FAFIN invests in Diamond Pearls Agro Allied Limited

Sahel Capital, fund managers  of Fund  for   Agricultural Finance  in  Nigeria (“FAFIN”) has made     investment   in  Diamond  Pearls  Agro  Allied      Limited,  a  fast         growing   edible  oil  processing  company  in  Nigeria.

Diamond Pearls  was selected  after  a  rigorous operational  review of  several edible oil  processors  across Nigeria. The company has  a vegetable oil  refinery which  refines  crude      palm     oil  and crude palm kernel oil, to  produce vegetable oil for  industrial and domestic use.

Backed by a  quality   management team, the  company is well positioned to take advantage of the         high      growth   edible     oil    market   in     Nigeria.         

The company’s facility  is  located  in  Kwara  State, strategically situated to satisfy the  current  vegetable oil  supply  gap in  northern Nigeria, while still close enough to the  south west  to provide products to its growing market.

It has  expanded to become one of  the largest vegetable oil processors in its region with major market share in northern Nigeria.

With FAFIN’s investment, Diamond Pearls said in a statement that it intends  to procure equipment as well as augment its working capital. Given the  seasonality  of  raw materials in the edible oils sector, the investment will enable Diamond Pearls    better optimise its processing operations throughout the  year, as  well as increase its capacity utilisation to meet the large unmet demand for  its    products. In addition, the company intends to develop and expand its  oil palm plantation in order to strengthen its supply  chain; in line with the government’s efforts to develop the  local  production capacity of the  sector.

As  part of the investment,  Diamond Pearls’ Board of Directors has been reconstituted to include  two independent directors with significant wealth of experience in the oil palm sector.            

Two members of Sahel Capital’s  team  will also  be joining Diamond Pearls’ board. They are Olumide Lawson and Ayodele Balogun.

According to  Adewale Adeyemo, founder and managing  director of Diamond  Pearls Agro,  “FAFIN’s team came at the right time to help facilitate the  achievement of our  ambitious     expansion plans and we are  delighted to have them as our partners, as  we  position to become one of the largest edible oil processors in  the  country.”      

Lawson, a partner at Sahel Capital,  also  commented: “Diamond Pearls Agro is well positioned to exploit the great potentials of the edible oil sector and we are  excited to make an   investment in such a promising company. Our objective is to help establish Diamond Pearls as  a clear leader in its sector and we look forward to providing  the  necessary support to take the company  through its next phase of  growth.”        

FAFIN  is an agribusiness focused private equity fund that aims to transform the agricultural sector in Nigeria. FAFIN’s fund sponsors include the Nigerian government via the Federal  Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the  German government via  KfW Development Bank, and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment  Authority. FAFIN is managed by Sahel Capital, an agribusiness focused private equity firm.