Kigali, May 15, 2007
- IFC, the private sector lending arm of the World Bank Group recently disbursed $3.6 million to Intraspeed S.A.R.L, a Rwanda-based freight forwarding company serving the Great Lakes Region of Eastern Africa. This disbursement is part of a $7.5 million IFC loan financing approved late last year and is IFC’s first investment in Rwanda since 1992.
Intraspeed will use IFC financing to upgrade, modernize, and expand its existing freight hauling capabilities with new, fuel-efficient trucks. This expansion will enable the company to become a full-service logistics firm with customs clearing and transport services and improve the handling and transportation of cargo throughout eastern Africa.
Owned and chaired by Rwandan businessman John Bosco Rusagara, Intraspeed was founded in 1995 and has become one of the region’s premier freight transport companies. The company currently provides customs clearing and forwarding services from the ports of Mombasa and Dar-es-Salaam, as well as road haulage services from these ports to destinations across eastern Africa. Once completed, the expanded fleet will be used throughout the entire network, but mainly on the Kenya-Uganda-Rwanda route where the business demand is greatest
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Thierry Tanoh, IFC’s Director for Sub-Saharan Africa remarked that “IFC is delighted to work together with local entrepreneurs to bring world-class practices to small and medium sized companies, as part of our commitment to the Eastern Africa region. By supporting Intraspeed’s expansion, we are strengthening regional integration, particularly in infrastructure and transportation.”
“By reducing transportation costs and overcoming the current shortage of hauling capacity, the increased trucking capacity that will result from the successful completion of this project will help to improve trade conditions in the region,” said Rashad Kaldany, IFC’s Director for Infrastructure.
IFC has recently increased its presence in Rwanda by setting up a Rwanda Leasing Program, which will help to establish leasing as a competitive and viable financial product line for local businesses.
About IFC
The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group is the largest multilateral provider of financing for private enterprise in developing countries. IFC finances private sector investments, mobilizes capital in international financial markets, facilitates trade, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to businesses and governments. From its founding in 1956 through FY06, IFC has committed more than $56 billion of its own funds for private sector investments in the developing world and mobilized an additional $25 billion in syndications for 3,531 companies in 140 developing countries. With the support of funding from donors, it has also provided more than $1 billion in technical assistance and advisory services. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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