Rabat, Morocco, November 12, 2013
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is making an equity investment in Zalagh Holding, a leading grain trading and poultry group, to help create jobs and encourage economic development in rural Morocco.
IFC’s $24 million investment in Zalagh will support the company as it expands and creates new jobs, including those for women. The expansion will also help generate indirect employment in rural areas, where Zalagh is a key economic player.
"This agreement will support our strategy to become a major player in a rapidly expanding sector and strengthen our integrated value chain,” said Ali Berbich, Chairman of the Management Board of Zalagh Holding. “As well, IFC will bring with it its agribusiness expertise and its extensive experience in optimizing corporate governance and institutionalizing family businesses.”
This investment is part of the IFC strategy in Morocco to support the manufacturing and agribusiness sectors.
"Supporting the development of Zalagh Holding is part of our effort to spur job creation and promote sustainable growth in rural areas of Morocco,” said Guy Ellena, Director of IFC’s Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services Department in Eastern and Southern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle-East, and North Africa. “We are excited to partner with a company with such an extensive experience and a reputation for supporting communities.”
The project will also support the growth of the poultry industry and promote the use of top-notch environmental and health standards.
Zalagh Holding is embarking on an ambitious 350 million Moroccan dirham expansion over the next three years. It is planning to ramp up production of animal feed, increase its supply of chickens and turkeys, and build poultry farms across the country.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in more than 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. In FY13, our investments climbed to an all-time high of nearly $25 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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About Zalagh Holding
Zalagh Holding is the first integrated group in the poultry industry in Morocco. It covers the whole value chain of the poultry sector. Founded in 1974 by Mohammed Chaouni and subsequently developed by Fouad Chaouni, the group recently launched an ambitious strategy, mainly through mergers and acquisitions, to diversify and integrate its activities and become the largest integrated poultry player in Morocco. Zalagh Holding employs more than 1,700 people and has 15 subsidiaries. It is organized across five key business segments: import of agricultural raw materials, animal feed, hatching, breeding, slaughtering of poultry and production of finished poultry meat products.
