With financial and technical support from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL), Colombian firm Andean Cacao is developing one of the world’s largest sustainable cacao plantations. 

Andean Cacao is an agroforestry cacao company that seeks to produce sustainable cacao by creating inclusive and climate-smart productive ecosystems that help to rehabilitate degraded lands and benefit local communities. The company’s large-scale cacao plantation stretches across 3,800 hectares in Colombia’s Meta department in the biodiversity-rich region of Orinoquia. 

IFC’s recent investment in Andean Cacao supports the firm to scale up its sustainable operations and promote responsible and sustainable agricultural practices that benefit both the environment and local communities. The investment will also support socioeconomic development activities for 600 farmers and their families, in addition to more than 600 jobs being created, and the promotion of gender equality across the supply chain.

In a recent statement acknowledging IFC’s recent investment, Andean Cacao wrote, “(IFC’s support) will enable the expansion of our large-scale cacao agroforestry system that implements regenerative practices, promotes biodiversity, preserves natural resources and has significant net positive climate impact, as well as strengthens social well-being in the region…”.

This work builds on IFC’s advisory Cacao Program in Colombia’s Orinoquia region implemented in partnership with the ISFL. Since 2020, ISFL’s cacao program has focused on promoting a sustainable cacao supply chain that uses previously cleared land instead of intact forested areas. 

The ISFL’s multifaceted program approach has included a variety of capacity-building initiatives, including: 

• Training hundreds of high school students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) concepts applied to cacao production;
• Working with Andean Cacao to improve gender balance in its workforce, practices and policies;
• Developing a traceability tool that allows Andean Cacao to demonstrate the absence of deforestation in their cocoa value chain, aligning with the new European Union regulation;
• Exploring how circularity can transform cocoa waste into energy or other by-products;
• Piloting reforestation efforts, both at the plantation and smallholder level, to promote ecological restoration and the use of native species on degraded lands, as well as efforts to improve biodiversity conservation;
• Supporting farmers to improve the quality and productivity of their cocoa, while managing their farms better, resulting in a more reliable and higher quality supply chain for Andean Cacao;
• Showcasing best practices for agroforestry models through the implementation of over a dozen demonstration farms. 

“IFC most recent investment in Andean Cacao underscores the success of ISFL’s approach in leveraging public funds to support the development of sustainable practices, and then help firms to scale this up, from piloting to full-scale implementation,” says ISFL Fund Manager, Roy Parizat.

Olaf Schmidt, IFC Director of Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services for Latin America and Europe, recently stated, “This project is more than just an investment; it’s a commitment to building inclusive, climate-smart ecosystems that rehabilitate degraded lands and empower local communities. By pioneering agroforestry innovation, Andean Cacao enhances the climate resilience of Colombia's food supply, reduces emission intensities, and boosts agricultural productivity—showing that sustainable cocoa production at scale is not only possible, but commercially viable.”

Read more on ISFL’s program in Colombia