Graidco stands for Global Relief Aid and Development Company and was founded in 2013.
Based in Tholen, Graidco focuses mainly on the procurement, supply and installation of equipment for projects funded by organisations such as development banks and NGOs.
Max Simon, founder and Managing Director of Graidco: "Ten years ago, Graidco Global Relief was established to complement Devotra's business. Whereas Devotra mainly focuses on turn-key projects in the field of education and training, Graidco started focusing on new product groups. This includes the procurement, delivery and installation of equipment, combined with training to operate the equipment if required. Projects can range from kitchen and bakery supplies to medical or laboratory equipment, for example. We currently do this with a team of nine, but we would like to expand."
Graidco's clientele consists mainly of organisations such as the United Nations, development banks like the World Bank, the European Development Fund and other NGOs. They participate in tenders published on public websites for international companies. Such a tender requires the submission of a fair amount of documents, and in this case it involved boxes full of paperwork. Indeed, this transaction includes more than 500 different products for technical training related to the fields of civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and IT. These include specific measuring equipment, special scales, machines, but also office furniture, for example.
Max Simon: "To source these products, we use a global network of manufacturers and suppliers. From our own warehouse, we then take care of the logistics. This involves ensuring that goods from different manufacturers are assembled and properly packed. These can then be shipped as packages or in containers so that all equipment can be delivered undamaged. Equipment installation and training are then usually carried out by local or regional specialists from our network."
The need for working capital
Gambia's Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education received a donation from the World Bank last year. Earlier this year, the tender was awarded to Graidco. Two schools will receive new laboratory equipment as a result of this donation. The transaction itself does not need to be insured because it is being paid for by the World Bank programme. But Graidco required more working capital. In order to provide the bank with sufficient comfort, a working capital guarantee was taken out for a part of the contract price. Furthermore, Graidco itself needed a counter guarantee for the advance payment received of 20% and a performance guarantee of 10%. This is where Atradius DSB stepped in to help make it all happen.
Pre-financing is standard in this business, so getting access to funding is important. Our credit line with the bank was used up. Therefore, using the working capital cover and counter-guarantees gave us more financial headroom and allowed us to complete this assignment as planned. We are therefore very happy with the support of Atradius DSB in combination with Rabobank to get this done.
Graidco has grown rapidly in recent times. They are awarded many projects and therefore no longer respond to tenders. Max Simon: "We have now done projects in more than 70 countries. Most of the projects are in Africa, but we have also done quite a few projects in South-East Asia and South America. But we keep growing and the faster you grow, the more important funding becomes. And on top of that, we need to increase our team if we want to do more assignments. To do that, we will also move to a new office building in 2024. That will then hopefully give us the space we need. Moreover, we did find our way to Atradius DSB and have now submitted a new application."
The photos were taken by Max Simon of the current situation at the schools.
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