- EBRD lending US$ 40 million to global yeast manufacturer Angel Yeast Egypt
- Funding to diversify, enhance and boost environmental sustainability of the value chain
- Project to include extensive graduate training and promote a circular economy approach
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting Egypt’s efforts to attract much-needed foreign direct investment (FDI) to the agribusiness sector with a US$ 40 million loan to Angel Yeast Egypt, a global yeast and yeast extract manufacturer.
The EBRD financing will enable Angel Yeast Egypt to increase its production of yeast, most of which is exported. The company is already working with local suppliers of molasses, a by-product of the sugar industry, and will increase its purchases of local raw materials.
In addition to financing the construction of a new storage facility, the EBRD loan will support the diversification and enhancement of the company’s value chain by adding new private-sector suppliers and improving its quality and operating standards. It will also promote an environmental value chain by processing 81,000 tonnes per year of excess sugar beet and cane molasses into high-value food products (yeast and yeast extract), as well as organic fertilisers.
The Bank is further strengthening the company’s competitiveness by sharing knowledge and enhancing the skills of its labour force with an extensive training programme for recent graduates, who will be hired in the city of Beni Suef in Upper Egypt, an area with high levels of poverty and a limited skilled population.
The project will also deliver significant environmental benefits by supporting a circular economy approach.
Angel Yeast Egypt is a joint stock company incorporated and operating in Egypt. It is fully owned by Angel Yeast Co. Ltd. – the third-largest producer of dry yeast and second-largest producer of yeast extract in the world, listed on the Shanghai stock exchange.
Egypt is a founding member of the EBRD. Since the start of its operations there in 2012, the EBRD has invested more than €10 billion in 160 projects across the country.