The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a loan of $75m to DAL Group, a Sudan-based food and agriculture business company.

This is the bank’s first private sector investment, which will support the expansion of the company’s vertically integrated food and agriculture operations.

DAL Group will incorporate new technologies to strengthen its integrated value chain model, as well as expand its food processing and packaging capacity.

Additionally, the food company aims to increase its ability to source and produce raw material locally and increase the range of its product offering.

AfDB Agriculture Finance and Rural Development director Atsuko Toda said: “By partnering with DAL Group, the Bank will leverage on Sudan’s high agricultural potential, as well as the experience and resilience of a private enterprise with a proven track record and deep knowledge of the country’s unique business environment.”

The approval of the loan is in line with AfDB’s ‘Feed Africa’ strategy that focuses on transforming African agriculture into a competitive and business-oriented sector.

This loan complements other non-lending interventions of the African Development Bank Group in Sudan.

DAL Group is based in the industrial area of Khartoum North of Sudan.

In December 2013, four DAL Group companies operating in agriculture, dairy, flour, grains and soft drinks merged to form DAL Food.

DAL Food produces carbonated soft drinks, bottled drinking water and juices from its plant in Khartoum North. It also manufactures flour, dairy, pasta and animal feed.