We are proud to share this case study on our investment in San Gerardo, developed together with Master’s students from Solvay Brussels School & ULB as part of their field project. It captures how climate-aligned trade finance strengthens resilience for 3,600+ smallholder cacao farmers in Peru.
San Gerardo is transforming Peru’s cacao supply chain, empowering smallholder farmers, promoting traceability, and driving climate resilience with the support of Incofin’s Fairtrade Access Fund.
Smallholder cacao farmers in Peru stand on the front lines of the climate crisis. In the Amazonian regions where cacao is grown, rising temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, and more frequent extreme droughts and floods are expected to reduce crop yields. These changes threaten not only cacao production but also the livelihoods of farmers who depend on it. The impacts are likely to be especially severe in tropical regions like Peru, where smallholder agricultural systems have lower resilience due to limited access to resources and support.
Targeted support from Incofin, through the Fairtrade Access Fund (FAF), is helping smallholder farmers confront these mounting climate pressures. By combining tailored financial tools with technical assistance, FAF enables farmers to strengthen their resilience, adopt sustainable practices, and safeguard their livelihoods. Its focus on building climate resilience, promoting certified agriculture, and financing fair trade relationships addresses the core vulnerabilities that make tropical smallholders especially exposed. In places like Peru, such investments are not just financial, they are foundational for long-term adaptation and food security.
San Gerardo
In the heart of Peru’s cacao-growing regions, San Gerardo has become a driving force for sustainable agriculture and rural livelihoods. Since its founding in 2015, the company has grown rapidly to become one of the country’s leading cacao exporters, working with over 3,600 smallholder farmers across nine regions. Most of these farmers cultivate modest plots of 5 to 6 hectares, yet together they contribute to a remarkable vision: high-quality, climate-smart cacao for international markets. This year, San Gerardo is expected to exceed USD 100 million in revenue and export more than 14,000 metric tons of cacao.
What sets San Gerardo apart is not just its scale, but its commitment to transforming how cacao is produced and traded. Sustainability is embedded in the company’s DNA. Today, 80% of its supply comes from farmers certified under Rainforest Alliance/UTZ and FairTrade standards. These certifications are not just labels—they reflect San Gerardo’s investment in traceability, environmental stewardship, and farmer inclusion. The company is actively georeferencing all farms in its network, ensuring compliance with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and laying the groundwork for transparent, deforestation-free supply chains.
Beyond sourcing, San Gerardo invests in its farmers. A dedicated team of 23 technical assistance (TA) agents, many of whom are smallholders themselves, work directly in the field to help producers adopt more sustainable and productive practices. From pruning and fertilization to irrigation and post-harvest handling, these TA agents offer hands-on support that is both practical and climate-smart. They also coordinate transport from remote farms to regional warehouses, at no cost to farmers, removing logistical barriers and ensuring that even lower-grade cacao finds a buyer.
The company promotes climate-aligned post-harvest practices, including:
- Monitoring and managing bean humidity during drying
- Cooperative-level fermentation and solar drying
- Identification of low-cadmium cacao-producing area
San Gerardo in the Fairtrade Access Fund
San Gerardo’s journey with the Fairtrade Access Fund (FAF) is a compelling example of how targeted trade finance can drive real climate impact on the ground. Since 2021, FAF, advised by Incofin, has supported San Gerardo’s working capital through a short-term trade finance facility, enabling the company to scale its operations while embedding sustainability deeper into its value chain.
In 2024, this partnership was renewed and strengthened, with FAF increasing its support to USD 2 million. While the financing ensures liquidity during the critical cacao export season, its purpose goes far beyond operations. It directly supports San Gerardo’s transition toward climate-smart sourcing, traceability, and compliance with global environmental standards.
What makes this investment especially notable is its contribution to FAF’s broader mission. San Gerardo’s investment represents 3.5% of the total FAF portfolio, and because it exclusively finances procurement from certified, deforestation-free suppliers, it qualifies as 100% climate-aligned. This means that every dollar disbursed counts fully toward the fund’s climate finance objectives. In total, applying the same rigorous methodology across the portfolio, we have estimated that 54.3% of FAF portfolio contributes to climate adaptation and resilience.
With this level of impact, San Gerardo stands out as one of the top contributors to FAF’s climate goals—outperforming the average climate finance contribution of other SMEs in the portfolio. It is a clear, data-backed case of how climate finance, when tied to sustainable trade, can generate both measurable outcomes and lasting transformation across a rural, smallholder-based supply chain.
This case study was prepared by Antoine Herbauts, Arnaud Florival, Maxime Desmarets & Thomas Stoesser, Master’s students at Solvay Brussels School, as part of their academic project. Grateful for their work in documenting San Gerardo’s journey.