DOB Equity, a leading Dutch family run Private Equity fund has announced that it has taken up a stake in Kenya’s Countryside Dairy Ltd at a undisclosed value, describing it as one of Kenya’s largest social impact investment in the dairy sector.
The deal by DOB Equity comes barely three months after it acquired a minority stake in another Kenyan food wholesaler Twiga Foods, again for an undisclosed sum.
Countryside Dairy Ltd, is a milk processing company established in 2014 and operates from the Kenyan equator town of Nyahururu. The firm processes pasteurized fresh milk products for the low-income market segment and institutional organisations such as hospitals, hotels and schools and does about 100,000 litres of milk on a daily basis.
Countryside Dairy Managing Director, George Mwangi, who is the former East African Cables Managing Director, said the entry of DOB Equity will will allow the firm to scale up its production capacity and expand its reach across the lower income market.
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The Private Equity fund has offices in Kenya, Tanzania and the Netherlands and the latest investment will expand DOB Equity’s current equity portfolio in the regional diary sector, where it already holds a stake in Tanga Fresh, the Tanzania-based dairy processor.
According to the Kenya National Dairy Master Plan 2010 estimates, the Kenya dairy sub sector is valued at more than Kshs 100billion and is the single largest contributor to Kenya’s agricultural GDP-higher than Tea and horticulture.
While commenting on the deal, Ralph Jansen, investment manager at DOB Equity, said: “The new partnership with DOB Equity will further give Countryside Dairy access to the world-renowned dairy processing technical capabilities in the Netherlands.”
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