Business News
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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-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
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$502m) to... Read more
UK – British soft drinks producer, Britvic, has officially opened the new canning line that is part of a £26.9million (US$ 27.41m) investment in the Rugby factory. With the addition of the n... Read more
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
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 – 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
ZAMBIA— Zambia and China have signed two protocols on sanitary and phytosanitary export of soya bean meal and stevia leaves to the Asian country. The protocols were signed by Chinese Ambassa... 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
EGYPT – Egypt-based on-demand delivery startup Gooo Delivery has closed an undisclosed pre-seed round to scale its services in Egypt and Middle East region. Founded in 2020, Gooo Delivery, h... Read more
SOUTH AFRICA – The government of South Africa through the Ministry of Trade & Industry has suspended the imposition of anti-dumping duties on chicken imports from Brazil and four Europea... Read more
US – Protein-focused multinational food company, Tyson Foods, is offering mentorship and partnership opportunities to six poultry technology startups to create a comprehensive approach to su... Read more
US – American food and beverage giant, PepsiCo, is going for an 8.5% stake in US energy-drinks maker Celsius Holdings, to strengthen its strategic distribution arrangement in the US for ener... Read more
UGANDA – Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) has consolidated its two Ugandan bottling subsidiaries, Century Bottling Company Limited (CBC) and Rwenzori Bottling Company Limited (RBC) to form... Read more
PORTUGAL – Symington Family Estates, a Portuguese wine company, and Port wine house has expanded to the Portuguese sparkling wine business through the acquisition of shares in Caves Transmon... Read more
#Snack Tuesday this week features exciting new products CanDo, 88 Acres, Mindright, Greater Goods and The Good Bean CanDo launches new Keto Krisp flavor CanDo, maker of low-carb and low-suga... Read more
ITALY— Leading Italian bakery firm Gruppo Morato furthers growth strategy with the acquisition of a majority stake in NT Food, a Tuscan company at the forefront of alternative and healthy di... Read more
USA — Carolina Foods, LLC, one of the country’s leading manufacturers of sweet baked goods, has announced plans to double its operating space and capacity with the construction of a new 423,... Read more
KENYA – Mauritian multinational conglomerate, Alteo, has increased its stake in Kenya based Transmara Sugar Company Limited from 51 percent to 69.2 percent at a cost of US$8.2 million ahead... Read more
GLOBAL – The #Dairy Innovation Monday section this week features new interesting additions from Paxton& Whitfield, Myprotein, and Omsco. Paxton& Whitfield launches new range of chees... Read more
President: Sahle-Work Zewde
Prime Minister: Abiy Ahmed Ali
Capital city: Addis Ababa
Languages: Oromo (official working language in the State of Oromiya) 33.8%, Amharic (official national language) 29.3%, Somali (official working language of the State of Sumale) 6.2%, Tigrigna (Tigrinya) (official working language of the State of Tigray) 5.9%, Sidamo 4%, Wolaytta 2.2%, Gurage 2%, Afar (official working language of the State of Afar) 1.7%, Hadiyya 1.7%, Gamo 1.5%, Gedeo 1.3%, Opuuo 1.2%, Kafa 1.1%, other 8.1%, English (major foreign language taught in schools), Arabic (2007 est.)
Population, persons: 109,224,559 (2018)
Area, sq km: 1,000,000
GDP per capita, US$: 772 (2018)
GDP, billion current US$: 84.4 (2018)
GINI index: 35.0 (2015)
Ease of Doing Business rank: 159
