Home Agriculture Five projects to be presented in the ‘Investment Showcase’ at the CRU Africa Fertiliser 

Five projects to be presented in the ‘Investment Showcase’ at the CRU Africa Fertiliser 

by Business News Report

Two Nigerian startups Kitovu Technology and Agriguardian are among the five projects CRU and the African Fertiliser and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP) have picked to be presented at the Investment Showcase, during the forthcoming Africa Fertiliser Agribusiness Conference. The companies are Kitovu Technology, Leeuriver Boerdery (Pty) Ltd, Agriguardian, Gariep Boerdery (Pty) Ltd and DSM Corridor Group. This three-day conference, focused around the three main themes of partnership, innovation, and investment, looks to help the agribusiness and fertiliser trade sectors to develop across the whole of Africa and will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, 24-26 September 2018.

Each of the projects will be looking to secure investment of $1million, and are focused on either fertiliser, agri-inputs, supply chain, agro-processing and/or value addition. Investors will hear a short presentation, be provided with detailed information on the projects, and have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with the project leaders seeking finance. Tom Willatt, Portfolio Director for Fertiliser Events at CRU said “CRU and AFAP are delighted to offer these projects the opportunity to present to an audience of potential investors and partners. We hope this will lead to future funding, and long-term and successful partnerships for all involved.”

The first five projects to be selected are Kitovu Technology – A Nigerian agtech company which uses soil and market demand data to remove the guesswork and supply chain inefficiencies from the agricultural value chain of sub-saharan Africa. Its project is to set up a decentralised inputs supply system that makes it easier for smallholder farmers to access fertilisers and reduce supply chain costs, while creating jobs for youths through its channel partnership model. another is Leeuriver Boerdery (Pty) Ltd – A South African, fully black owned, third-generation family farming operation whose current business activities are the production of wine grapes (Chenin Blanc), citrus, and mix vegetables (watermelons and butternuts). Its investment project is to shift focus from wine grapes to mainly citrus, gold kiwi fruit, and mix vegetables as a cash crop, and expand the business into a sizeable commercial farming entity.

Also Agriguardian – A Nigerian supplier of imported micronutrient fertilisers, Agriguardian provides services to the agricultural and forestry industries in Nigeria. The company’s investment proposal involves producing and supplying both macro and micro-nutrient fertilisers to the national market, as single or combined products, with a view to providing farmers with access to more balanced crop nutrition and soil replenishment products. Gariep Boerdery (Pty) Ltd – A South African garlic and Lucerne farming operation, successfully converted to a fully black owned entity by empowering the farm manager. The current business activities are: the production of garlic for local retailers, alfalfa for a local feed company, and mix vegetables (butternuts) for the export market. Its investment proposal concerns transition to mainly pecan nuts, gold kiwi fruit, and garlic as a cash crop. DSM Corridor Group – A Tanzania registered independent company providing cargo handling, warehousing and other services to traders. Its investment project proposal is to expand its activities with a small bagging machine that will enable and ensure proper packaging of small fertilizer bags, improve the bagging speed with accurate weight, and enable traders to sell small size fertilizer bags, especially to small-scale and urban farmers.

The Investment showcase is just one element of a comprehensive three-day conference agenda looking at the opportunities offered, and the challenges faced, by the fertilizer trade and agribusiness sectors within Africa. Speakers at the conference are senior personnel representing organisations including: the Western Cape Government, Ma’aden, OCP Africa, Yara, Yargus, Indorama Eleme Fertilizer and Chemicals Ltd, ETG Inputs,  AGRA, and the Agro Dealers Association of South Africa. Their presentations will provide unique insights and updates on the African strategies of the world’s largest fertilizer producers, and case studies from major agribusiness stakeholders, on how to boost trade. We are also delighted to welcome not only our sponsors, such as OCP Africa, Ma’aden, Bagtech and Yara, but everybody who will be exhibiting, including: Bruker, EMT, NAQ Global, Nectar Group, Neelam Aqua & Speciality Chem, Wylton, and Yargus.

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