Scoul: A new loan to produce electricity using sugarcane residues in Uganda

Scoul was set up in 1924 and is the third largest sugar producer in Uganda. The company is vertically integrated and has developed a circular approach in which by-products and waste are recovered at each stage of production: it grows sugarcane on its own plantations and produces raw sugar, extra neutral alcohol and carbon dioxide for food. Scoul also sources from over 3,000 independent growers, to which it provides technical and financial support. With over 7,600 employees and by financing a number of social facilities, Scoul has a strong impact on local communities in terms of development.

This project involves financing the construction of a 26 MW cogeneration unit which will be supplied by bagasse (fibrous residue from sugarcane crushing). Part of the electricity produced will be used in Scoul’s industrial process and the rest will be sold on the national grid.

In a country where the electrification rate remains extremely limited and electricity consumption is one of the lowest on the continent, the sale of the electricity produced by the cogeneration unit should inject some 110 GWh of renewable energy into the national grid and thereby theoretically provide 1.45 million people with access to electricity.

Scoul already employs 7,640 people, 20% of which are women. PROPARCO’s support to this project should allow Scoul to create 860 additional jobs over the next 5 years.

Finally, the company invests heavily in training (8% of its payroll) and offers technical assistance to the 3,000 independent sugarcane growers it sources from.