📋 Tender Overview
To reduce reliance on imports, create jobs, and improve access to good quality and affordable furniture in Guinea, IFC today announced financing for Marifala Gallery Sarlu (Marifala), the country’s leading producer of modern furniture.
IFC will lend up to $13 million to Marifala to finance the construction of a modern industrial complex that will allow it to consolidate and expand its operations, currently spread across multiple sites in Conakry, the Guinean capital. With IFC’s support, Marifala will be able to improve its efficiency and triple its production capacity. This will allow the company to move to mass production of quality, low-cost furniture made in the country. IFC’s investment is supported by a subordinated concessional loan of up to €6 million ($6.5 million) from the International Development Association’s Private Sector Window (IDA PSW) under its Blended Finance Facility .
The funding will also help Marifala open four new retail stores, three in Conakry and one in Bamako, Mali.
This is IFC’s first investment under the Local Champions Initiative, a program designed to provide advisory services and financial support to leading companies in the manufacturing, agribusiness and services sectors that have the potential to grow their impact, scale, and operations regionally or globally.
“Supporting the growth of local champions like Marifala is critical to helping Guinea diversify its economy and grow local manufacturing,” said Yosuke Kotsuji, IFC’s Africa Agribusiness Manager. “ IFC looks forward to helping Marifala take growth to the next level, create more jobs, and play a leading role in the furniture sector in Guinea and beyond.”
“With IFC’s support, we are ready to expand our production capacity, improve our facilities and invest in new technologies to produce high-quality, modern furniture,” said Abdoulaye Diallo, Marifala’s CEO . “This financing will not only boost local furniture manufacturing in Guinea, but will also have a positive impact on employment and open up new opportunities for workers in our country. We are already hiring and training more and more qualified staff, which is helping to strengthen the skills and capacities of the Guinean workforce.”
The furniture market in Guinea is booming, driven by a growing urban population and a thriving real estate sector. However, 75% of the current market relies on imports, which often means long lead times and high transportation costs. Increasing local production will create hundreds of jobs along the value chain and will also provide Guinean consumers with a wider choice of affordable, high-quality products delivered more quickly.
In addition to its financial support, IFC will provide upstream advisory services to help Marifala assess the feasibility of developing its own forest concessions and improve its financial management practices. These interventions will promote the traceability and sustainability of solid wood sourcing, in line with IFC Performance Standards and international sustainability criteria, as well as sound management of the company’s financial resources. In this regard in particular, IFC’s specialized team will help Marifala improve the efficiency of its financial operations in key areas, including financial planning and reporting, use of the enterprise resource planning system, and working capital management.
While focusing on improving the business climate, strengthening access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and supporting the development of a sustainable mining sector, IFC is also increasing its investments in the manufacturing and agribusiness sectors to support Guinea's economic diversification plan.
