Here’s the latest in ESM’s regular series, Notes From Africa, which brings you the latest retail, consumer goods, and food-and-beverage stories from across the African continent. Past editions can be found here.
Morocco: Austria’s Alpla To Expand Food Packaging Market
In Morocco, Austrian packaging solutions specialist Alpla Group has acquired a majority stake in local packaging producer Atlantic Packaging, previously 100% owned by Moroccan agro-industrial group Diana Holding.
With this acquisition, the company will set up a joint venture called Alpla Maroc to manage Atlantic Packaging's Tangier-based manufacturing plant, which produces plastic packaging for the beverage industry, as well as packaging films and pallets for warehousing. The company aims to expand activities to capitalise on demand in the local market, as well as in the North African sub-region.
Kenya: Arch Cold Chain Secures $15m To Strengthen Cold Chain
Arch Cold Chain Solutions Fund, which develops and operates a cold chain solution in Kenya, has mobilised a $15 million investment from the European Investment Bank (EIB). Arch Cold Chain Solutions Fund plans to expand its storage facilities for perishables and pharmaceuticals in East Africa, specifically in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Ethiopia.
The institution aims to reduce food waste and establish global food safety standards in the region as 37% of food produced in sub-Saharan Africa is lost at various stages of the value chain.
Angola: Sovena Group Invests $20m in Soybean Oil Facility
In Angola, Sovena, a Portuguese family-owned business, has invested around US$20 million in equipment and stocks in a soybean oil unit in Luanda.
The Fula oil factory has packaging lines with a capacity for 45 million litres of oil per year and has additional room for future expansion. The factory currently employs 18 local staff, a number that will increase to 50 by the end of 2023.
Zambia: Cold-Storage Facility Commissioned In Lusaka
In Zambia, Deep Catch, a subsidiary of the Emirati logistics and trading group DP World, has launched a cold storage facility in the capital, Lusaka. The Lusaka Commercial Cold Store (LCCS) has a bulk freezing section, dry food storage area, and a food handling processing area.
The infrastructure is intended to provide warehousing services to meet the needs of local meat, poultry, and seafood producers, as well as those of players operating in the hotel and retail sectors.
Nigeria: Globetrot Farmsponsor Gets $1.3m Loan
In Nigeria, the integrated poultry producer Globetrot Farmsponsor Limited has received a N1 billion ($1.3 million) loan from the Nigerian Incentive Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and commercial bank Polaris Bank. The company, based in Rivers State, is planning to expand its operations in various segments of the value chain, including hatchery, breeding, feed production, broiler production, and processing.
It intends to supply consumers with poultry products as well as small-scale producers with day-old chicks and inputs used in poultry farming.
Rwanda: Slaughterhouse To Be Launched in Nyagatare District
In Rwanda, Nyagatare district in the Eastern Province will soon receive a new slaughterhouse at a total cost of 1.2 billion Rwandan francs ($974,000). Once operational, the new facility should be able to process around 250 cows and 400 goats per day.
This new investment aims to improve meat production for the local market by using modern equipment for animal preparation and meat processing.
Article by Espoir Olodo
