Business News
The Somali business community in the region is looking to explore trade opportunities in Uganda at the first ever business summit between the two countries to be held in Kampala. Corporates... Read more
Nouriel Roubini NEW YORK – The world economy is undergoing a radical regime shift. The decades-long Great Moderation is over. Coming after the stagflation (high inflation and severe recessio... Read more
Mushroom prices in South Africa are still recovering after production of the crop came under pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the negative impact of trade restrictions on the fo... Read more
Steven Gruzd, JOHANNESBURG – There was a time when Kenyan elections elicited only mild interest from the international community. For decades after Kenya gained its independence in 1963, the... Read more
Dani Rodrik, CAMBRIDGE – I wrote recently about the possible emergence, from both the left and right of the political spectrum, of a new economic-policy paradigm that could supersede neolibe... Read more
Leaders of African countries are likely to use the next UN climate summit in November to push for massive new investment in fossil fuels in Africa, according to documents seen by the Guardia... Read more
KENYA – Copia Global, a fast-growing ecommerce platform, has expanded its private label offering with launch of new manufacturing unit that will enhance its output of affordable sugar and ri... Read more
GLOBAL – #BeverageGoodFriday this week features new alcohol beverage launches from Stoli Group, Monster Beverage, Holyrood, and Chapel Down. Stoli Group launches new Scottish gin Stoli Group... Read more
UKRAINE — The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with the financial support of Canada, has launched a new US$40 million project to address the shortage of granari... Read more
KENYA— The Kenyan Government has released Ksh 8 billion in order to finance a 4-week National maize flour subsidy programme. The Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture in cooperation with the Union... Read more
USA — Louis Dreyfus Company Agricultural Industries LLC (LDC) has opened a new soy liquid lecithin plant in Claypool, Indiana. According to LDC, its new plant, with the capacity to crush 175... Read more
UGANDA – Modern Group of Companies, a diversified organization in Uganda, has broken ground for the construction of Kidera Sugar Limited in Buyende district, Eastern Uganda. set to cost over... Read more
GHANA – Food giant Nestlé and the University of Ghana have renewed their collaboration which aims to strengthen local student scientific expertise and build competencies in the fields of inn... Read more
US- Canadian dairy company, Saputo, is streamlining its footprint in the US through a CAD45million (US$35 million) investment to convert its mozzarella cheese facility in Wisconsin into a go... Read more
US – Multinational beverage company, Molson Coors has reported a 0.67% decline in second-quarter net sales as consumers limit their spending on beer due to inflation. Analysts say some beer... Read more
NEW ZEALAND – Italian wine Prosecco DOC has gained trademark protection in the New-Zealand bilateral agreement with the European trademark office, which aims to help the sector achieve more... Read more
UK— Deep Branch has secured £4.8m (US$5.8million) in in funding from UK’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio to scale u... Read more
SOUTH AFRICA – South Africa has welcomed its first locally manufacturer chewing gum dubbed Mintex, following local sweets manufacturer Richester Foods pumping in millions of rands in establi... Read more
US- Canadian dairy company, Saputo, is streamlining its footprint in the US through a CAD45million (US$35 million) investment to convert its mozzarella cheese facility in Wisconsin into a go... Read more
US – Multinational beverage company, Molson Coors has reported a 0.67% decline in second-quarter net sales as consumers limit their spending on beer due to inflation. Analysts say some beer... Read more
USA— Mars Petcare has appointed Nefertiti Greene president of the business’s new Science & Diagnostics division. In this role and as a member of the Petcare leadership team, Greene will... Read more
US – American food manufacturer, Del Monte Foods has closed a US$99 million deal to acquire Kitchen Basics, a line of ready-to-use stocks and broths, from McCormick & Company. The purcha... Read more
GLOBAL – #SoberThursday this week features new alcohol-free products from Remedy Drinks, Kraft Heinz, Flow beverage Corp., Tim Hortons, and Naked juice. Remedy Drinks debuts natural soft dri... Read more
USA— POET the world’s largest producer of biofuels and a leading producer of bioproducts, has signed a purchase agreement with Savannah Marine Terminal (SMT) to acquire its rail-to-container... Read more
USA— Mars Petcare has appointed Nefertiti Greene president of the business’s new Science & Diagnostics division. In this role and as a member of the Petcare leadership team, Greene will... Read more
ITALY— Katjes Group, a German confectionery business, has bought Italian seasonal confectionery company Paluani thus strengthening its own position as market leader in the area of seasonal a... Read more
USA— Entrepreneurial Equity Partners (e2p), a Chicago-based private equity firm focused on the food and consumer packaged foods industries has acquired Roskam Baking Co. with intentions to m... Read more
