• Sonoco secures a $20 million loan from the IFC to develop an integrated poultry project.

• Guinea’s poultry sector remains underdeveloped, with imports rising over 63% between 2020 and 2024.

• The project aims to create up to 400 direct jobs and 3,500 indirect jobs across the value chain.

Guinean conglomerate Société nouvelle de commerce (Sonoco) has negotiated a $20 million loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to enter the poultry sector. The IFC said in a statement published on March 26 that it will allocate the funding to FERMAV Industries, a newly created Sonoco subsidiary, to implement an integrated poultry project.

Under this project, the company plans to operate across the entire value chain. The company will produce poultry feed, conduct breeding activities, process products, and manage distribution. However, the company has not yet disclosed the project site or construction start date.

The statement said, “It will create around 400 direct jobs and nearly 3,500 indirect jobs in livestock, processing, logistics, and distribution sectors.”

With this initiative, Sonoco is seeking to further diversify its presence in Guinea’s agro-industrial sector. The group already operates in food additives, beverages, and milling through its subsidiaries Agro Food Industrie and Les Moulins d’Afrique (LMA).

More broadly, this investment could strengthen Guinea’s still nascent poultry industry. Official data show that traditional farming systems dominate the sector and fail to meet domestic demand for chicken meat and related products.

Imports of chicken meat increased by 63.25% over five years, rising from 49,735 tonnes in 2020 to 81,193 tonnes in 2024, according to data compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). At the same time, the import bill more than doubled to reach $105.2 million.

Local production remains weak. FAO data show that Guinea produced an average of 13,806 tonnes between 2020 and 2024 and never exceeded 15,000 tonnes during this period.

Therefore, import substitution offers a clear opportunity for private investors willing to enter the poultry industry. However, success will depend on the government’s ability to establish a favorable regulatory framework that improves competitiveness against typically cheaper imported products.

This article was initially published in French by Stéphanas Assocle

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum