The Mohinani Group, based in Ghana, has secured $37 million in funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to accelerate its expansion in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling in West Africa. This loan will support the establishment of new PET recycling plants in Ghana and Nigeria

As part of this partnership, IFC will provide a $37 million loan to help Mohinani Group subsidiaries, Polytank Ghana Limited and Sonnex Packaging Nigeria Limited and Sonnex Packaging Nigeria Limited, create PET recycling plants in Ghana and Nigeria Limited, to create PET recycling plants in Ghana and Nigeria. Each factory will have the capacity to produce 15,000 tons of recycled PET resins (rPET) per year, which will replace the virgin PET resins used to make food and beverage grade packaging. 90% of the raw materials will come from small local businesses involved in plastic collection. Together, the new factories are expected to create over 4,000 direct and indirect jobs across the value chain and approximately $21 million in annual import savings for each country.

PET is a polymer resin from the polyester family, widely used for the manufacture of containers for liquids and foods. Using recycled plastic waste for production will prevent the release of harmful pollutants into the environment and reduce the need for virgin plastics. This will reduce greenhouse gas emissions because recycled plastics have a lower energy footprint than new plastics.

“The Mohinani Group rPET project was born out of the desire to close the loop in bottle-to-bottle recycling in Africa and the group's desire to advance environmental sustainability,” said Roshan Mohinani, Mohinani's strategy and transformation manager. “It is also inspired by our group's goal to improve the quality of life in Africa, as this initiative is expected to create over 4,000 jobs along the value chain in Nigeria and Ghana, thus providing economic empowerment to a significant number of young people, especially women.

“IFC's partnership with Mohinani underscores our commitment to promoting environmental sustainability and economic development in Ghana and Nigeria,” said Dahlia Khalifa, IFC Regional Director for Central Africa and English-speaking West Africa, said Dahlia Khalifa, IFC Regional Director for Central Africa and English-speaking West Africa. “By recycling up to 30,000 tons of PET waste per year, these new factories will protect the environment and replace imports with local recycled materials.

IFC will also provide advisory services to strengthen Mohinani's environmental and social practices and its ability to carry out efficient and sustainable PET recycling operations.

The project is a continuation of IFC's strategies for Ghana and Nigeria, which aim to mitigate the effects of climate change, create jobs, and transform the economy. It is also consistent with the World Bank Group's 2021-2025 Climate Change Action Plan, which aims to reduce the use of virgin plastic resins and greenhouse gas emissions in the packaging materials value chain