IFC’s support to Copeval aims to expand pre-harvest credit for over 50,000 smallholders, strengthening environmental governance and responsible business. ESG BROADCAST shares key takeaways.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has announced a strategic investment of CLP 23 billion in a securitized bond issued by Copeval, Chile’s largest agricultural input distributor. This marks the third such transaction between IFC and Copeval, reinforcing a long-standing partnership committed to improving rural finance infrastructure and resilience in the country’s agri-sector.
In a country where small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises (SMEs) represent a vast share of the farming community, access to financing remains a structural barrier. High transaction costs, insufficient collateral, and a mismatch between farmers’ cash flow cycles and conventional loan products have traditionally excluded these actors from mainstream credit systems. Copeval, leveraging its national footprint and intimate knowledge of farming needs, is uniquely positioned to disrupt this pattern by offering structured pre-harvest credit — a product previously absent in the Chilean finance market.
IFC’s bond investment is intended to support Copeval’s working capital needs and enable the extension of pre-harvest financing to over 50,000 farmers, 99% of whom are classified as SMEs. This financial injection is aligned with IFC’s broader mandate to advance sustainable and inclusive development, particularly in regions exposed to climate volatility and systemic market disadvantages.
Jean-Marc Arbogast, the World Bank Group’s Country Manager for Chile, emphasized the initiative’s importance: “Access to finance is essential for small and medium farmers to invest in more efficient and sustainable technologies. This partnership with Copeval reinforces our commitment to agricultural development in Chile and promotes greater financial inclusion in rural areas.”
Copeval CEO Jorge Lorenzoni underscored the significance of continued IFC support, stating, “This transaction highlights IFC’s trust in our mission. Farmers in Chile are increasingly confronted with challenges stemming from climate uncertainty and capital constraints. Our ability to support them with timely credit is essential for the sector’s long-term growth.”
Copeval has grown its farmer base by more than 35% since 2014, expanding from 37,000 to over 50,000 producers by 2025. The company’s capacity to scale its lending operations has been directly strengthened through IFC’s previous securitization transactions and its 16.8% equity stake in Copeval.
Beyond access to credit, the collaboration is poised to generate climate co-benefits by incentivizing practices such as fertigation, drip irrigation, and adoption of energy-efficient technologies. In addition, IFC and Copeval have launched a corporate gender and inclusion assessment. The aim is to identify institutional gaps and establish action plans to promote diversity, enhance employee engagement, and elevate productivity across Copeval’s operations.
Despite women comprising over 42% of Chile’s total labor force, only 3.2% of employed women work in agriculture. This disparity highlights the urgent need for gender-sensitive financing and capacity-building interventions to ensure equitable sectoral transformation.
Strategic significance lies in the initiative’s dual impact: reinforcing rural financial ecosystems and embedding ESG principles into the agri-supply chain. By marrying green finance with inclusion-focused strategies, the partnership advances Chile’s environmental governance goals while fostering responsible business innovation.
ESG BROADCAST will continue monitoring the updates related to this topic. Stay tuned to be updated on the related policy and pivotal regulatory shift.
