AfDB extends US75 million package to support ETG

Business Writer

The African Development Bank Group has approved a U$75 million financing package to support Export Trading Group (ETG), a Mauritius-based conglomerate with extensive operations across Africa, including Zimbabwe.

ETG boasts a diverse portfolio spanning agricultural inputs, logistics, merchandising and processing, supply chain optimisation, digital transformation, and energy.

This package includes a US$65 million participation from the bank’s own resources, along with US$10 million in concessional co-financing from the Agri-Food Catalytic Financing Mechanism (ACFM) into ETGs Sustainable Linked Loan facility for financing its core value chain assets.

The Agri-Food Catalytic Financing Mechanism is an internally managed special fund, capitalised by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, to build markets and mobilise finance for gender-oriented and underserved agri-SMEs in Africa.

Through participation in the Sustainable Linked Loan facility, the financing will be deployed to ETG’s core value chains in 14 countries, namely Zimbabwe, Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia.

This will support ETG’s processing and packaging facilities and warehouses and provide farmers with fertilisers and other agri-inputs. The bank’s financing may be deployed to up to 28 African countries based on ETG’s emerging needs.

“The African Development Bank Group is thrilled to expand our work with Export Trading Group and support its commitment to strengthen women’s economic development in Africa. Access to finance and training in agriculture will contribute to food security and economic growth,” said Dr Beth Dunford, Bank Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development.

ETG plans to engage 600 000 smallholder farmers by 2027, with a 25 percent target for women farmers.

This includes training on sustainable farming and improved access to resources. The project is expected to boost exports from bank regional member countries and enhance intra-regional trade, particularly within the Economic Community of West African States, Southern African Development Community, and East African Community regional economic blocks.

The Bank’s investment in ETG capitalizes on the group’s proven track record and resilience in agriculture, aiming to mobilise private sector financing into a critical yet underserved sector of the economy.

ETG will manage the project, with oversight from the company’s board of directors and support from specialized departments within the group