Boké, Guinea
Impact and cooperatives
SMGUINEE is not only an exporter. Processing on site creates jobs, structures cooperatives and keeps value in the producing country.
Impact
Processing at origin changes what stays in the country
80 %
of the jobs at our site are held by women
They hold the station that determines the value of the lot: hand sorting and grading, which separates W180, W240 and W320. A skill acquired on site, and paid accordingly.
- Direct jobs
- 60
- Cooperatives
- 50+
- Site
- Boké
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80 %
Of jobs held by women
Hand sorting and grading, the core of the craft, are carried out mainly by women trained on site. That is where the grade, and therefore the value of the lot, is decided.
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50+
Partner cooperatives
Direct purchasing removes middlemen and improves the price received by the farmer. Each cooperative is identified and linked to the lots it supplied.
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Local
Value added at origin
West Africa supplies close to half the global raw cashew crop, yet only a limited share is processed locally. Processing in Guinea keeps value in the producing country.
Commercial coverage
Where we sell, where we are going
We distinguish what is established from what is targeted. A buyer asking for a reference on a listed market must get an answer.
- Markets served 9 36 %
- Logistics partners 4 16 %
- Target markets 12 48 %
Worldwide coverage
Our markets and target destinations
We ship from Boké to six continents. The map distinguishes markets already served, our logistics partners and the markets we are targeting.
- Destinations
- 25+
- Continents
- 6
- Regions
- 3
Commercial status of each destination. The list is not exhaustive.
- Markets served Rotterdam, Casablanca, Le Caire, Dakar, Abidjan, Dubaï, Mumbai, Kochi, Ho Chi Minh
- Logistics partners Hambourg, Marseille, Djeddah, Singapour
- Target markets New York, Montréal, Los Angeles, Santos, Londres, Alger, Lagos, Mombasa, Durban, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney
Partner cooperatives
Partners, not just suppliers
Buying direct is not enough. A supply chain holds when cooperatives are structured, trained and financed: that is what we build with them.
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Supply contracts
Volume and price commitment ahead of the season, rather than day-to-day spot buying. The cooperative knows its outlet before mobilising its farmers.
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Farmer training
Harvest best practice, field sorting, defect recognition. A farmer who can set aside an immature nut protects the KOR yield of the whole lot.
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Drying and storage support
Drying floors, tarpaulins, collection bags and guidance on exposure times. Residual moisture is the leading cause of post-harvest loss.
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Collection logistics
Aggregation points, collection schedule and joint weighing. The farmer no longer bears the cost of transport to the depot alone.
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Structuring and management
Support on record keeping, revenue distribution and formalisation. A structured cooperative gains easier access to finance.
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Shared traceability
Every lot carries its originating cooperative identifier. The data serves the buyer as much as the cooperative, which can evidence the quality of its deliveries.
Women’s programme
Advancing women’s economic autonomy
Women hold the majority of positions at our facility, including those that determine the value of the lot. This is not a display policy: it is how production is actually organised.
- Hand sorting and grading
- Processing and shelling
- Vacuum packing
- Quality control and sampling
- Administration and stock management
- Leadership of partner cooperatives
Our commitments
- Pay by skill, with no gender-based difference at equivalent grade
- In-house sorting and quality control training, certified and paid
- Progression towards supervisory and control positions
Youth programme
Training a new generation of cashew professionals
Processing in Guinea requires skills in Guinea. The sector needs technicians, quality officers and logisticians trained locally.
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Processing
Steaming, shelling, drying, peeling, grading.
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Equipment maintenance
Preventive upkeep, grader calibration, first-line troubleshooting.
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Quality control
KOR tests, nut count, moisture measurement, representative sampling.
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Logistics and export
Container stuffing, customs documentation, incoterms, shipment tracking.
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Agronomy
Orchard management, pruning, nursery, pest control.
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Rural entrepreneurship
Cooperative management, bookkeeping, market access.
Access to finance
Removing the first barrier of the season: working capital
A cooperative that cannot pay its farmers at collection time loses its supply to intermediaries. Seasonal credit resolves this bottleneck, but it requires kept accounts and a contracted outlet — two conditions our support helps to meet.
What the financing covers
- Collection and farmer payment
- Bags, tarpaulins and packing materials
- Transport to aggregation points
- Drying floors and storage
- Dryers and small equipment
- Nurseries and planting material
Commitments
What we hold ourselves to
Six verifiable commitments, applied at the site and with partner cooperatives.
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Shell valorisation
The shell accounts for roughly three quarters of the raw nut weight. It is used as drying fuel rather than sent to landfill.
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Worker safety
Cashew shell liquid is caustic. Gloves, eye protection and ventilation are provided, and their use is monitored at exposed stations.
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No child labour
No one under eighteen on the processing site. This requirement extends to partner cooperatives and is checked during visits.
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Price transparency
Joint weighing, price announced before collection, documented payment. The farmer knows what is sold and at what price.
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Post-harvest loss reduction
Controlled drying and ventilated storage. A poorly dried nut moulds in the container and loses all value before arrival.
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Orchard rehabilitation
Support for pruning, replacement of ageing trees and nursery establishment. A maintained orchard yields longer and better.
Let's talk about your requirement
Tell us the product, grade, volume and destination port. We reply within two business days.