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Kathmandu, Nepal, August 26, 2014
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the Private Sector Window of Global Agriculture and Food Security Program are investing together $3.8 million in feed manufacturer Probiotech Industries to enhance poultry farm productivity, and boost incomes in rural Nepal.
This is IFC’s first investment in Nepal’s agribusiness sector. Probiotech will use the funding to finance manufacturing capacity for value-added products like soy flour, nuggets and refined oil. It will help the company to increase sourcing from over 8,000 farmers and food suppliers, and improve food safety standards. Probiotech is a sister company of agribusiness-focused business house, NIMBUS Holdings.
“IFC’s global knowledge and expertise in the agribusiness sector will help the company adopt best practices for production efficiency, environmental and social standards, and to upgrade technology,” said Anand Bagaria
,
Managing Director, Probiotech Industries
.
“The project will help streamline the food supply chain leading to higher productivity, and increased incomes for farmers.”
The financing will also enable Probiotech to expand its procurement and distribution networks. Currently, the company distributes its products through 100 registered dealers and 500 sub-dealers across 70 districts of Nepal.
“IFC’s support to Probiotech will help create jobs, both at the plant and farm level, and improve food and nutritional security for Nepal,” said Vipul Prakash, IFC Director for Asia Pacific, Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services. “The economies of scale will help reduce broiler production costs, benefiting poultry farmers, government and small businesses.”
IFC invested $4.5 billion across the agricultural value chain globally in 2013. IFC‘s agribusiness strategy aims to promote inclusive growth and environmental and social sustainability in agricultural supply chains.
Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) is a global effort that pools donor resources to fund programs focused on increasing agricultural productivity as a way to reduce poverty and increase food and nutrition security. GAFSP targets countries with the highest rates of poverty and hunger. The public sector window helps governments with national agriculture and food security plans. The private sector window, managed by IFC, provides long- and short-term loans, credit guarantees, and equity to private sector companies to improve productivity growth, deepen farmers' links to markets, and increase capacity and technical skills. For more information, visit
http://www.ifc.org/GAFSP
.
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 about 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. In FY14, we provided more than $22 billion in financing to improve lives in developing countries and tackle the most urgent challenges of development. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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