One of the leading beverage companies in Sierra Leone, Kings Beverages has secured a US$5 million financing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private arm of the World Bank.
The signing of the loan agreement between IFC and Kings Beverage will take place on Thursday, March 31, 2022 at the new World Bank Group Country Office in Freetown.
The proposed investment in Kings Beverages PVT Limited (KB or the Company) consists of: (i) a US$2.5 million A loan and (ii) a US $2.5 million loan from IFC in its capacity as implementing entity for the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) Private Sector Window.
The proposed financing will be used towards capital expenditures for the completion of the KB beverage factory located in Freetown, Sierra Leone, including two new fruit juice lines, one mineral water line as well as one carbonated soft drink (CSD) line (the Project), according to a statement posted on the IFC website.
According to IFC, An advisory project will be designed and implemented that aims at providing technical assistance in the areas of: organization and capacity building of smallholder farmers supplying fruits to KB; food safety standards; environment and social standards; operational efficiency improvement; and corporate governance.
Established in 2016, Kings Beverages is a beverage company located near Freetown in Sierra Leone. This proposed IFC loan investment of up to US$7 million is for: (i) capital expenditures (CAPEX) for the completion of its existing factory which has been partially built and commissioned in March 2020 for the production of water and carbonated soft drink (CSD) products; and (ii) working capital. The scope of the proposed expansion includes the addition of a fruit juice production line. This financing will complement an IFC advisory engagement to set-up a sourcing program with local fruit farmers (up to 85% of its raw material). This advisory will also include the development of a supply chain risk screening of eligible third-party fruit suppliers.
The factory is located on 1.9 acres lot in Regent town (6 miles east of Freetown). The factory presently consists of two production lines, one for mineral water and one for CSDs. Both are currently operational. The facility also includes a Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) laboratory, raw water purification unit, wastewater treatment plant, generators, and warehouses for storage of raw material and finished products. The company also owned a fleet of vehicles (6 delivery trucks and 2 small minibuses) for product distribution and personnel transport. Three additional delivery trucks are envisaged soon considering the increased production output.
By George M.O Williams