Business deals worth billions of shillings involving mergers and acquisitions continued to be signed in Kenya despite the Covid-19 scare, giving hope of business resilience post the pandemic.
One of the big deals to signed is the acquisition of undisclosed minority stake in Naivas Group, the supermarket chain that is on an expansion spree. The deal could be worth several billion shillings.
Invest fund Amethis led in the Naivas buy, alongside its partners DEG, MCB Equity Fund and IFC, according to the private equity media Vc4a.com.
Naivas which is now 60-stores-strong is the top local supermarket in size following the collapse of Nakumatt and Uchumi.
Ascent-Metro Plastics deal
Ascent Rift Valley Fund acquired a stake in Metro Plastics Kenya, a manufacturer of PVC and PPR water pipes, electrical conduits, waste pipes, fittings and gutters.
Details provided by Vc4a.com indicate that Ascent Rift Valley Fund is positioning itself for increased activity in the real estate and construction sectors.
Metro Plastics Kenya has been in operation since 1983 dealing with the fittings space and pipes segment. The company based in Nairobi’s Industrial Area employs over 300 people. Previously, the company has mainly operated from Kenya with sales offices in Uganda and Rwanda.
In another deal, Finnfund will invest at least Sh10 billion in Kasha, an e-commerce platform improving women’s access to genuine health, hygiene and self-care products in East Africa.
The company sells menstrual care products, contraceptives, pharmaceuticals and a range of beauty products via its own platform, accessible through basic phones and a website and delivered to customers confidentially.
Kasha aims to be a trusted source of information especially around stigmatised products and operates in close cooperation with selected health partners.
Kasha was first founded in 2016 in Rwanda and has since expanded to Kenya.
Finnfund started negotiations with Kasha in February 2020.
“We were convinced by their strong mission and at the same time, we see that e-commerce is rapidly growing its share of consumer spending”, says Finnfund’s Investment Manager Johanna Raehalme.
Other deals
Another fund, South Africa-based HAVAÍC has invested in Kenyan financial inclusion and micro-retail focused business known as Tanda or Dukapay.
Dukapay was developed by Nairobi based founders Geoffrey Mulei and Alex Wilson and aims to provide access to digital financial services and affordable agency banking for the underbanked population in Kenya and the rest of East Africa.
The Tanda platform allows for a micro-retailer to offer a wide range of digital services such as airtime, prepaid electricity, bill payments and other services to their customers, all done on existing smartphones of the micro-retailer.
This has reduced cost of acquisition of new agents and reduced competition for counter space with normal terminal POS-type devices.
“We’re excited about the opportunity. The investment and support from HAVAIC has come at a good time and is proving very valuable with key relationships,” said Mulei.
Logistics company Sendy Limited has received Sh760 million investment from Mobility 54 which is a joint venture between Toyota Tsusho Corporation and CFAO SAS.