The country’s first-of-its-kind Cocoa Processing Centre was established in the rural village of Ulpotha in Matale recently, under Etimos Lanka (Pvt) Ltd’s innovative project “Micro Finance Meets Small Producers In Sri Lanka”.
Etimos Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, a BOI approved company which began operations in 2007, was created to facilitate the services offered by Consorzio Etimos s.c., an Italian based financial consortium that supports and sustains micro businesses and micro financig programs in developing countries across the world, the company said.
Etimos Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, was founded to continue the activities in Sri Lanka in strengthening the capacity of micro finance institutions and co-operatives of producers. The company engages in loan monitoring, appraising of new loans, developing partnerships with other stakeholders, expanding the reach of micro finance among small producers and identifying investment opportunities.
With the identification of Sri Lankan cocoa as one of the world’s best, Etimos Lanka (Pvt) Ltd partnered with Istituto Cooperazione Economica Internazionale (ICEI) and two Cocoa Producers’ Associations named Palapathwela and Yatawatte to form Cooperation for Industrial Development Lanka (Pvt) Ltd (COOP- ID), a company focused on processing of cocoa beans.
This cocoa processing centre in Ulpotha, a joint effort by these partners was set up with the aim of developing the quality of cocoa beans, strengthening farmer organizations; developing their social and moral status, and finding them the right market to sell their products, the statement said. |
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