We have now exited this investment. This is what we achieved.
Achieved impact
In 2022, we made an investment of $50 million in Invictus Trading FZE, the trading entity for the DAL Group, a Sudanese business which produces essential food products across the country, to provide working capital to support the company's wheat imports.
BII's investment ensured that the DAL Group - the largest importer of wheat in the country - was able to source the wheat it required to produce commercial and consumer flour, growing its wheat import volumes from 145,000 MT at the time of our investment in 2022 to 166,000 MT by the time of our exit. This meant that DAL was able to continue the consistent production and flow of staple food products - despite the civil conflict which began after BII's initial investment - to the population, thereby supporting food security in the country.
Invictus repaid our 3-year working capital facility on schedule, resulting in BII's exit.
Expected impact
DAL Foods, part of the DAL Group, produces essential food products and employs 7,000 people across Sudan. It is the largest wheat importer in Sudan and its expansive point of sales network and distribution capabilities enables delivery of essential food products across the country - including commercial and consumer flour.
Our investment of $50 million will provide the necessary long-term working capital required to allow DAL to import wheat and boost the supply of flour to thousands of bakeries, retail outlets and businesses, enabling the consistent flow of staple food products for millions of Sudanese people.
Impact information
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
What?
| Impact |
|---|
Improved access to food in Sudan, particularly wheat-based staple food products. |
|
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How?
| How? |
|---|
|
Maintain food production and distribution, specifically of wheat-based products, primarily through access to consumer and commercial flour products. |
Who?
| Stakeholder | Geography | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Customers, indirectly reached through local businesses. |
Sudan |
DAL’s products cater to customers across the income spectrum (Living Standard Measure categories A to D, which comprises 87 per cent of the population). |
How much?
| Scale | Depth/Duration |
|---|---|
|
$50 million of working capital financing will allow DAL to procure ~280k MT of wheat imports. This is the equivalent of over 20 billion pieces of bread for people in Sudan. |
Impact is expected to be deep as DAL Foods plays a critical role in Sudan’s food security - it has the largest wheat milling capacity in Sudan and has the leading market share in B2B bakery flour. |
Contribution/additionality
| Contribution/additionality |
|---|
|
Risk
Evidence Risk
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Impact score
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Impact score (at point of investment)
The Impact Score is a tool to help us manage our performance against our strategic impact objectives. It is designed to incentivise investments that support our productive, sustainable, and inclusive objectives. The Impact Score shown is based on the 2022-2026 Impact Score methodology. You can find out more here. The Impact Score is published for investments made from 2022 onwards. The Impact Scores are calculated at the point of investment. We publish the Impact Scores of new investments annually, once the information has been externally assured by an independent third party. |
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8 |
Environmental and social information
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Environmental and social summary
A high-level description of the environmental and social aspects of the investment. This may include a summary of key environmental and social risks identified during environmental and social due diligence (ESDD); key elements of an environmental and social action plan (ESAP); or ways in which we plan to support the investee improve environmental and social standards, such as through their environmental and social management system (ESMS); as well as any other priority areas agreed with the investee.
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Environmental and social risk
A risk category rating, which indicates the level of environmental and social risk associated with an investment. For an explanation of the categorisations used, see here. We consistently provide an environmental and social risk category for all investments screened from 2023 onwards.
Environmental and social summary
We agreed an ESAP with the company which includes improvements to environmental and social policies and ESMS, recruitment of additional environmental and social capacity, improvements to worker grievance management and the enhancement of environmental and social management measures for the company's contractors.
Reporting and Complaints Mechanism
The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to [email protected] or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.
For any other general enquiries contact us at [email protected]
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Key facts
- Last updated
:
When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.
- June 2026
- Project number
:
An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.
- D1947
- Status
:
The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).
- Exited
- Region
:
The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.
- Africa, East Africa, East Asia, North Africa, South Asia, Western Asia
- Country
:
The countries where the investment delivers impact. Where impact is delivered in multiple countries, this is indicated.
- Sudan
- Sector
:
We prioritise those sectors that facilitate development and need our capital the most. Our priority sectors contribute towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals. They range from investing in the power infrastructure that will provide people with better access to electricity, to investing in financial institutions that direct capital to the individuals and businesses that need it the most.
- Business and consumer services
- Sub sector
:
The sub-sector that the investment is made into; this provides a more granular level of detail than the ‘sector’ information
- Food Products
- Investment policy :
- Growth
- Investment type :
- Debt
- Start date :
- December 2022
- End date :
- December 2025
- Amount :
- $50m
- Currency of investment :
- USD
- Domicile
:
The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.
- United Arab Emirates
We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.
Type of investment portfolio that each investment is made under. Since 2014, we have run two investment portfolios: Catalyst and Growth. In addition, our Kinetic Portfolio enables us to manage concessional investment strategies.
For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.
For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.
For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.
For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.
For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.
For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.
The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.
For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.
The currency in which the investment was made.
- Last updated
