ACE International Limited (FMO-64508)

Regions
  • South Asia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • India
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Uttar Pradesh
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
A
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Oct 16, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
ACE International Limited
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Agriculture and Forestry
  • Industry and Trade
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Equity
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 18.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ FMO website

Updated in EWS Nov 4, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Feb 25, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the information provided, FMO is investing USD 18 million in equity as part of a broader consortium that includes reputable European impact investors. The capital raised will be primarily growth-focused and allocated to expanding the company's existing processing facilities, developing a new facility, and integrating its milk procurement system upstream.

FMO believes that by investing in ACE, it is supporting a front-runner in a burgeoning and dynamic sector. ACE International also delivers a strong social impact. Last year, the company sourced 25% of its milk from the women-led Milk Farmer Producer Organization ("FPO"). This women-led FPO initiative pays premiums for quality milk, provides training and veterinary services, and is piloting value-added products for its members, such as biodigesters. The company plans to further invest in its own milk procurement system in the future, incorporating some elements of the FPO model. Finally, ACE International is venturing into nutraceuticals and nutritional food supplements--an exciting and impactful sector with significant growth potential in India.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

According to the FMO, this transaction has a B+ Environment & Social (E&S) risk. It involves a milk derivatives manufacturing facility in Uttar Pradesh with approximately 270 employees. The existing processing facilities trigger IFC Performance Standards (PS) 1-4. Full dependence on the milk supply chain, the large number of smallholders, supply from larger-scale dairy farms, and plans to upgrade the existing factory warrant the higher risk category of B+. Animal welfare issues, climate change impacts, sourcing quality feed during the dry season, and agroforestry and silvo-pastoral initiatives increase the potential PSs triggered to include PS 5 and PS 6.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by the FMO, ACE International is a leading dairy derivatives company in India with over three decades of experience. It offers a diversified B2B and B2C product range and has a strong track record of profitability. ACE serves a growing niche market by developing and supplying dairy-based formulated food ingredients for nutraceuticals and fast-moving consumer goods in India.

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - Mahaan Milk Foods Limited Client Agriculture and Forestry

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Client - Mahaan Milk Foods Limited:

Address: Office No. 406, 4th Floor, Worldmark 2, Asset No. 8, Aerocity Hospitality District, New Delhi – 110037, India
Phone: +91-11-4310 7200
Email: info@mahaanmilkfoods.com 
Website: https://www.mahaanmilkfoods.com/ 

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

As part of FMO's ex-ante disclosure (disclosure of transactions before contracting), you can send requests or questions for additional information to: disclosure@fmo.nl

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF FMO

Communities who believe they will be negatively affected by a project funded by the Dutch Development Bank (FMO) may be able to file a complaint with the Independent Complaints Mechanism, which is the joint independent accountability mechanism of the Dutch Development Bank (FMO) and the German Investment Corporation (KfW). A complaint can be filed in writing, by email, post, or online. The complaint can be filed in English or any other language of the complainant. The Independent Complaints Mechanism is comprised of a three-member Independent Expert Panel and it can provide either problem-solving, compliance review or both, in either order. Additional information about this accountability mechanism, including a guide and template for filing a complaint, can be found at: https://www.fmo.nl/independent-complaints-mechanism

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How it works