JR Firms, an agribusiness firm with headquarters in Nigeria, has announced a partnership with Sanit Wing Rwanda through the acquisition of an 11 percent stake in the company.
The CEO of the company, Mr. Rotimi Olawale, explained in a statement that the partnership was in furtherance of its goals to ensure food security, create decent jobs and raise the next generation of agrarian leaders in Africa.
The stake was acquired through the Green Agribusiness Fund, an initiative of JR Farms designed to invest in youth-led agribusinesses across Africa.
Sanit Wing Rwanda is an agro-processing company that processes avocado oil and cosmetics that are natural, quality, affordable, reliable, and viable.
The vision of the company is to become the leading producer of the best-quality avocado and avocado by-products in Africa by creating value across the avocado value chain.
With a focus on bringing together over 20,000 professional Avocado farmers on board and planting three million avocado trees by 2025 through contract farming, the company currently works with One Acre Fund to supply avocado to its processing facility.
The products of the company, which include avocado oil, skin care (SANTAVO), hair cream, and soap, are being sold locally and exported to regional markets in Kenya.
With the new partnership with JR Farms, the products of the company will enjoy more access to markets focusing on Africa and the European Union by leveraging partnerships and trade windows available.
Aside from funding, the partnership comes with project support in areas of market exposure, capacity building, exposure, and other thematic support to grow the business over the next four years.
JR Farms has agribusiness operations in Nigeria, Rwanda, the United States, and Zambia, respectively.
In Nigeria, the company deals in the cassava value chain, processing cassava into the national staple "garri,” which is consumed by over 80 million Nigerians on a daily basis, while in Rwanda, it works in the coffee value chain with over 4,000 coffee farmers spread across the East Central African country.