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Originally published on the IFC .
Photo: Scott Wallace

Dhaka, ��������, April 19, 2012—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a $15 million loan to Natore Agro, a subsidiary of food processing group PRAN, to expand production capacity, create 1,800 rural jobs and integrate small farmers into retail supply chains. 

PRAN’s latest expansion is in response to an increase in demand for packaged food products from both domestic and export markets. IFC’s continued support to the group helps increase the availability of affordable, quality food products, while ensuring that farmers are able to sell their products at a fair price. The project will source fruits, vegetables and other inputs directly from over 1,700 small farmers, positively impacting their livelihoods. 

General Amjad Chowdhury, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PRAN Group, said, “IFC has once again responded proactively to our request for long-term financing. The current project will add momentum to our exports, while ensuring stable income for local farmers, increasing rural employment, and promoting small businesses in our distribution channel.” 

This loan will be IFC’s third to PRAN Group. Previous IFC investments included a $15 million loan in 2009 to help increase production capacity in snacks, beverages, rice, dairy products and juice. A second loan of $7 million in 2011 helped the company expand its local dairy procurement and processing capability, which helped increase the incomes of about 17,000 ��������i dairy farmers. 

“In addition to providing a long-term loan, IFC’s advisory support to PRAN will allow it to compete better globally as it looks to expand its presence in foreign markets,” said Vipul Prakash, IFC Director of Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services in Asia. “This is the first financing supported by the Private Sector Window of the Global Agricultural Food Security Program.” 

The Private Sector Window of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program or GAFSP is providing $5 million of the total loan amount. The government of Canada is acting as a founding contributor to GAFSP, a multilateral mechanism that provides innovative financing solutions to small and medium agribusinesses globally. 

�������� IFC 
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets. In fiscal 2011, amid economic uncertainty across the globe, we helped our clients create jobs, strengthen environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities—all while driving our investments to an all-time high of nearly $19 billion. For more information, visit www.ifc.org 

�������� GAFSP Private Sector Window 
The Global Agriculture and Food Security Program is a multilateral mechanism to scale up support to poor countries in reducing poverty and improving rural livelihoods and food security, thereby contributing to the achievement of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals to cut hunger and poverty by half by 2015. The Private Sector Window of GAFSP, implemented by IFC, provides innovative financing solutions to sharpen the commercial potential of small and medium agribusinesses by connecting them with local, national, and global value chains. Canada, the founding contributor to the Private Sector Window of the GAFSP, has contributed CAD $50 million to this initiative. For more information on GAFSP and the Private Sector Window, visit http://www.gafspfund.org/gafsp. 

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