IFC has an active project with Bidco Africa, a Kenyan private limited liability company, which is one of East Africa’s leading manufacturers and distributors of fast moving consumer goods. The loan of up to US$36.5 million will support the US$46 million expansion of Bidco Africa. Specifically, the proceeds of the loan will be used for the construction and operation of new facilities to expand Bidco’s production capacity in Kenya.

The complaint was filed by the National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) on behalf of the Bugala Farmers, located in the Kalangala District, Bugala Island, Lake Victoria, Uganda. The complaint raises concerns about Bidco Africa's operations in Uganda, through Bidco Uganda and Oil Palm Uganda Ltd (OPUL), a subsidiary of Bidco Uganda. The concerns relate to environmental damage, due to deforestation for the purposes of growing palm oil plantations, compensation for expropriated land, impacts on agricultural activities, and loss of livelihood.  

During assessment, the complainants and the company stated their preference to engage with one another through CAO-facilitated dialogue, therefore the complaint was referred to CAO’s Dispute Resolution function. As a result of CAO’s dispute resolution process, the parties reached an agreement in August 2017 to address the complaint issues. The agreement has been kept confidential at the parties’ request.

CAO monitored the implementation of the agreement, as agreed by the parties, and upon completion of the monitoring phase, CAO issued a conclusion report in January 2018. The report summarizes the dispute resolution process, and marks the closure of the case. See “view documents" for documents related to this case.