The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved an US$80mn loan in local currency for the Olam Group, a global processor of agricultural products.

The AfDB is the only lender on the facility, but a spokesperson from the bank tells GTR that there is a syndication component which will bring in more lenders at a later stage.

Specifically, the loan is for the Olam Africa Investment Programme (OAIP), which supports projects across the continent. Olam Aviv Investment Holdings, Mauritius, a fully-owned subsidiary of the Olam Group, is the programme’s borrowing entity.

The AfDB loan fund projects in Cameroon, Mozambique and Senegal, and financing will be provided in each of these countries’ local currencies.

According to a statement issued by AfDB, the facility will “deepen the integration of the Olam Group’s agricultural value chain by investments in the processing of wheat and palm oil in Africa”.