Amethis, the private equity company that has backed Kenya’s Naivas supermarket chain, has taken a “significant” minority stake in Senegalese pasta manufacturer Nouvelle Minoterie Africaine (NMA). NMA was founded in 2000 and produces and distributes wheat flour, pasta and animal feed. Amethis …

Unilever engineers have created a prototype nano factory capable of fitting in a 40ft container. The prototype can take raw materials, process them, package and label them. It is currently being trialed in the Netherlands, producing liquid bouillon. Unilever says …

The boycott of French goods by consumers in Muslim countries has reached Egypt, a key market for French supermarket chain Carrefour, as well as several major French FMCG brands including Danone and L’Oréal. We think there is a risk the …

Jumia is opening up its logistics network to third party businesses in 11 countries. The move means the internet retailer will offer its platform and network, enabling companies to use its final mile delivery capabilities. Prior to the announcement, Jumia …

Rijaal Holding has opened its first “Senchan” convenience store in the religious city of Touba. The opening was timed for the Grand Magal of Touba, an annual pilgrimage attracting up to 3 million visitors. Rijaal Holding is looking to open a …

Egyptian cheese producer Domty and FrieslandCampina have signed an MoU to explore joint business opportunities in Africa. The companies plan to collaborate to export cheese to other African countries. Domty was founded in 1988 in Egypt. It is a leader in the Egyptian …

South African discounter Massmart, a subsidiary of Walmart, is looking to cut 1,800 jobs in its bid to get its performance back on track. Meanwhile in West Africa, CFAO’s Supeco (Carrefour) discounter franchise is seeing sales take off in the …

DHL Express has taken a minority stake in Link Commerce, the UK-based e-commerce platform that sits beneath MallforAfrica.com and DHL’s Africa eShop service. DHL is betting on a fundamental change in purchasing behaviours in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which …

At Trendtype we have decided to put our thoughts down on paper, as it were. Headline: there are lots of reasons to believe that African countries may emerge from COVID-19 in better (or less worse) shape than developed economies in …

Africa Capitalworks Management (ACW) has taken a significant minority stake in Malian soft drinks and bottled water company Gaselia Industries Group to fund regional expansion. Gaselia has bottling and distribution operations in Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Guinea. The investment from Africa …

The problem is retail development rankings are useless. Worse than useless, actually. We explain why we don’t trust AT Kearney’s Global Retail Development Index when it comes to Africa. A few years ago we wanted to build a retail market …

So here are our big themes in 2019 and a look ahead to 2020. It’s been another eventful year in African consumer and retail markets in 2019. Some big retail players coming unstuck In grocery retail, some big players have come …

Challenger Senegalese fuel retailer Edkoil (EDK), which was founded in 2009 and is expanding its store network, has launched the latest outlet of its forecourt supermarket banner “Low Price”. The new outlet is on Dakar’s busy Rue VDN and carries …