Unionaire Group, a top market leader in household appliance manufacturing in the Middle East and Africa, has entered into a partnership with MIDCO, a subsidiary of the Tunisia-based Loukil Group, under an arrangement facilitated by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) which enables Unionaire to establish a presence in Tunisia.
Unionaire, originally an American brand, was established in Egypt in 1995 as an Egyptian-owned entity, manufacturing air conditioners, stoves, TVs, washing machines, refrigerators, freezers, water heaters and small appliances.
The partnership with MIDCO is expected to enable Unionaire expand its geographical coverage and provide it with a platform to reach the North African and West African markets.
Afreximbank’s support for the partnership is part of the Bank’s strategy to promote intra-African trade in North Africa, which is the region with the least level of intra-regional trade in Africa. It also seeks to support the export manufacturing sector in Egypt and Tunisia.
Under the terms of the partnership agreement, Unionaire and Loukil Group plan to set up an electrical appliance assembly unit that will become operational by the end of 2018 and to establish a manufacturing plant to produce mostly export products on a 45,000 square metre plot in the Bouficha industrial area of Tunisia.
Afreximbank is expected to provide the financing for the projects and to set up credit lines for customers purchasing goods from them in order to help open the products to markets in the COMESA and ECOWAS regions.
The signing of the partnership agreement was witnessed by Ayman El Zogby, Manager in the Intra-African Trade Initiative at Afreximbank.