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.
Algeria: Milk-And-Flour Unit To Be Built In Algeria
A powdered milk and infant flour production plant is to be built at El Harrach, in the capital, Algiers. Costing a total of four billion dinars ($29.8 million), the plant will have a production capacity for 15,000 tonnes of milk powder and 10,000 tonnes of flour per year. It is scheduled to come on stream in the second quarter of 2025 and will eventually create over 200 jobs.
Nigeria: BUA Foods To Increase Flour Production
Nigerian food company BUA Foods plc has signed an agreement with the Turkish industrial group Imas, which specialises in milling equipment. The agreement covers the construction of four new flour mills, with a combined production capacity for 3,200 tonnes of flour per day. This initiative is aimed, in particular, at increasing the company’s market share in the edible flour segment. At the end of the first half of its 2024 fiscal year, which ended on 30 June, the BUA Foods group reported sales of ₦227 billion ($144.3 million) in bakery flours. This is three times more than the ₦75 billion ($47.6 million) in revenue for the same period a year earlier.
Chad: Pasta Production Unit To Be Launched By 2025
In Chad, Axor – a subsidiary of Alapala, the Turkish leader in milling equipment – has signed an agreement with MENA Food Chad to build a pasta production unit. The factory will produce two tonnes of pasta per hour. The plant is scheduled to be commissioned in the first half of 2025. It will also be the first local pasta production facility in the country.
Namibia: Namibia Breweries Unveils A Wine-Packaging Line
Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL), a subsidiary of Heineken in Namibia, has inaugurated a N$337 million ($18.76 million) wine-packaging line. This will allow the company to locally package popular ciders such as Savanna and Hunter’s for the first time, reducing reliance on imports and bolstering local production. In 2023, NBL reported sales growth of 12%, to N$4 billion ($223 million).
Kenya: Naivasha To Get A Potato-Processing Plant
Crystal Chillers and Frozen Foods has launched the construction of a frozen-potato production unit in the Naivasha Special Economic Zone, in Nakuru County. The project is estimated to cost 650 million shillings ($5 million) and scheduled to take six months to complete. The unit will have an initial processing capacity of 1,000 tonnes of potatoes per month, and its production will be dedicated to the local and export markets. This investment should also help reduce post-harvest losses, which account for around 19% of Kenya’s potato production each year.
Cameroon: Hatchery Launch In Maroua
In Maroua, the capital of the Far North Region of Cameroon, an ultra-modern egg incubation unit has been inaugurated. With a capacity of 57,000 eggs, it cost 100 million West African CFA francs ($167,000) and will hatch 19,200 chicks. It is the second unit of its kind, after the one in the North-West Region, managed by the Caisse de développement de l’élevage du Nord-Ouest.
Namibia: Eos Capital Acquires 15% Of Namibia Berries
Namibian private-equity fund manager Eos Capital has acquired a 15% minority stake in Namibia Berries, a portfolio company engaged in the local production of blueberries for export. With this investment, Eos Capital will support Namibia Berries’ growth strategy. The producer plans to expand its operating area to over 500 hectares over the next five to seven years.
