Sahel Capital, fund managers of Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (“FAFIN”), is pleased to announce its investment in Diamond Pearls Agro Allied Limited, a fast growing edible oil processing company in Nigeria.
Diamond Pearls was selected after a rigorous operational review of several edible oil processors across Nigeria. Diamond Pearls has a vegetable oil refinery which refines crude palm olein and crude palm kernel oil to produce vegetable oil for industrial and domestic use. Backed by a quality management team, the company is well positioned to take advantage of the high growth edible oil market in Nigeria.
The company is located in Kwara State, strategically situated to satisfy the current vegetable oil supply gap in northern Nigeria, while still close enough to the south‐west to provide products to its growing market. The company has expanded to become one of the largest vegetable oil processors in its region with major market share in northern Nigeria.
With FAFIN’s investment, Diamond Pearls intends to procure equipment as well as augment its working capital. Given the seasonality of raw materials in the edible oils sector, the investment will enable Diamond Pearls better optimize its processing operations throughout the year as well as increase its capacity utilization to meet the large unmet demand for its products. In addition, the Company intends to develop and expand its oil palm plantation in order to strengthen its supply chain; in line with the government’s efforts to develop the local production capacity of the sector.
As part of the investment, Diamond Pearls’ Board of Directors has been reconstituted to include two independent directors with significant wealth of experience in the oil palm sector. Two members of Sahel Capital’s team will also be joining Diamond Pearls’ board – Mr. Olumide Lawson and Mr. Ayodele Balogun.
According to Mr. Adewale Adeyemo, Founder and Managing Director of Diamond Pearls Agro, “FAFIN’s team came at the right time to help facilitate the achievement of our ambitious expansion plans and we are delighted to have them as our partners as we position to become one of the largest edible oil processors in the country.”
Mr. Olumide Lawson, Partner at Sahel Capital, also commented: “Diamond Pearls Agro is well positioned to exploit the great potentials of the edible oil sector and we are excited to make an investment in such a promising company. Our objective is to help establish Diamond Pearls as a clear leader in its sector and we look forward to providing the necessary support to take the company through its next phase of growth.”
FAFIN is an agribusiness‐focused private equity fund that aims to transform the agricultural sector in Nigeria. FAFIN’s fund sponsors include the Nigerian government via the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the German government via KfW Development Bank, and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority. FAFIN is managed by Sahel Capital, an agribusiness focused private equity firm.
Source: 234 Central