Red Sky

Red Sky is delighted to welcome two new members to our team, as we expand our engagement in Latin America and North Africa.   In Peru, Renzo Milón Kahatt has joined our office as sales director in time for the start of the new agricultural season. Peru is a major growth market for exports of fruit, vegetables and fish to North America and Europe (worth over USD 7 billion last year), as well as semi-processed goods such as frozen fruit pulp and textiles. We have already closed our first deal in the country, providing a USD 100,000 revolving facility for the export of asparagus.   In Morocco, Jaafar Tahiri joins the team as Commercial Executive, where we have hit the ground running with our first export deal of frozen berries to Portugal. Over the past decade, exports of Moroccan berries have risen sevenfold, to USD 773 million in 2023, with most going to the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany and France. This reflects Morocco’s strong historical trade ties across the Mediterranean Basin and the growing importance of ‘friend-shoring’.   This USD 50,000 revolving facility will enable our Moroccan exporter to increase their sales volume and strengthen their position in European markets, as well as support value addition in Morocco where the berries are grown, packed and frozen.   If you are an exporter in Peru or Morocco and think Red Sky could support your growth, reach out to Renzo or Jaafar on LinkedIn, or contact us via our company website.

Red Sky is hiring in Peru and Mexico! We are looking for dynamic trade finance professionals with experience in these markets to help build our business across the region.   Why are we excited about Peru and Mexico? Because both countries sit at the forefront of emerging non-BRICS markets, with rising trade flows, rich intraregional connections and strong potential to grow their exports.   Peru has nearly doubled its exports over the past decade, to USD 64.3 billion in 2022, supported by a diverse agri sector which exports fruit, vegetables, nuts and coffee to China, North America and the EU. However, Peru’s agri sector is fragmented and local factoring options are expensive, which is where Red Sky’s working capital solutions can make a major difference for local SME exporters.   Mexico remains by far the largest exporter in Latin America, with total exports worth USD 578 billion 2022, ranging from vehicles and electronics to food and consumer goods. Nearly 80% of these exports go to the USA, where consumer demand shows no signs of slowing. Exports to Canada, Asia and Western Europe are also growing strongly, underlining the potential for further growth in the country’s exports.   If you are interested in working for Red Sky in Peru or Mexico, please contact Theodore Leslie or Charles Owen for more information.

Red Sky is delighted to announce the opening of new offices in Bogota (Colombia) and Casablanca (Morocco), run by Mónica Ramos Raad and Lamia Fattouki, respectively. Red Sky is excited about Colombia, a country at the vanguard of a new wave of emerging markets, challenging the dominance of the BRICS. Colombia is a major exporter of coffee, cut flowers, bananas and palm oil. Around one quarter of Colombia’s exports go to the USA, 20% to Asia (notably China & India) and 15% to the EU, which is growing in importance as a trading partner. Colombia is also a regional trade hub in its own right, with intra-regional flows making up over one third of its total trade. Morocco is another emerging market that has caught Red Sky’s eye, given the country’s strong trade flows and commercial links across Africa and Europe. Over the past decade Morocco has more than doubled the value of its exports to USD 42bn in 2022, led by fertilizer & phosphoric acid, cars, electric cables and clothing, as well as soft commodities. If you think Red Sky could help you address financing challenges and build your trade business, reach out to Monica or Lamia on LinkedIn or contact us via our company website.

As the macadamia nut season gets underway in Kenya, one of the world’s leading producers, concerns are rising over how the government’s decision last November to lift the ban on exporting in-shell macadamias could impact the sector.    The ban was put in place to incentivize investment in local processing but was lifted in response to surging demand for in-shell macadamias from Kenya’s leading offtaker, China. Exporting macadamias in their shells is preferable for Chinese consumers, many of whom consume the nuts infused with different flavours through a hole in the shell. While the lifting of the ban has led to a surge in exports to China, it has been criticized for undermining local processing, and it raises questions for the future of macadamia exports to the USA and Europe.   Meanwhile, prices for macadamias have surged, rising from an average of 21 cents/kg last year to highs of 90 cents/kg this February. This will be a boon for producers and could bring in much needed FX to Kenya. But it has increased the pressure on buyers and exporters, increasing their need for working capital.    This is where Red Sky can help. As a flexible lender, we can help you manage the fluctuation in commodity prices with working capital solutions tailored to your flows. If you’d like to discuss how we can help your business, reach out to the team on LinkedIn or contact us via our company website.

As the macadamia nut season gets underway in Kenya, one of the world’s leading producers, concerns are rising over how the government’s decision last November to lift the ban on exporting in-shell macadamias could impact the sector.    The ban was put in place to incentivize investment in local processing but was lifted in response to surging demand for in-shell macadamias from Kenya’s leading offtaker, China. Exporting macadamias in their shells is preferable for Chinese consumers, many of whom consume the nuts infused with different flavours through a hole in the shell. While the lifting of the ban has led to a surge in exports to China, it has been criticized for undermining local processing, and it raises questions for the future of macadamia exports to the USA and Europe.   Meanwhile, prices for macadamias have surged, rising from an average of 21 cents/kg last year to highs of 90 cents/kg this February. This will be a boon for producers and could bring in much needed FX to Kenya. But it has increased the pressure on buyers and exporters, increasing their need for working capital.    This is where Red Sky can help. As a flexible lender, we can help you manage the fluctuation in commodity prices with working capital solutions tailored to your flows. If you’d like to discuss how we can help your business, reach out to the team on LinkedIn or contact us via our company website.

The Red Sea Crisis has captured global headlines, disrupting global supply chains and causing the flow of shipping through the Suez Canal to drop by nearly 50%. This has hit Red Sky’s clients hard, especially those exporting avocados from East Africa, who rely on the Suez Canal to get their goods to market across Europe. With most of the world’s major shipping lines avoiding the Red Sea, this leaves the only sea route around the Cape, extending a typical journey from East Africa to Europe from 30 to 40 days. This should be workable, but it needs to be properly planned and executed. And a solution needs to be found fast, as the avocado season has already started across East Africa. This is why Maersk is stepping in with plans to create dedicated shipping routes for East Africa’s avocados around the Cape to Europe. The aim will be to keep the voyage time to Rotterdam and other European ports as short as is possible. Full details of the routes are expected to be announced soon. We will be watching this space carefully and are ready to help our clients through this latest challenge to global supply chains.

Red Sky is delighted to announce the opening of a new office in Nairobi, Kenya, and to welcome Tim Wanyoike to our team, who will be driving our business across the region.   Kenya is East Africa’s leading soft commodities hub, exporting over USD 3 billion of cash crops in 2022, from tea and coffee to avocados and macadamia nuts. But the country also acts as a transit hub for soft commodity flows to its landlocked neighbours, notably Uganda, as well as being a food processing hub in its own right.   At Red Sky we recognize Kenya’s importance to East Africa’s soft commodity supply chain, which is why it will be a major focus of our business in 2024 as we roll out our trade finance platform to African traders to help them unlock working capital, automate their processes and increase their trade volumes.   If you are a soft commodities exporter from East Africa and would like to know how Red Sky could help grow your business, reach out to Tim or Theodore Leslie on LinkedIn, or contact us via our company website.