Proparco has signed a $23 million loan to Sonoco Limited to part-finance the construction and working capital requirements of its flour mill in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The aim is to operate the only wheat flour mill Sierra Leone. The facility will serve the domestic market, Liberia and, potentially, other neighboring countries.

More specifically, Sonoco is building a soft wheat processing mill (600 tons/day) and a silo storage complex (40,000 tons) to produce up to approximately 140,000 tons/year of wheat flour, a staple food product in West Africa. Once the facilities are fully up and running, Sonoco’s affiliate in Sierra Leone will shift from being an importer to the country’s largest miller.

By helping to strengthen local food production and thus food security in Sierra Leone, where 77% of people are food insecure, this operation is in line with the “Production” priority of the Food and Agriculture Resilience (“FARM”) initiative. It was launched in 2022 by French President Emmanuel Macron, alongside the European Union, the G7 and the African Union.

The project is also part of the “Explore” approach of Proparco’s 2023-2027 strategy, which aims to support high-impact projects in fragile states. More broadly, it strengthens the capacity of a high-profile Sierra Leone agribusiness player to generate added?value locally. It also provides a concrete illustration of the new international partnership policy launched in 2025 by the President of the French Republic.

Sadio Dicko, Proparco’s Regional Director for West Africa, said: “Proparco is very proud to support Sonoco Group’s development in Sierra Leone. This world-class wheat flour production unit will enable the country to have fresh and highly qualitative flour available every day. At Proparco, we believe West African countries must increase their control of food value chains to ensure food security and prosperity. This is exactly what we are doing with this project and we are looking forward to strengthening our presence in the country”.

This project will have multiple impacts and contribute to the following SDGs: strengthening food security (SDG #2: Zero Hunger), creating jobs (SDG #8: Decent Work and Economic Growth), and ensuring the supply of basic foodstuffs at the national level (SDG #10: Reduced Inequalities).