Nyanza Light Metals, a South Africa-based company led by Zimbabwean entrepreneur Mr Donovan Chimhandamba, has secured a US$75 million financing package from the African Development Bank to back a major titanium dioxide pigment project.
The pigment, titanium dioxide, is a crucial component used across numerous industries, including paints, cosmetics, and food processing. The project is designed to tackle the region’s heavy reliance on expensive imports.
The total AfDB financing includes US$25 million from the Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF) — a co-financing initiative between the AfDB and the People’s Bank of China.
The funds will support the development, construction, and operation of an 80 000-tonnes-per-year titanium dioxide pigment manufacturing plant and associated infrastructure located within the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone in South Africa. The facility will process titanium ores sourced locally and regionally into high-value pigment.
The bank’s contribution is part of a syndicated funding package arranged by the Africa Finance Corporation and the African Export-Import Bank, which are serving as Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners.
Mr Chimhandamba, president and chief executive of Nyanza, hailed the AfDB’s approval as a crucial turning point for Africa’s industrial future.
“AfDB’s approval marks a pivotal moment, not just for Nyanza, but for Africa’s industrial future,” he said.
“AfDB brings more than funding; it brings credibility, strategic partnership, and a long-term commitment to Africa’s transformation. This endorsement affirms our mission to lead mineral beneficiation and positions Nyanza as a driver of inclusive industrialisation.”
Mr Solomon Quaynor, AfDB’s Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialisation, said the investment reflected the bank’s commitment to driving Africa’s industrial transformation and promoting value addition to natural resources.
“By supporting Nyanza to invest in infrastructure and local natural resources beneficiation, we are contributing to changing Africa’s old paradigm of exporting low-value raw materials while relying heavily on importing finished products,” Mr Quaynor stated.
The project is specifically expected to contribute to import substitution and position Africa more prominently within the global titanium dioxide value chain.
The Nyanza project is set to create significant employment, projected to generate over 2 400 domestic jobs during construction. Crucially, specific targets have been set for diversity, with 30 percent of construction jobs reserved for women and 30 percent for youth.
Once operational, the plant will create up to 850 skilled direct jobs, with further targets of 45 percent women, 30 percent youth, and 20 percent low-income earners.
The project supports the AfDB’s strategic objective to build climate-resilient infrastructure and is expected to catalyse private sector growth and diversify South Africa’s export base.
Mr Chimhandamba, through the Diaspora Infrastructure Development Group (DIDG), previously led a consortium that was awarded a US$400 million deal to revive the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), though that project ultimately failed to materialise.-herald
