Norfund invests in Nigerian food services company Sundry Foods

The Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund) has made an investment in the Nigerian company Sundry Foods Limited. Sundry Foods is an integrated food services company operating in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR), Bakery and Catering Services sectors. Its brands include Kilimanjaro, Pizza Jungle, Kilishawarma, Nibbles, Suncrust and Sundry Foods Services.

Headquartered in Port Harcourt and with regional offices in Lagos and Abuja, Sundry Foods currently has close to 50 outlets consisting of restaurants, bakeries and catering units spread across 11 states in Nigeria. Under the leadership of its management team, Sundry Foods has experienced phenomenal growth and is today one of the top QSR brands in Nigeria by market share.

Sundry Foods plans to increase its footprint in underserved regions and expand its product offering to meet the growing demand for food services. With this expansion, the company will substantially increase its current employment base of over 1,600 staff.

Norfund aims to create jobs and improve lives in Sub-Saharan Africa by backing strong management teams and investing patient capital in businesses that drive sustainable development. Norfund expects to add value to Sundry Foods by supporting the company’s expansion plans and its ongoing work on achieving global standards, and by contributing increased expertise and focus on the environmental, social and governance fronts. Norfund will partner with management, the company’s Board of Directors and Silk Invest to achieve those plans.

Silk Invest African Food Fund, a Luxembourg-domiciled private equity fund managed by UK-headquartered Silk Invest, who invested in 2012, will be partially exited through this investment. At the time of its investment, the company had only seven outlets. Today, Sundry has one of the two leading fully company-operated QSR brands in Nigeria. Silk Invest remains committed to Sundry Foods and will continue to co-manage a minority stake in Sundry Foods.

Commenting on the investment, Founder and CEO of Sundry Foods, Ebele Enunwa, said “This investment by Norfund is a testament to the hard work we have put into building Sundry Foods into a formidable business in Nigeria’s food services industry over the last 15 years. We like to think of it as an endorsement that we have done something right. With Norfund and our other investors, we are better equipped to pursue the next phase of our growth story. We will be working together to build Nigeria’s premier food company based on the highest levels of systems, food standards and business ethics.”

Naana Winful Fynn, Regional Director for West Africa for Norfund, shared “We are excited to partner with Sundry’s leadership team, its Board and its investors including Silk Invest. We will work with these stakeholders as an active owner and contribute to creating the premier food company in Nigeria, which will continue to offer nutritious, healthily-prepared local and contemporary food to its customers; to attain the company’s growth and expansion ambitions and to create jobs for many Nigerians during that journey.”

Zin Bekkali, CEO of Silk Invest, added “Sundry Foods was from day one a great fit with our objective to support authentic African consumer brands backed by committed entrepreneurs. Its leadership team has over the years consistently delivered, and we hope to continue contributing to its growth journey together with Norfund. The investment team of Norfund has proven over the last months to share common ground in many areas, and we are looking forward to further developing our partnership.”

The investment marks one of Norfund’s first investments in Nigeria, where, like other markets in sub-Saharan Africa, it will be looking to provide expansion capital to sustainable businesses in the Scalable Enterprises (Food, Agribusiness and Manufacturing), Renewable Energy, Financial Institutions and Green Infrastructure sectors. Source: AVCA