EBRD lends €13.5 million to Polish lecithin producer LeciForce

• EBRD lends €13.5 million to LeciForce, a Polish producer of premium sunflower lecithin
• Loan will finance new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Lublin, the first of its kind in Poland
• Backed by an InvestEU guarantee, investment will support circular economy and resource efficiency in food processing

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is boosting Poland’s agrifood processing capability by extending a €13.5 million loan to LeciForce, a producer of premium sunflower lecithin products for food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical use. The financing will support the construction of LeciForce’s new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Lublin.

The new plant will be constructed in accordance with the highest resource efficiency standards and incorporate circular economy principles. It will be engineered to transform low-grade crude lecithin, a by-product of vegetable oil processing that would otherwise be wasted or used by the feed industry, into higher-grade, non-genetically modified organism (GMO) lecithin ingredients for European markets.

The plant is the first of its kind in Poland and the second such facility in Europe. It will help to boost European supply of premium food and pharmaceutical ingredients while demonstrating scalable circular economy solutions in agrifood manufacturing.

The Bank’s financing is supported by a first-loss guarantee from the European Union under its InvestEU programme.

LeciForce is a newly established company in Poland, founded by the Ukrainian entrepreneurs behind Agrosem Group, one of the leading distributors of fertiliser, machinery, seeds and plant protection products in Ukraine, and an existing EBRD client.

The EBRD is one of Poland’s leading institutional investors, having invested more than €16.6 billion in the country.