Rabat – UAE-based waste management firm Averda announced on May 26 that it has secured $30 million in investment funds from the International Finance Cooperation (IFC) to expand in Morocco, Oman, and South Africa.
The agreement marks IFC’s first investment in private-sector waste management, according to an Averda press release.
Speaking on the backdrop of the agreement’s signing ceremony with the IFC, Averda’s CEO Malek Sukkar explained that the IFC loan will “significantly” accelerate Averda’s “sustainable projects in Oman, Morocco, and South Africa.”
As to the environmental impact of the project, Sukkar noted that the funds will “allow Averda to reduce the waste sent to landfill while increasing the volumes composted, recycled, and transformed into energy.”
The CEO further said that the venture aims to bring the company closer to its goal of taking part in the circular economy, an economy that recycles 100% of its waste.
On his part, IFC’s Regional Vice President for the Middle East, Central Asia, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, Hela Cheikhrouhou explained that “recycling the rapidly growing volume of waste to eliminate permanent harm to the environment is crucial to minimize damage to our fragile ecosystems, water bodies, and air quality.”
“This partnership is also an excellent example of how IFC supports innovative UAE-based companies in expanding their footprint to emerging markets,” Cheikhrouhou added.
Averda has a pool of clients of more than 60,000 private and public sector clients, managing the waste of close to 12 million residents in eight countries across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.
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