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AgDevCo in equity investment deal with Agris for growth of fresh-food production and distribution in East Africa.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 30, 2024

NAIROBI, Kenya, April 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Specialist agriculture investor AgDevCo has made an equity investment, for a significant minority position, into East African agri- business platform Agris – the agriculture division of Maris Ltd.

The investment will support the growth of Agris’ production and distribution of high- quality herbs, vegetables, and avocados from its farms in Kenya, serving domestic and international markets.

“The Agris team has already built three impressive agriculture businesses in Kenya. We’re excited about deepening our partnership in East Africa, with the aim to promote food security, create jobs in rural areas and help drive the development of world-class agro- industries,” said Chris Isaac, AgDevCo’s CIO.

Agris’ three operating companies – Evergreen Fresh, Evergreen Herbs and Evergreen Avocados – have grown rapidly since Agris was founded in 2020. Evergreen Herbs was started by rehabilitating two farms near Nairobi and is now one of the largest producers of fresh cut herbs in East Africa, with year-round production and more than 2,000 employees.

Evergreen Fresh distributes fruit and vegetables from Agris’ farms and outgrower network to all major outlets in Kenya. It promotes transparent purchasing relationships with farmers and oﬀers consumers quality and consistency via dedicated cold-chain distribution.

Evergreen Avocados is a joint venture with Granot, a world-leading avocado producer and distributor, to grow more than 400ha of avocados for export at Ndabibi farm in Naivasha. In March 2023 AgDevCo made an USD 8m investment in Evergreen Avocados, via a mezzanine loan flexibly structured to support new avocado orchards, which take up to four years to mature. Ndabibi will also be home to a technical research and development facility to support the development of the wider avocado industry in Kenya.

“This investment will help us deploy innovative agri-business practices, to consistently and sustainably produce high-quality fruit and vegetables for the local market and consumers overseas, and continue growing with our partners,” said Ran Kadosh, Agris’ CEO. “It’s the type of transformation we need to see across East African agriculture – to accelerate the region’s integration into global food systems so that African producers play a larger role in global food security.”

Legal support was provided by Charles Russell Speechlys, YKJ Legal and Anjarwalla & Khanna for AgDevCo, and Angeli Arora from Allectus Law for Agris.

Agris is a subsidiary of Maris Ltd, an early-stage investment group with more than USD 100m under management across sub-Saharan Africa. Agris oﬀers investors unique access to an integrated portfolio of agri-business operations positioned to meet rising global demand for high-quality food fresh produce.

More information can be found at: www.agris.group

AgDevCo is a specialist investor in African agriculture, growing sustainable and impactful agribusiness, with USD 280m under management. Their vision is a thriving commercial agriculture sector, which benefits both people and planet by investing in and supporting agribusinesses to grow, create jobs, produce, and process food and link farmers to markets. They support their partners to work towards climate sustainability, and where possible, regenerative solutions. AgDevCo has made more than 65 investments to date.

More information can be found at www.agdevco.com

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Latest News

dLocal Expands Partnership with Deel to 12 New Countries

Published

36 mins ago

May 17, 2024

Peter Tolan

dLocal, a prominent player in the cross-border payment sector with a focus on burgeoning markets, has unveiled an expansion of its collaboration with Deel, a leading HR and payroll platform, spanning 12 additional countries across Asia and the EMEA region. dLocal and Deel Extend Partnership to 12 Countries amidst Remote Work Surge

This expansion comes on the heels of a highly successful initial rollout across 19 countries in 2022, which witnessed a substantial surge in payment volumes and an impressive payment delivery rate of 99.97%.

Dan Westgarth, COO of Deel, remarked, “dLocal’s expertise in payments has been instrumental in our journey, and this significant expansion into high-growth markets is a testament to the quality of their services. We’ve been able to scale rapidly, on our terms, thanks to dLocal’s support.”

Under this enhanced partnership, dLocal will extend its services to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Ghana, Jordan, Kenya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, dLocal will offer payout services in Brazil through PIX, a widely adopted instant payment method in Latin America.

Agustin Botta, Head of EMEA at dLocal, emphasized, “Our goal is to foster growth and opportunities for brands and individuals, and the collaboration with Deel perfectly aligns with this objective.”

Forging New Alliances

In addition to deepening its partnership with Deel, dLocal has recently forged alliances with other industry players. The company has partnered with Papaya Global, a leading payroll platform, to facilitate timely payments to employees, partners, freelancers, and suppliers in local currencies across the globe. By integrating dLocal’s payment capabilities into Papaya’s platform, the payment process is streamlined for their shared clients.

Furthermore, dLocal has joined forces with Ebury to bolster cross-border payments in Africa. Leveraging dLocal’s payment solution, Ebury can efficiently manage both incoming and outgoing payments while optimizing costs and delivery times. Additionally, dLocal provides extensive support to Ebury’s merchants navigating the complexities of emerging markets. As Ebury expands its footprint in these regions, the partnership with dLocal provides access to over 41 different markets through a single integration.

dLocal, a publicly traded company on NASDAQ, has successfully completed four funding rounds to date. In its latest and most substantial round in 2021, the company raised $150 million, achieving a valuation of $5 billion.

Source: financemagnates.com

The post dLocal Expands Partnership with Deel to 12 New Countries appeared first on HIPTHER Alerts.

