to help farmers sell when the prices are higher.
Its impact
During 2017, SilverStreet’s funds impacted in the following ways:
Their portfolio companies employ over 6,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa.
They are estimated to have had a direct and positive economic impact on around 95,000 people whose incomes are estimated to have increased from c $700 p.a. to c $1,300 p.a.
They have increased community incomes by over $55m p.a.
Gary Vaughan-Smith, Chief Investment Officer, commented:
“Our focus is on investing in attractive projects that will make a substantial and lasting positive impact.
“We believe that the only sustainable way to invest into the African agricultural sector is to focus on enabling small-holder farmers so that their incomes improve and their environmental impact reduces.
“Our experience has been that this investment approach creates better return opportunities as well as extraordinarily positive social impact.”