DAR ES SALAAM: KIOO Limited, a leading glass package manufacturer, has secured 60 million US dollars (15.6bn/-) for expanding and increasing production to meet domestic and regional demand.
The Dar es Salaam-based manufacturer secured the fund from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and Standard Bank of South Africa.
The IFC dished out 45 million US dollars while Standard Bank 15 million US dollars to warrant Kioo Limited to meet the rising demand of domestic and regional demand for glass bottles and containers.
The Minister for Industry and Trade, Dr Ashatu Kijaji, said the expansion will also create thousands of jobs—direct and indirect—while most of its products will be exported.
“We appreciate the efforts of IFC to support private sector industries in the country like Kioo, and we look forward to more such collaborations in other sectors as well,” Dr Kijaji said during the loan signing ceremony.
The expansion enables Kioo Limited to increase the amount of recycled glass that it uses in its production process and in return reduces the factory’s energy consumption. Kioo Limited is one of the largest manufacturers of container glass used for packaging soft drinks, beer, alcohol and food in East and Central Africa and 40 per cent of its glass bottles are made out of recycled material.
Data showed that the East and Central Africa beverage sector is projected to grow by 10 per cent in the next five years and Kioo’s move centered on meeting supply ahead of demand. And, currently, the region depends on imports to meet the 40 per cent undersupply gap.
Tanzania is one of the few countries in East Africa with longstanding glassmaking and export capabilities. The Kioo Managing Director, Kumar Krishnan, said they are the largest glass manufacturer in the region and have become a supplier of choice to many.
“The new expansion will further boost the beverage industry’s growth across East and Central Africa. “This investment is a testament to the group’s continued belief in a sustainable future,” he said.
Henrik Elschner Pedersen, Regional Industry Director in Africa for Manufacturing, Agribusiness, and Services at IFC said this was the third time they supported Kioo for expansion purposes.
“Our investment in Kioo will not only directly support this through the company’s increased capacity but will also help strengthen the glass value chain across the region,” Mr Pedersen said.
Kioo has over a six-decade of manufacturing light-weighted glass container experience. Currently, exports to 17 countries manufacture glass using some available local raw materials such as sand, limestone, feldspar and soda ash from abroad at the moment.
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