IFC announces $39m financing package for Engee Manufacturing based in Ogun State
IFC announced a financing package to help Engee Manufacturing, a leading Nigeria manufacturer of PET resin used in packaging for soft drinks, bottled water, and other household and pharmaceutical products, to build a Continuous Polymerisation PET Resin plant in Ogun state which would source more than 20 percent of its raw materials from local, waste plastics, strengthening Nigeria’s recycling and manufacturing sectors.
Engee’s new Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) plant could double the number of plastic bottles recycled in Nigeria through a process of collecting, cleaning, and processing up to 30,000 tons of used plastic bottles every year. The country has no efficient disposal, recycling and waste management system for its plastic and non-plastic waste, with most solid waste ending up in landfills, drainages, beaches and waterbodies. The new plant is expected to be fully operational within the next 24 months.
Alexander Gendis, Managing Director, Engee Manufacturing Limited, said, “IFC’s financing for the first continuous polymerization plant in Nigeria will support our efforts to grow the country’s packaging for drinking water, beverages and pharmaceutical industries. This will be only the second such plant anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa. The plant and process are enough to fast-track the evolution of plastics recycling in the country and support jobs along the recycling value chain. This will be a big win for Nigeria’s economy and its environment.”
The $39 million financing package includes a $24 million senior ‘A’ loan from IFC and a $15 million subordinated loan from the International Development Association’s Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility.
Eme Essien Lore, IFC Country Manager for Nigeria, said, “IFC’s partnership with Engee reflects our support for Nigeria’s private sector, especially at this difficult time when the global economy is facing the challenge of COVID-19. The new factory will make positive contributions to Nigeria’s manufacturing sector and job growth, while potentially revolutionizing the recycling industry in the country.”
Engee is a leading player in the production of bottle grade resins in Nigeria, recently emerging as one of the fastest growing manufacturers of packaging materials. IFC will also provide Engee with advisory services support to implement a plastics waste recycling program specifically for bottle-grade resins.
The investment with Engee underscores IFC’s growing commitment to Nigeria, with investments focused on sectors including healthcare, agribusiness, manufacturing, technology, and SME financing.
