Announcement of Rwanda Tea Company to Double Capacity on October 7, 1980

~ . . . . . . . . . . . . .~.._:ft,. ....., ......-.,.........,..,..._~...,.--\S' ~~...,, ~ . ' ..........,.,.~• ...,.~.--•.--,;, ..,"'- ............... \., ,,.,..,....:. ~w,_....,.~~~i,o, ')_...i,... . Interrzatiorzal Finance Corporation • 1818 H Street, N.W. Washin\;ton, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. 202-4 77-1234 IFC Press Release No. 81/18 Tuesday, October 7, 1980 Rwanda Tea Company To Double Capacity An established tea venture in Rwanda, Societe Rwandaise pour la Production et la Commercialisation du The, S.A.R.L. (SORWATHE), will double the processing capacity of its factory at Cyohoba-Rukeri from 1,300 metric tons a year at present to 2,600 tons. Financing for the $1,051,000 expansion includes loans of $226,000 each by International Finance Corporation, a World Bank affi1iate, and the Overseas • Private Investment Corporation of the United States and a loan of $148,000 by Banque Rwandaise de Developpement. of the U.S. , one of the largest independent tea :::.mporting companies in North America, and cash gen~ration of $242,000 complete the financial plan. A $209,000 equity investment by Tea Importers These investors, together with the Office des Cultures Industrielles du Rwanda -- Departement The, helped finance the original projec.t which began opera- tions in. 1978. The venture has been very successful, producing high quality tea from pla.nts grown on reclaimed swampland. Smallholder farmers have rapidly in- creased output and without the new processing facilities part of their crops would be wasted. In addition to benefitting sm.1llholders, the project is expected to result in net foreign exchange earnings of $1 million a year. The project is scheduled for completion in the last quarter of 1981. · [Any inquiries strictly relating to IFC's participation i.n this project should • be directed to the IFC Information Office, i818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C • 20433~ Telephone (202) 676-0394.]