Farmcrowdy Officially Enters into the Nigerian Meat Market with the Acquisition of Livestock Processor, Best Foods

Farmcrowdy, a Nigerian agritech startup has officially entered into the Nigerian meat market after the acquisition of Best Foods L&P Limited for an undisclosed amount. Best Foods is one of Nigeria’s largest meat processors.

The deal which comes after several months of partnership between the companies will see Farmcrowdy possess majority stake in Best Foods. This includes its assets, clients and supply chain across the country.

Best Foods which has been in operation for over 16 years, has grown to become one of Lagos’ largest meat processors in Lagos, with a capacity to process up to 200 bulls daily. It is best known for its agriculture ventures in Food Livestock and Poultry, Fresh Farms, and Naijapride.

Speaking on the deal, Founder of Best Foods, Emmanuel Ijewere said he was excited as the deal presented an opportunity for major growth for both companies.

“This deal with Farmcrowdy is a welcome development for us. It provides major growth opportunity for both businesses. We are excited about the many possibilities.”

Emmanuel Ijewere, Founder of Best Foods

With this new deal, Emmanuel will join Farmcrowdy as a member of the advisory board. Farmcrowdy is, however, planning to launch Farmcrowdy Meat Hubs by the second quarter of 2020.

Farmcrowdy keeps expanding its offerings

Since its inception in 2016, Farmwcrowdy has grown to be one of the foremost agritech startups in Nigeria. The company uses its crowdfunding platform to help people invest directly in agriculture as well as to fund and provide market access for farmers.

In March last year, it raised $1 million in an additional seed round to broaden its offerings. The funding followed a merger that saw Farmcrowdy and its first subsidiary, Farmgate Africa, a platform that focuses on agro commodity trading, combine to create entity offering investment, production and trading.

Suggested read: Farmcrowdy and Farmgate Combine to Create a Unified, more Efficient Platform

Also, the company extended its successful business model through the Crowdyvest platform. This allows its investors access not only to agricultural investment, but also into other key sectors of the economy like health, education, energy, transport and real estate.

The recent acquisition of Best Foods is a continuation of its diversification path as the startup pushes deeper into the livestock business.

Beef supply is one of Farmcrowdy’s major business

The acquisition of meat processing company, Best Foods is probably a much-needed move by Farmcrowdy. The agritech startup never made secret its plan to become the largest beef supplier to the Lagos and Nigerian market. As at June 2019, the startup supplies 50 bulls everyday to the market.

It however hopes to increase that number to over 100 bulls a day by June of 2020. It also aims to increase the number of Lagos eateries it supplies beef to from 3 to 10 in July. If it must hit these targets, processing its own produce shouldn’t be a problem.

According to Farmcrowdy’s managing director, Kenneth Obiajulu, the acquisition of Best Foods offers an opportunity for them to strengthen and expand its offerings in livestock production.

“Best Foods offers an exciting opportunity for Farmcrowdy to strengthen and expand its service offering in livestock production, processing, and supply”

Kenneth Obiajulu, Managing Director of Farmcrowdy

In Nigeria, the demand for meat is very high. According to the government, about 360,000 tonnes of beef is consumed each year. The resources and expertise that Best Foods provides will give Farmcrowdy the necessary foothold to tap into the demand pool by providing quality meat for consumers.