East Africa poultry company Uzima Poultry has received a US$3mn follow-on investment to increase food security and improve livelihoods for smallholder farmers East Africa
'Uzima Chicken', a leading distributor of high-quality, dual-purpose day-old chicks in East Africa, has received a follow-on investment of US$3mn from AgDevCo.
The investment will contribute to transformation of the poultry industry in Rwanda and Uganda, providing smallholder farmers with high-quality, highly productive birds that can thrive in the local context. Through the Uzima breed, smallholder farmers and their families will have the opportunity to diversify their incomes and build resilience, while consuming more affordable nutritious animal protein.
Dr Fadel Ndiame, deputy president of AGRA, said, “The investment into Uzima Chicken will help the company work towards its mission to make smallholder farmers healthier and wealthier and achieve its vision to ensure each household in Rwanda have at least one chicken per year.”
The investment was supported by the Agribusiness Deal Room of the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF). The AGRF is Africa’s premier agriculture conference, with its Deal Room being a leading platform for matchmaking high potential African agri-SMEs to investors. Incubated by the AGRF partners and the Government of Rwanda, the Deal Room’s Investment Facilitation Program contributed to thesuccessful transaction by paying for a comprehensive market and competitor analysis study, led by the Cross Boundary Group, an advisory services firm.
Claire Akamanzi, the CEO at Rwanda Development Board and Rwanda Cabinet member, stated, “We want to work with the private sector to identify and link them to opportunities where they will thrive. We are pleased that Uzima has responded to our conducive business environment, to which we welcome their continued growth.”
The investment facilitation work is a critical component of the year-round engagement of the AGRF Deal Room. It serves to address the challenges business and investors face in raising and deploying capital while serving as a feedback loop for various supporting initiatives. Since its establishment in 2018, the Deal Room has brought the spotlight on Africa’s growing poultry and animal feed sector. The Deal Room also serves to advance and accelerate transactions towards successful deal signing and closure.