Umlimi Char-Briquettes Project

Umlimi Trading Ltd, in partnership with a Cambodian company OTAGO, aim to set up and run a factory to produce high-quality and sustainable char briquettes targeted for the local Zambian market. This project is open to FDI through a minority stake and will contribute to avoiding deforestation and preserve the forest land ecosystems. The char briquettes will be made from 100% recycled biomass, which will result in a number of Zambian households transiting from using unsustainable and hazardous charcoal (or firewood) to healthier renewable energy. This intervention will have an additional transformational impact on local small-scale farmers, who will have a new source of income by selling their agricultural residues, income they would otherwise have not been able to have. The project will focus on achieving a conservation-based economy by creating an innovative approach to creating value through the conservation of the forest lands, thus resulting in the creation of new agricultural commodity revenue streams. The required financing by the investor (s) is US$150,000 and should be a hybrid of equity and debt to be contracted with Umlimi. Based on the pre-feasibility financial simulations the proposed char-briquettes factory will have an increasing annual revenue starting from 90,000 USD per year and an EBITDA of 40%. The production capacity is projected to increase from 360 tonnes to 720 – 1,440 tonnes per year with 20% export share after 2 – 3 years. The financing will go to the procurement of production equipment such as machines, material handling equipment, and production tools; training to the local production workers on production best practices, such as manufacturing processes, maintenance, and safety procedures. Capacity building to local management team on all the business units, including production planning, inventory management, sales management, distribution, and accounting. The char-briquettes factory can be operational within 6 months of financing

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