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Bogota, Colombia, August 31, 2010
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing $20 million in financing to Productos Naturales de la Sabana S.A. (Alquería), a leading milk producer in the Andean region, to support its expansion into low-income and remote consumer markets.
Alquería will use IFC’s $15 million senior loan and $5 million equity to modernize its production, improve efficiency, and develop new low-cost and nutrition-rich dairy products for infants and children. The financing will also help implement the company’s strategy to reach Colombia’s remote areas. The company plans to expand its distribution of ultra high temperature milk that does not require refrigeration and increase its supply of raw milk. Alquería sources milk from more than 6,000 farmers and distributes its products through 116,000 small shops.
“Alquería is proud to be partnering with IFC,” said Carlos Enrique Cavelier, Alquería’s CEO. “We are confident that our combined strengths will be the driving force for a positive development of our company and Colombia’s dairy industry."
Enrique Cañas, IFC Country Manager for Colombia, said, “IFC’s investment in Alquería is in line with our strategy to increase availability of high-quality nutrition products to low-income people. It will also support the growth of Colombia’s agribusiness sector to expand economic opportunities for local farmers and small businesses along supply and distribution chains.”
Agribusiness is the third most important sector of Colombia’s economy. It accounts for nearly 16 percent of the country’s exports, 13 percent of gross domestic product, and employs about 22 percent of the workforce. In this context, the dairy sector is vital and Colombia has established itself as the leading milk producer in the Andean region.
IFC’s strategy in Colombia focuses on supporting sectors that are essential to social and economic development, including infrastructure, health, education, agribusiness, and public-private partnerships to build ports, roads, and airports. IFC assists leading Colombian companies in modernizing and expanding their businesses. IFC also promotes access to finance for micro, small, and medium enterprises and works on improving the investment climate by simplifying regulations and royalty management.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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About Alquería
Headquartered in Cajica, Colombia, Alquería operates three plants in Cajica, Cali, and Medellin that are certified to the standards for food processing (ISO, HACCP, and Quality Check), with a production capacity of 1.1 million liters a day. The company is one of the Andean region largest ultra-high-temperature milk producer. It has a 26 percent share nationally and 66 percent of the market in the Bogota region. During 2009, the company processed 276 million liters of milk, which resulted in net sales of $230 million and net income of $5 million. For more information, visit
www.alqueria.com.co
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