news - FMO invests USD 31.5 mln in food security and revitalization of the private sector in Iraq

FMO announced today a USD 31.5 mln facility as part of a USD 112.5 mln syndicated transaction led by IFC for Sama-al Manar, an Iraqi affiliate of FMO’s long-standing customer Tiryaki Group. The syndication is led by IFC, with FMO participating as a B-lender and Proparco, the French development finance institution, participating as a parallel lender. The financing will be used to support Sama al-Manar, a company active in importing soybean meal and corn within Iraq, in the construction and operation of a soybean crushing plant and corn storage facilities, thereby reducing the country’s dependency on oil by diversifying the economy.

Sama al-Manar for General Trading Company, Ltd. (Sama) is an Iraqi joint venture that is majority-owned by Tiryaki Agro Gida, one of Turkey’s leading agricultural commodity traders and supply chain managers in Turkey and the MENA region. Sama imports the main components of animal feed, including soybean meal and corn, from countries such as Brazil and Argentina, and then distributes the products to local private feed mills and poultry farms as feed.

Currently, Sama is in the process of building soybean-crushing and corn-storage facilities in Umm Qasr Port of Basra in southern Iraq, which will replace the imports of soybean-meal with soybean and continuing the business of selling corn and soybean meal from its own production. Through FMO, IFC, and Proparco’s investment, Sama will be able to use the funds to finance the capex needed for the new plants and will also be used for working capital requirements (such as the purchase of raw materials).

Iraq is a country that has undergone significant macroeconomic and political crises; it is also one of the most oil-dependent countries worldwide (accounting for 99% of its exports). The dominance of the public and oil sectors hampered diversified economy and private sector. As such, the new facilities that Sama will operate will play a critical role in a more diversified private sector while also creating approximately 350 jobs for construction and operation of the project.

Bram Reijnen, Manager Agribusiness, Water, and Food at FMO, said: “We are pleased to be investing the revitalization of Iraq’s private sector via our long-term partner Tiryaki’s subsidiary, Sama-al Manar. Through this investment, we are able to support the value-add within Iraq and local decent job creation. Investing effectively in states recovering from conflict and political instability traditionally comes with risks that are perceived as ‘too high’ by many institutional investors; we are grateful to our trusted partner IFC for leading this transaction as we jointly contribute to a viable diversified private sector in Iraq.”

Süleyman Tiryakioğlu, CEO of Tiryaki Agro, said: "We are building a soy crushing plant and corn warehouses in Tiryaki Group’s exclusive berth in the Umm-Qasr port of Iraq. The warehouses, which are part of the investment, have been completed and the soy crushing operations will begin in early 2024. With a daily crushing capacity of 3 thousand tons, the soy crushing plant is expected to generate more than 700 million dollars of revenue annually, half of which will be generated through exports."

"Manufacturing and agri-business drive job creation and foster economic growth. This South-South investment will not only be instrumental in enhancing Iraq’s food security and promoting economic diversification but will also result in a substantial contribution to the country’s total exports," said Ashruf Megahed, IFC’s Regional Industry Head, Manufacturing, Agribusiness & Services for Middle East, Central Asia, Türkiye, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

____

About Tiryaki Agro
Tiryaki Agro, a leading agricultural products supply chain company worldwide, has been dedicated to providing healthy, reliable and sustainable agricultural products since 1965. The company sources from more than 35 countries with affiliates located in 11 countries on 4 continents and supplies nearly 3 million tons of agricultural products annually. Extending its reach more than 50 countries through perfectly efficient management of the links of the supply chain from agriculture, sourcing, logistics, processing, storage, trade and consumer. Operating in 21 ports globally, Tiryaki Agro ensures reliable logistics of products through its expertise in storage and transportation.

As one of the world's largest organic food supply chain companies, Tiryaki Agro is committed to the principle of building a sustainable future for agriculture.  It adopts the mission of leaving a better world for future generations with hundreds of thousands of farmers and more than 1.500 people it employs. Embracing environmentally friendly agricultural production practices, renewable energy resources, and introducing smart agricultural technologies to the soil, Tiryaki Agro creates agriculture for the future and the future for agriculture. 

Please visit www.tiryaki.com.tr for further information.

About IFC
IFC — a member of the World Bank Group — is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2023, IFC committed a record $43.7 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of global compounding crises. For more information, visit www.ifc.org

About Proparco
Proparco, a subsidiary of Agence Française de Développement Group, has been working with the private sector for over 45 years for a more just and sustainable world. With an international network of 23 local offices, Proparco works closely with its partners to build sustainable solutions in response to environmental and social challenges in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. Proparco benefits from sector-based expertise as well as a wide range of financial solutions tailored to the different stages of business development, notably thanks to its Digital Africa subsidiary, and its Propulse technical assistance offering designed to scale up the impacts and performance of its partners.
Proparco's new "Acting together for greater impact” Strategy 2023-2027 enables, strengthens and amplifies the different ways in which it works with its partners. To learn more: http://www.proparco.fr/en/strategy.

For more information, go to: http://www.proparco.fr/en and @Proparco LinkedIn