The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector financing arm of the World Bank, has availed a 5 million U.S. dollar loan to a Malawian private agribusiness firm, a statement issued by the IFC office in South Africa said.
The loan to Bakhresa Grain Milling (BGM) Malawi would go towards the company's refinancing its short-term debt, incremental working capital needs, and recurrent capital expenditures, according to the statement.
"The IFC's loan will also help the company produce more food and create additional employment," IFC Vice President for Sub-Saharan Africa Thierry Tanoh said in the statement.
In addition to BGM Malawi, IFC has also invested in the agribusiness sectors of Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda in the 2008 fiscal year, which ended June 30.
Tanoh said new financing transaction to the Malawi agribusiness firm took IFC's annual investments in Africa's agribusiness sector in the current fiscal year alone to more than 70 million dollars, a five-fold increase over its average for the last three years.
The IFC vice president said agriculture was a vital engine for economic development in Africa as the sector contributed a major portion of GDP, employment, and foreign exchange earnings.
"Increasing our activities in the sector is a vital part of IFC's strategy to support private sector development and address challenges facing African businesses," he said.
Source: Xinhua
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