Abyssinia Steel (IFC-47118)

Regions
  • Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Ethiopia
  • Kenya
  • Uganda
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda
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
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
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
Feb 12, 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
Abyssinia Group of Industries
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • 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)
$ 20.00 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.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 70.00 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.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Mar 15, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Oct 28, 2024

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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 Project entails a proposed IFC A Loan investment of up to USD20 million in Abyssinia Group of Industries, a leading steel producer in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda, which will support the capacity expansion, backward integration, decarbonization efforts, and working capital needs of Abyssinia. It also entails IFC mobilizing local currency parallel loans to strengthen the Group’s financial position with longer tenors.

The Project includes (i) expanding capacity in Ethiopia with a block rolling mill, a 25-ton induction melting furnace, a ladle refining furnace, in addition to wire drawing lines and nail machines; (ii) improving operational efficiencies in Uganda; (iii) decarbonization-related investments through an 11MW waste heat recovery (WHR) power plant in Uganda; (iv) decarbonization-related investments by developing a 5MW solar power plant in Kenya; and (v) refinancing of existing working capital facilities in Kenya including through local currency Parallel Loans.

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.

This is a Category B project according to IFC's Policy on Environment and Social Sustainability (2012). Based on information reviewed by IFC, the proposed project will have limited adverse E&S impacts that are few, site specific, largely reversible and readily addressed through existing mitigation measures and good international industry practices (GIIP).

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

 The total Project cost is estimated at USD70 million. The proposed investment is an A-loan for IFC’s own account of up to USD20 million.

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.

Abyssinia Group of Industries was founded in 2003 and is the second-largest steel producer in Kenya, the largest in Ethiopia, and one of the largest overall in East Africa, with a production capacity of 660,000 metric tons per annum (TPA). It has only recently begun operations in Uganda. The Group manufactures a wide range of steel products for the construction industry, such as reinforced bars, steel angles, pipes, tubes, plates, wires, wire mesh (including barbed wire), and nails.

The Project Sponsor is Mr. Jateen Patel, a Kenyan businessman. Mr. Patel and his family hold a majority stake in the Group. The Group started its operations in Ethiopia in 2003 and has since expanded its footprint to Kenya and Uganda.

The Project will be implemented by Abyssinia Iron & Steel Ltd in Kenya and by Abyssinia Cold Rolling Mills PLC in Ethiopia. 

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - Abyssinia Group of Industries 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.

Abyssinia Iron & Steel Limited Kenya
Ravi Gada
CFO
+254707726560
info@abyssiniagroup.com
40 Westlands Road, Nairobi
www.abyssiniagroup.com

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

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