CHINA— Angel Yeast, a globally listed yeast and yeast extract manufacturer, has partnered with Bejing PhaBuilder Biotechnology Co., Ltd (PhaBuilder) to build a large manufacturing base for p... Read more
Monday 1 August 2022, Johannesburg, South Africa: Africa investor (Ai), a leading international investment group, today announced that Hubert Danso, its CEO and Chairman and globally recogni... Read more
GHANA – Ghana’s Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA), under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, has launched a Five-Year Strategic and Implementation Plan geared towards the development... Read more
SOUTH AFRICA – FoodForward SA, the largest food redistribution organisation in South Africa, has received a US$100,000 donation from the GE Foundation, to provide immediate relief to South A... Read more
US – Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), a national milk marketing cooperative in the US, has acquired two extended shelf-life (ESL) processing facilities from dairy manufacturer SmithFoods. The... Read more
ROMANIA – Food and beverage giant, PepsiCo, has entered into a strategic agreement with Carpathian Springs to acquire a 20% stake in Romanian bottled-water business Aqua Carpatica, for an un... Read more
US-Swiss flavor and fragrance company Firmenich has opened a Taste & Beyond pilot plant in Anaheim, California, which aims to help customers prepare for scaled-up production. The modern... Read more
UK – British soft drinks producer, Britvic, has officially opened the new canning line that is part of a £26.9million (US$ 27.41m) investment in the Rugby factory. With the addition of the n... Read more
NIGERIA – Nigerian Breweries Plc (NB Plc), subsidiary of Heineken International, has registered a 31% rise in half year revenue for the period ended June 2022 from N209 billion (US$502m) to... Read more
NIGERIA – One of Nigeria’s leading sugar processors, Dangote Sugar Refinery has recorded a revenue growth in the six months ended June 2022 from N131.95 billion (US$317m) to N185.46 billion... Read more
Africa’s leading ecommerce and logistics company, Jumia, has introduced its new concept Jumia Food Mart in Kenya under its food delivery outfit Jumia Food. The quick commerce platform was fi... Read more
NIGERIA – Nigeria’s leading integrated Food and Agro-allied group, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc has reported a 45.3% rise in first quarter revenue to N339.6billion from N233.7billion reported... Read more
WEST AFRICA – World Bank has launched the second phase of the West Africa regional Food Systems Resilience Program (FSRP-2) with US$315 million financial backing from its International Devel... Read more
KENYA – Sidel, a leading provider of equipment, services and complete solutions for packaging beverage, food, home and personal care products, has opened a new office in Kenya, expanding its... Read more
Bel Group acquires majority stake in Chinese cheese maker Shandong Junjun to further growth in China
CHINA – French dairy major, Bel Group, is accelerating its growth in China with the acquisition of a 70% stake in cheese maker Shandong Junjun Cheese Company, for an undisclosed amount. The... Read more
US – Atlanta-based poultry processing company, Fit Foodz, is investing over US$15 million in constructing a new seven-acre poultry processing facility in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The company sai... Read more
SOUTH AFRICA – Walmart-owned South African retailer, Massmart expects its headline loss in the half year period ended June 2022 to increase by at least 51% to a possible loss of R974 million... Read more
UK – The Spice Tailor, a UK-based meal-kits firm, has been divested to Mr Kipling’s cake brand owner, Premier Foods, for GBP43.8million (US$52.7M) on a cash and debt-free basis. The Spice Ta... Read more
GLOBAL— The latest report from the International Grains Council (IGC) indicates a tightening of global grain markets, mainly due to projected declines in corn and wheat, but Canola and Soy s... Read more
US – Poultry processors Cargill Inc., Sanderson Farms, and Wayne Farms have all been collectively fined US$84.8 million after conspiring to share employee wage and benefit information with o... Read more
IRELAND – Irish multinational taste and nutrition company, Kerry, has posted a revenue rise of 13.3% totaling €4.1 billion (US$4.19 billion) for the first half of 2022. The company said the... Read more
SPAIN— The London-based private equity funds CapVest Partners (CapVest) is to acquire Natra— a European producer and distributor of chocolates and cocoa products— from Luxembourg-registered... Read more
USA — Alanna Cotton has been named president and chief business officer of Ferrero North America, effective September 1, succeeding Todd Siwak, who is stepping down to return to private equi... Read more
President: João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço
Vice President: Bornito de Sousa
Capital city: Luanda
Languages: Portuguese 71.2% (official), Umbundu 23%, Kikongo 8.2%, Kimbundu 7.8%, Chokwe 6.5%, Nhaneca 3.4%, Nganguela 3.1%, Fiote 2.4%, Kwanhama 2.3%, Muhumbi 2.1%, Luvale 1%, other 3.6% note: most widely spoken languages; shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census (2014 est.)
Population, persons: 30,809,762 (2018)
Area, sq km: 1,246,700
GDP per capita, US$: 3,432 (2018)
GDP, billion current US$: 105.8 (2018)
GINI index: 51.3 (2018)
Ease of Doing Business rank: 177
