MCB and CIEL Textile: Committed to sustainable ways of financing trade

As a purpose-driven leading bank in Mauritius and sub-Saharan Africa, MCB has embedded sustainability-related issues in its day-to-day activities. To support responsible financing of trade activities, the bank has launched, on a pilot basis, its Sustainable Supply Chain Finance. 

In May, MCB launched the Sustainable Supply Chain Finance, a new business financing facility. Floreal and FSM, two subsidiaries of CIEL Textile – a global reference in the world of textile and apparel,  were the first to benefit from this facility on a pilot basis, in collaboration with the International Chamber of Commerce on the Standards for Sustainable Trade. This solution was crafted by the Global Trade Solutions (GTS) team within the Global Transactional Banking Business Unit of MCB in close collaboration with its  commercial teams and CIEL Textile teams.  

Through this initiative, MCB positions itself as a partner of choice in Mauritius and Africa by providing its clients with bespoke supply chain financing solutions. This financing solution is specifically tailored to support products categorized as sustainable, both for imports and exports, ensuring not only a consistent financial support structure, but also enhancing the competitiveness of sustainable products. The Sustainable Supply Chain Finance, therefore, resonates with the bank’s ‘raison d’être’ Success Beyond Numbers, which encompasses MCB’s sustainability philosophy. 

This financing solution has been implemented to enable businesses to optimize their working capital by boosting their cash flows. Eligible companies can also benefit from MCB’s expertise in risk analysis and structuring at a preferential rate.

Businesses must demonstrate the viability of their activities for environmental protection and socio-economic development. This financing facility allows them to align with the Paris Agreement’s goals, which aim to limit global warming to 1.5˚C, per the commitments of the COP 21 conference in Paris and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

More than just a supplier, CIEL Textile positions itself as a partner of choice in the world of fashion. With a mission to “Improve Fashion, Every Day” the company offers a wide range of products, services, and innovative solutions to customers worldwide. Every year, 43,5 million pieces of clothing are created by CIEL Textile’s 23,000 talents through 19 production units.

MCB and CIEL Textile teams worked closely to establish this partnership. The supply chain of the two relevant textile companies with factories in Bangladesh, Mauritius, and Madagascar with 4 factories, have undergone strict review to ensure that natural raw materials have been used and that international standards have been adhered to. This includes the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) for animal welfare, the HIGG Index as a reference tool for impact assessment, and the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI), which focuses on human rights in the workplace.

Unique solutions

The GTS team understood the client’s comprehensive supply chain, which operates as an integrated system across 3 countries handling both technical and fashion yarn for sweaters. Thereafter, the team proposed bespoke supply chain finance and embedded a sustainable line by leveraging unique solutions like Credit Protection with international partners like Atradius, Credendo, and AU Group.

CIEL Textile has adopted through its “Winning Well” philosophy sustainable and ethical ways of succeeding. The group places sustainability at the core of its day-to-day activities by balancing profitability and prosperity involving all stakeholders: employees, customers, and the community.

“In light of the current context challenged by supply chain bottlenecks and the higher interest environment, there are no one-size-fits-all trade solutions. We need to understand the supply chain of our clients and engage in close collaboration with our  partners and our dedicated teams to craft tailored solutions that shall not only mitigate risks but also meet their working capital needs. By doing so, we can enable them to better capitalize on the African opportunities for sustainable growth. ” explains Arnaud Levasseur, Team Leader, GTS team, MCB.