Nigerian snack food company lands investment
Aruwa Capital Management announced a $2 million investment into Fastizers, a local manufacturer of snack foods and confectioneries in Nigeria.
Founded in 2010, Fastizers began as a hobby in the personal kitchen of Deborah Lawson and has since evolved into a rapidly growing snack food manufacturing company in Nigeria. Since it began operations in 2010, the company has grown its product selection from just one snack to seven varieties which can be found at stores nationwide. Fun Cookies, its flagship product has become a household name across Nigeria, solidifying Fastizers presence in the Nigerian snack food industry. Today, Fastizers has evolved from a small-scale business started with just N960 ($1.5) in a small kitchen selling to the immediate community (i.e., family and friends) of the founder, into a multi-million-dollar company with a 2-hectare production facility producing over 30 metric tonnes of snacks daily.
“We are thrilled to announce this investment and support the long-term growth of Fastizers as it aligns with our investment objectives and our determination to back indigenous female founded businesses that lack access to patient growth capital. Since inception, the company has continued to grow into a household name in the snack foods sector in Nigeria, with its products becoming increasingly popular across Nigeria. This investment supports our ethos of enhancing import substitution by backing a local manufacturer of snack foods that can match foreign brands in areas of taste, quality, and consistency. In line with Aruwa’s gender lens investing strategy, Fastizers is founded and led by a woman with over 46% female ownership, 45% female representation across its workforce, and 59% female representation amongst its distributors. We are very confident in the company’s ability to scale across Africa and are thrilled to be partnering with this dedicated team for the exciting journey ahead,” says Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, founder and managing partner of Aruwa Capital.