Early Warning System

Countries

Poland

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Financial Institutions

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Approved

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Voting Date

Feb 21, 2024

Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.

Borrower

Innova Central Holding SCA

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Industry and Trade

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Type(s)

Equity

The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 18.07 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 16.7
Converted using 2024-02-21 exchange rate.

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EBRD website

Updated in EWS Jul 19, 2024

Disclosed by Bank May 2, 2024

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the project consists of an equity investment of up to EUR 16.7 million in a controlling entity of Bielenda Kosmetyki Naturalne S.A. ("Bielenda", the "Company"), the largest Polish manufacturer of facial care products and other cosmetics. The Bank's funds, together with additional equity contributions, will be used to support Bielenda's growth through financing the acquisition of Kanani Europe Sp. z o.o., the owner of complementary portfolio of skin care cosmetics for women under "Miya" brand.

The project will support Bielenda's plan of strengthening its position as a successful domestic cosmetics manufacturer in Poland, laying the foundations for the company's dynamic growth in the country and abroad and improving its competitiveness in the uncertain business environment. It will also support private equity ecosystem in Poland during a period of reduced liquidity and increased investor risk aversion and contributing to the resilience of the capital markets.

Early Warning System Project Analysis

For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

Categorised B, 2019 ESP. Low-Medium risk.

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

An equity investment of up to EUR 16.7 million.

Private Actors Description

A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Innova Central Holding SCA is a Luxembourg-domiciled financial entity, through which financial investors (including the EBRD and Innova/6 where EBRD is a Limited Partner) will hold their interests in Bielenda Kosmetyki Naturalne S.A., a prominent Polish cosmetics manufacturer. Founded in 1990, Bielenda has grown into the leading privately-owned domestic player in the beauty segment, with a portfolio of several hundred cosmetic products available to customers in Poland, Europe and in other export markets.

Private Actor 1	Private Actor 1 Role	Private Actor 1 Sector	Relation	Private Actor 2	Private Actor 2 Role	Private Actor 2 Sector
-	-	-	-	Bielenda Kosmetyki Naturalne S.A.	Undisclosed	-
-	-	-	-	Innova Central Holding SCA	Client	-
-	-	-	-	Kanani Europe Sp. z o.o.	Undisclosed	-

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION

Robert Dobrowolski
https://bielenda.pl/
ul. Fabryczna 20, 31-553 Kraków

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can request information by emailing: accessinfo@ebrd.com or by using this electronic form: https://www.ebrd.com/eform/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EBRD

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

You can contact the PCM at: pcm@ebrd.com or you can submit a complaint online using an online form at: http://www.ebrd.com/eform/pcm/complaint_form?language=en

You can learn more about the PCM and how to file a complaint at: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism.html