KENYA – Creadev, a French-based investor, has acquired an undisclosed stake worth US$5 million (Sh500 million) at Kenya’s leading online grocery platform, Twiga Foods.
Creadev is a global long-term investment firm wholly funded by the Mulliez family.
According to a statement announcing the investment, the Gerard Mulliez’s family stake in Twiga Foods will be held under the family’s investment firm, Creadev.
“Creadev… has announced a secondary investment of USD 5 million in Twiga Foods, a Kenyan-based technology based B2B platform that aggregates retail demand and efficiently provides low cost access to better quality food,” said the statement announcing the deal.
“Having Creadev join our shareholding is a huge boost to our mission to deliver safe, affordable high-quality food to urban consumers, while providing reliable markets for farmers.
It will support our efforts towards growing our ecosystem of farmers and retailers,” said Peter Njonjo, chief executive Twiga Foods.
Established in 2014, Twiga Foods counts are one of the most funded start-ups in Africa and has grown to its current scope of 17,000 farmers, and 2,500 retailers daily and is looking to further expand its operations within and outside Kenya.
Sarah Ngamau and Pierre Fauvet, who head Creadev’s activities in Africa, said: “We are proud to enter into this long-term partnership with Twiga as they answer a massive market need: the structuration and formalization of the food logistics supply chain.
“We are impressed by Twiga’s fast growth, driven by an experienced and result-oriented management team. We believe the appointment of Mr Njonjo as CEO is another proof of Twiga’s ambitions and willingness to grow to the next level.
“We will leverage on Creadev’s international retail network and future funding capacity to support the team in executing this ambitious expansion plan and continue delivering their strong value proposition to small-holder farmers, informal retailers, and end customers.”
As part of this secondary transaction, early investors in Twiga Foods including have partially sold their stake in the firm to enable Twiga accommodate later stage and longer-term investors.
This include; Adolf H. Lundin Charitable Foundation, Blue Haven Ventures, Crescat Limited, Omidyar Networks, Index Ventures through Project Hand Purpose Trust, and Uqalo.
“We take the opportunity to thank Adolf H. Lundin Charitable Foundation, Blue Haven Ventures, Crescat Limited, Omydiar Networks, Index Ventures through Project Hand Purpose Trust, and Uqalo for their successful early-stage support to Twiga,” Sarah added.
