Tanzania - Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Limited (METL) (AFDB-P-TZ-AAG-011)

Regions
  • Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Tanzania
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • African Development Bank (AFDB)
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
B
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
Nov 11, 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
Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania
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)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 24.19 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.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 74.70 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.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ AFDB website

Updated in EWS Aug 10, 2026

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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 Bank’s website, the Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Limited (METL) Project consists of a corporate loan to Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Limited, one of the largest home-grown agribusiness and industrial conglomerates in East Africa, to finance the company’s investment program aimed at rehabilitating agricultural estates and expanding agro-industrial operations in Tanzania. The total cost of METL’s investment program is estimated at USD 74.7 million, to be financed through a combination of shareholder equity and external debt of up to USD 40 million. The African Development Bank will provide a senior loan of up to USD 24.6 million from its own resources and mobilize an additional USD 15.4 million in co-financing to complete the debt financing package. The project supports METL’s vertically integrated value chains in tea, sisal and macadamia.

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.

The project is categorized as Category 2 due to anticipated moderate Environmental and Social impacts and risks.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The total cost of the Company’s Investment Program is USD 74.7 million, to be financed through a mix of external debt of up to USD 40 million and an additional injection of shareholder funds. The Bank will provide up to USD 24.6 million from its own resources and mobilize an additional USD 15.4 million in co-financing to secure the total debt funding USD 40 million.

Financial Instrument: Project
Commitments (UA): 18,034,001
Conversion Rate USD (2025-11-11): 1,34161
Commitments (USD): 24,194,596.08

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.

Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Ltd (MeTL) is one of the largest home-grown business enterprises in East Africa. It is part of a family-owned conglomerate comprising over 20 related companies engaged in the production and trade of agricultural, industrial, and consumer goods, with a network spanning 11 countries across Eastern, Southern, and Central Africa. The Company owns multiple bulk storage and processing facilities for various commodities, some vertically integrated with its own farms, while others are linked to specific supply chains.

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Ltd Client -

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.

Name: Charles ORWOTHWUN
Email: c.orwothwun@afdb.org

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/request-for-documents. Under the AfDBs Disclosure and Access to Information policy, if you feel the Bank has omitted to publish information or your request for information is unreasonably denied, you can file an appeal at https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/appeals-process.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF AfDB

The Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), which is administered by the Compliance Review and Mediation Unit (CRMU), is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an African Development Bank (AfDB)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the IRM, it may assist you by either seeking to address your problems by facilitating a dispute resolution dialogue between you and those implementing the project and/or investigating whether the AfDB complied with its policies to prevent environmental and social harms. You can submit a complaint electronically by emailing crmuinfo@afdb.org, b.kargougou@afdb.org, b.fall@afdb.org, and/or s.toure@afdb.org. You can learn more about the IRM and how to file a complaint at: https://www.afdb.org/en/independent-review-mechanism/

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