IFC helps finance first onion dehydration plant in sub Saharan Africa
The International Finance Corporation and the Africa Agriculture and Trade Investment Fund have made a €13 million ($15.3 million) investment to help Société Africaine d’Ingrédients build an onion dehydration plant in Senegal — the first in sub Saharan Africa.
The €13 million investment is composed of AATIF’s €6 million senior loan, IFC’s A loan of up to €3.5 million from IFC’s own account, and a concessional loan from the IDA Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility of up to €3.5 million.
The project involves decommissioning an existing onion dehydration plant, which was built in 2003 and closed in 2014, near Dijon, France, and relocating it to St. Louis in northern Senegal. Support from IFC and AATIF will also help Société Africaine d’Ingrédients develop a 760-hectare onion farm and establish a large out-grower network of onion farmers.
The plant is expected to produce almost 5,000 tonnes of dehydrated onions annually, representing two percent of the global supply, with some production being exported to Europe.
