Family-owned halal food company Taze Ay will receive a $4.5m loan, two thirds of which will come from the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and a third from the International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF).
Funding will help the small business increase halal meat production from three to 15 tonnes (t) per day – a 400% increase.
Taze Ay also plans to buy new refrigerator trucks. This should help increase sales as it currently struggles to transport meat across the country during the summer when temperatures can reach as high as 50oC. The company also hopes to start exporting more halal meat to neighbouring countries in Central Asia.
‘Doulbe sales’
“EBRD’s cooperation with Taze Ay is a very good example of how a combination of financing and advisory services has helped the company to double its sales,” said Victoria Zinchuk, head of EBRD’s advice for agribusiness unit.
“Since our first advisory project with Taze Ay in 2013, the company managed to expand production, become more efficient, improve quality and design of their products and as a result grow into a market leader.”
Food and agriculture investment is a core tenet of EBRD’s financial strategy in Turkmenistan. It has pumped nearly €250m ($294m) into the region with 90% going to support SMEs.
“The bank is continuing to work successfully with long-established clients despite an overall challenging economic environment,” added Engin Goksu, EBRD’s head of Turkmenistan
“The EBRD’s work directly supports the Turkmen government’s economic diversification strategy by strengthening local private firms across various sectors.”
For a number of years the country has taken steps to diversify its markets to bolster the economy against fluctuating oil and gas prices.