ZEBU & NORFUND COMPLETE INVESTMENT IN ONE OF MOZAMBIQUE’S LEADING DISTRIBUTORS OF FOOD & RELATED CONSUMER GOODS

24 March 2022

As part of its continued endeavour to enable food security across Africa, the Africa Food Security LP (AFS LP), managed by Zebu Investment Partners, together with Norweign Investment Fund for developing countries (Norfund), have successfully closed a buyout of the Terramar Group.

Terramar is a leading importer, retailer, wholesaler and distributor of frozen, chilled and ambient consumer goods in Mozambique’s food & beverage market. The company’s proficiency in sourcing and distribution, through its two international procurement centres and best-in-class cold storage infrastructure, enables Terramar to service C.60% of this market and deliver food security to both rural and urban customers.

Operations started in 1998 with the setup of Portugal Fisheries in South Africa, initially as an importer of fish and shellfish from Mozambique. Subsequently, the company started the exportation of meat from South Africa to Mozambique, and thus established Moçambique Terramar, Trading in Maputo in 2000. Terramar in Mozambique is now the heart of the Group, importing products from is Portuguese and South African procurement centres, as well as from a variety of local suppliers, which include multinationals, such as Coca Cola and Unilever.

The AFS LP aligns with supporting a differentiated procurement and distribution model, that has the ability to service base of the pyramid consumers, facilitating movement of specialist food products to underserved rural populations, thus enabling food security in Sub Saharan Africa. The fund is pleased to support a company that is bridging the gap left by shortfalls in local production, in order to meet Mozambique’s food demands.

Dennis Matangira, Senior Managing Partner of ZIP, was particularly impressed with Terramar’s infrastructure that has allowed them to specialise and become one of Mozambique’s top import and distributors. “Terramar’s vertically integrated supply chain, as well as their multiple international procurement centres, enables the selection of a diverse range of products globally, at the best prices, and their world class cold storage infrastructure allows them to effectively reach rural communities who might not otherwise be serviced. This model could be leveraged to supply products to other Sub-Saharan Africa countries and help bring food security to millions more.”
Simbah Mutasa, regional director for Southern Africa in Norfund said “Norfund aims to invest in companies that give farmers, processors, and manufacturers access to markets for their products. We believe that Terramar can be an important catalyst for the development of the value chains needed, making further investments in the sector viable.”

Terramar Group CEO added “Our strength and capability in supply chain and sourcing has been a pillar of growth for Terramar and will continue to be at the core of future plans to continue our growth trajectory. Customer service, and building mutually beneficial and sustainable relationship across our customer base, remains a focal point for us as a business. Ensuring continuity of availability for all the consumer loved brands and products that we have in our portfolio is critical for Terramar. This buyout and investment by AFS LP and Norfund provides a renewed springboard for our future focus to maintain service, relationships and supply.”

The transaction marks the 7th deal in AFS LP portfolio and presents the opportunity for various producers and suppliers along the agriculture value chain in Mozambique to have access to sell their outputs. The AFS LP’s Technical Assistance Facility (TAF), will explore funding inclusive projects targeting expansion of bottom-of-the-pyramid initiatives, upstream smallholder farmer support schemes to develop local supply bases and increase the company’s local purchasing capacity, and develop CRM systems to support supply chain management related to expansion of market channels.

For further information, please contact:
Brian Frimpong,
Managing Partner,
Email: bfrimpong@zebuinvestments.com

Jordan Minkin,
Investor Relations Analyst
Email: jminkin@zebuinvestments.com

About Zebu Investment Partners
Zebu Investment Partners (ZIP) is a private equity fund manager established to invest in food production and processing throughout the African continent. Managing funds totalling $121m, we focus on creating transformational opportunities for companies along the food value chain to improve and enhance African food production, while bringing investors long-term, above-market returns. Our funds’ focus is on growth equity investments within Africa, including a strong ESG focus. Further information is available at http://www.zebuinvestments.com/.