Latest News

Climate fintech startup Ekko raises £2m

Published

3 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Peter Tolan

A climate-focused fintech startup that promotes environmental conservation through its debit card usage has secured $2.5 million (£2 million) in funding.

Founded in 2019, Ekko intends to utilize the funding to recruit top-tier industry professionals who can contribute to product development and global expansion initiatives.

Fuel Ventures led the funding round, with additional investments from Sorven Partners, Mishcon de Reya, and existing backers. This follows Ekko’s previous pre-seed funding of £450,000 in 2021.

Co-founded by Oli Cook, Manish Vara, Simon Toller, and Tom Greenwood, Ekko has developed a unique debit card that monitors the carbon footprint associated with purchases.

Through partnerships with renowned organizations like Gold Standard, Conservation International, Tusk, and Prevented Ocean Plastic, Ekko plants trees and collects ocean-bound plastic with every consumer transaction. These conservation efforts are funded through a subscription fee ranging from £1.99 to £9.99 per month.

Moreover, Ekko has developed business-to-business (B2B) software to integrate into banking or checkout applications, enabling third parties to access its climate services.

Oli Cook emphasized Ekko’s scalability, anticipating the broader impact of the funding on product development and partnerships. He underscored the urgency of addressing climate change and Ekko’s mission to disrupt the market by empowering financial institutions to facilitate tangible environmental impact for their customers.

Ekko joins the ranks of other green fintech companies like Tandem and Tred, all committed to providing sustainable financial services.

Source: uktech.news

The post Climate fintech startup Ekko raises £2m appeared first on HIPTHER Alerts.

Latest News

55@Shanghai: International Friendly Guidebook was unveiled worldwide for the first time!

Published

4 hours ago

May 16, 2024

CISION (PR Newswire)

SHANGHAI, May 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — To accelerate the development of Shanghai as an international consumption hub, attract more foreign consumers, and expand the market while providing a more diverse and enriching consumer experience, the 55@Shanghai Destination of Shopping global promotion launch ceremony was grandly held on the morning of May 8th, 2024, at the Changning Shanghai Film Art Center.

At the launch ceremony, the 55@Shanghai Destination of Shopping International Friendly Guidebook was unveiled worldwide for the first time. This handbook meticulously outlines Shanghai’s convenient payment methods, diverse experiential venues, city walk routes, and popular exhibition events, among other urban highlights.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2415398/55_Shanghai_1.jpg

It includes over 1000 featured popular shops, 100+ business and leisure experience destinations, and more than 10 international-friendly shopping centers. Covering the finest ‘eat, stay, travel, entertain, and shop’ local recommendations in Shanghai, the handbook aims to facilitate international connectivity for Shanghai’s business, tourism, and cultural brands.

In the 55@Shanghai International Friendly Guidebook, strategic partners including Bank of China, China UnionPay, China Eastern Airlines, Airport Group, and Ctrip jointly announced activities related to 55@Shanghai Destination of Shopping. Bank of China Shanghai Branch will launch the ‘Blooming Love Shopping Shanghai’ themed event, collaborating with thousands of merchants to offer payment discounts, consumer gifts, credit card points redemption, and other series of promotions.

Additionally, they will introduce a profit-sharing activity called ‘National Trend Pavilion’ on their mobile banking platform. China UnionPay will roll out the ‘Splendid China 5.5 Shopping’ promotion with an investment of 100 million RMB, focusing on eight major scenes including dining, accommodation, transportation, travel, shopping, entertainment, medical, and education. For the 2.3 billion UnionPay cards issued overseas, they will also provide a 200 million RMB rebate on transaction fees.

China Eastern Airlines will introduce convenient measures and attractive products, offering over 550,000 tickets to boost traffic and provide travelers with convenient travel solutions. The Airport Group will set up one-stop service areas at the arrival passenger routes, luggage collection areas, and public areas, enhancing the level of convenience services for inbound travelers and launching various activities and benefits to comprehensively promote the quality and efficiency of consumption in Shanghai. Ctrip Group has planned the ‘Shanghai Express’ exclusive half-day free tour for inbound tourists.

To better convey the charm of 55@Shanghai Destination of Shopping to the world, the 55@Shanghai International Friendly Guidebook has brought together several outstanding companies to become global promotion partners. At the launch ceremony, 15 companies including Bailian Group, Shanghai Metro, Foreign Investment Association, Shanghai Design Week, Tencent Group, and Meituan were honored with the inaugural 55@Shanghai Destination of Shopping Global Promotion Partner title. These global promotion partners will further enhance domestic and international publicity efforts to attract tourists from around the world to experience the 55@Shanghai Destination of Shopping series of activities, jointly contributing to the creation of a friendly and convenient consumer environment.

55@Shanghai Destination of Shopping is the core project of this year’s Shanghai 55 Shopping Festival. Leveraging Shanghai’s position as a global hub for tourism, culture, and sports, it actively expands domestic and international visitor flows. With the theme of ‘Come, Explore, Shop’, the event offers a variety of combined services to help build an internationally friendly consumer environment.

It gathers the distinctive highlights of Shanghai’s business, tourism, and cultural sectors, attracting domestic and international tourists to experience new consumption landmarks, scenes, and formats in Shanghai through precise domestic and international promotion.

Through methods such as the multilingual 55@Shanghai Destination of Shopping international-friendly guidebook, promotion on landmark screens in major cities worldwide, and collaboration with businesses to launch supporting activities, the event has created a key activity matrix for 55@Shanghai Destination of Shopping.