Al Jebrini Cheese Industry
The MIGA-administered West Bank and Gaza Investment Guarantee Trust Fund has issued two guarantees totalling €1.35 million (approximately $1.7 million) covering an investment by Veldkamp Technische Ondersteuning B.V. of the Netherlands and Al-Jebrini Dairy and Food Industries of the West Bank and Gaza in Al Jebrini Cheese Industry in the West Bank. The coverage is for a period of up to 10 years against the risks of transfer restriction, expropriation, and war and civil disturbance.
The project involves the establishment of a greenfield company, Al Jebrini Cheese Industry, in the West Bank by Veldkamp Technische Ondersteuning B.V. of the Netherlands and Al Jebrini Dairy and Food Industries, a local investor in the West Bank. The company will produce and supply high-quality dairy products, including cheese and cream cheese.
This project is being supported by the PSI Plus program of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a grant to cover up to 60 percent of the project cost and an additional amount to cover the MIGA political risk insurance premium for the first three years.
The project is expected to have a positive impact on the local economy by expanding the dairy sector and creating approximately 50 local jobs. It will also bring technical know-how to the local food-processing industry. There are currently no companies in the West Bank that can produce processed cheese products due to lack of technological knowledge, lack of required quality and hygiene standards, and high investment costs. The project will produce healthy processed cheese products by using state-of-the-art technologies and ensuring high quality and hygiene standards, and sell these products on the domestic market at lower prices than imported processed cheese products.
This project is aligned with MIGA’s objective of facilitating investments in conflict-affected environments as well as entities eligible for assistance from the International Development Association.
The project was underwritten through MIGA’s Small Investment Program.