Category: Investments & Funding News

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Nestlé meal delivery service unit Freshly to open new distribution center in US to meet rising demand

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US – Freshly, a meal delivery service owned by Swiss food giant Nestle is opening a second distribution center in suburban Atlanta, Georgia to meet rising consumer demand.  According to a statement from the company, the new distribution center will be built at a cost of US$52 million and will create employment opportunities for another 665 workers.  Freshly announced the Atlanta project four months after it announced a US$3.2 million center in Austell projected to employ 250 people.  The subscription service delivers precooked meals that customers can quickly reheat and eat.   Freshly…

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European seafood processor Sykes invests US$47.7m in Morocco to establish two processing plants

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MOROCCO – Sykes Seafood, British specialist in seafood processing, is seeking to invest €40 million (US$47.7m) in the establishment of two new factories in Northern Morocco over the next two years. The new facilities will join the company’s large-scale prawn peeling plant in Tangier, operated by Klaas Puul. The Netherlands-based Klaas Puul, has been operating in Morocco since 1989 and was acquired by Sykes Seafood in 2020, creating a €300m (US$358m) pan-European seafood business. Klaas Puul specializes in shrimps, prawns, and mussels while Sykes offers both saltwater and freshwater fish.…

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Kenya’s Apollo Agriculture set for further growth clinching US$1m financing from ABC Fund

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KENYA – Kenyan agri-tech startup Apollo Agriculture has raised US$1 million in debt funding from the Agri-Business Capital Fund (ABC Fund). Apollo Agriculture is a commercial farming platform for small-scale farmers that uses machine learning and automated operations technology to help them access things like financing, insurance, data analysis for higher crop yields, farming products and optimised advice. The startup, which raised a US$6 million Series A funding round in May of last year, currently serves about 60,000 farmers, having grown its customer base by three times in the last…

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Ghana to establish chocolate production plant in Rwanda as Rwanda eyes pyrethrum processing unit in Ghana

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GHANA/RWANDA – Ghana and Rwanda have entered into an agreement to enhance value-addition of agro-allied products in the countries, boosting trade and investments between the two nations. As part of the pact, the world’s second largest producer and exporter of cocoa, Ghana, is set to establish a chocolate production plant in Rwanda, supplying the unit at the East African region with processed organic cocoa in a form of coca nibs or cocoa Liquor, as shall be determined. Meanwhile, Rwanda, the second largest producer of pyrethrum globally, accounting for approximately 15…

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Wholestone Farms to establish US$500m pork facility in South Dakota as Hill’s Pet Nutrition invests in a new plant in Kansas

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US – Wholestone Farms, a farmer-owned pork producer, has announced plans to build a new pork harvest and processing facility in South Dakota, United States. According to Wholestone Farms, the project will cost about US$500 million and will initially see the employment of more than 1,100 people. “Wholestone Farms and its farmer-owners have a strong culture of corporate citizenship and with many of our members currently living and doing business in the area, we look forward to being a preferred employer and impactful participant in the Sioux Falls community,” said…

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South Africa issues petroleum company bp with liquor licence first of its kind

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SOUTH AFRICA – The multinational oil and gas company, bp, has broken the record of becoming the first petroleum company in South Africa to be granted a liquor licence. The company has collaborated with one of its convenience partners, Pick n Pay, to offer a new product dubbed wine-to-go. With this, South Africans can pop in at Pick n Pay Express located at the petroleum station and grab a bottle. This according to bp forms part of its redefining convenience strateg, aimed to deliver a superior customer experience, whether in-store…

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Arla to invest in new modern dairy farm in Nigeria to boost milk production

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NIGERIA – Arla Foods, one of the largest dairy cooperatives in Europe, has announced plans to build a new commercial dairy farm in Northern Nigeria, in an effort to support local milk production in the country.  Located in Kaduna State, the 200-hectare farm will house 400 dairy cows, modern milking parlours and technology, grassland, as well as living facilities for 25 employees. The dairy cooperative has said it will train and support up to 1,000 local dairy farmers to improve milk yields and quality, animal welfare and farm profitability. The…

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French Malteries Soufflet cuts ribbon to its first African malting house in Ethiopia

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ETHIOPIA – The Soufflet Group, a French agri-food company, through its malting division, Malteries Soufflet, has officially launched its new processing factory in Ethiopia. Construction of the plant started in March 2019, with its first production test undertaken in the beginning of the year, and is now in continuous production. The IFC, a subsidiary of the World Bank, was the financial partner in the industrial project and continues to support the group in the development of barley cultivation via the NGO EUCORD (European Cooperative for Rural Development). The new Addis…

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South African packaging manufacturers Consol, Mpact expand production capacities to meet demand

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SOUTH AFRICA – South African glass packaging manufacturer, Consol Glass is set to re-embark on its R1.5 billion (US$106.69m) investment in a new factory which was indefinitely put on hold last year, due to the reduction in demand for glass products driven by the Covid-19 pandemic and government’s ban on the sale of alcohol. The glass maker has revealed that it is reviewing the decision after production and the sale of glass bottles returned to pre-Covid levels. To this end, CEO Mike Arnold told Business Live, that the company is…

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Haribo to invest US$31m in boosting UK manufacturing capabilities

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UK – German confectionery company Haribo is investing £22 million (US$31.05 million) to enhance technologies and production capabilities at its manufacturing facility in Castleford, West Yorkshire. Haribo says the investment will be used to enhance technologies at the purpose-built UK site and deliver additional capacity, greater efficiencies and reduced costs. In addition, Haribo plans to use part of the finances to strengthen its product reformulation efforts, with sugar reduction as a key focus. The company has already launched a number of reduced-sugar products such as its Fruitilicious gum sweets and…

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