Nigeria: Follow on investment in hibiscus exporter AgroEknor
Aruwa Capital Management, an early-stage growth equity fund investing in Nigeria and Ghana, announced a follow-on investment into AgroEknor International, a hibiscus flower exporter and wellness brand.
In November 2021, Aruwa made an initial investment into the company, which was utilised to accelerate AgroEknor’s growth by procuring products and exporting large volumes of hibiscus flowers to meet the demands of clients in Asia, Europe and North America. The company has since launched its Farmers Education and Empowerment Project (FEEP), which aims to help farmers in Northern Nigeria upgrade their farming practices and increase their farming yields, while serving as a sustainable source for the company’s product. To date, over 2,000 farmers have been enrolled with many more seeking to be enrolled.
AgroEknor has also commenced the construction of a fumigation chamber, integrated the use of technology into its product sourcing mechanism, and obtained certifications for global food, safety and hygiene. Furthermore, the company has acquired a new warehouse which is able to accommodate up to 1,200 tonnes of product, to meet rapidly increasing demand and also set in motion its product diversification strategies with a medium-term goal to achieve backward integration of complimentary superfood products.
Timi Oke, CEO of AgroEknor said, “Aruwa’s initial investment helped us a great deal to meet and surpass our ambitions including the commencement of the construction of our fumigation chamber with a capacity to process 120 tonnes of cash crops weekly. With the follow-on investment, we will complete and launch our fumigation chamber, an important integrated backend infrastructure in our business which enables us process and export, globally acceptable cash crops to our clients.”
Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, founder and managing partner of Aruwa Capital added, “AgroEknor’s mission is to improve the sustainability and profitability of the Nigerian agriculture value-chain whilst securing hard currency export earnings and we are fully aligned with the company in that ambition. Since our initial investment, the company has been able to invest in its entire value chain and has demonstrated with the FEEP programme that it has the capacity make a great impact on smallholders farmers in Northern Nigeria, while providing an avenue for sustainable sourcing of its products.
”AgroEknor is currently finalising its fumigation chamber which will make it one of the few companies in Nigeria with direct export to Mexico. We believe this will positively change the trajectory of the company. With this follow-on investment, we are reaffirming our belief in the company’s vision, and we are excited to continue to back a proven team as they expand their business to even greater success.”