Phatisa Food Fund 2 First Closes At US121.5 Million

Phatisa has announced the first close of its successor fund to the African Agriculture Fund (AAF) – Phatisa Food Fund 2 (PFF 2), which has received capital commitments in excess of US$ 120 million (Ksh12 billion).

Given the strong interest, and with subsequent investors in different stages of their processes, Phatisa will continue with rolling closings and expects to reach a final close target of  US$ 300 million (30 billion) by mid-2019.

 “For PFF 2, Phatisa will continue its focus on the team’s core skill set – the African food value chain – considering investments in mechanisation, inputs, poultry and meat production, food processing and manufacturing, logistics, aggregation and distribution across sub-Saharan Africa. Targeting buy-out and expansion transactions with an investment size of between US$ 15 million (Ksh1.5 billlion) and US$ 25 million (Ksh2.5 billion), building and exiting regional platforms,” reads a statement from the firm.

As with AAF, by raising international capital to be invested into Africa’s food value chain, PFF 2 is aligning itself with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), addressing in particular SDG 1: No poverty and SDG 2: Zero hunger, through its material contribution to food security.

With its investment into African businesses, Phatisa has already accounted for the production of over 2.6 million tonnes of food and food-related products and will continue to mark its progress by measuring its impacts against the SDGs.

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Together with TechnoServe, Phatisa is aiming to raise a second technical assistance facility (TAF) to work alongside PFF 2, building on the lessons learnt and TAF’s success in AAF. The use of blended finance will enable the firm to increase the development impact as well as to enhance financial returns. 

The first close was timed to facilitate the completion of the Fund’s first transactions, setting the anticipated investment pace.

Stuart Bradley, Joint Managing Partner says, “We are delighted to achieve this milestone. Re-investments from our first Fund account for 88% of commitments, demonstrating strong support from AAF investors. We continue to attract the private sector, with a 70:30 split between commercial investors and development finance institutions at first close. With this round, we have now raised more than US$ 400 million (Ksh40 billion) for the African food and housing sectors.’ 

 Duncan Owen, Joint Managing Partner says that Phatisa is preparing to exit a number of AAF investments.

“We are tracking solid returns, which we plan to replicate in PFF 2 – especially around inputs, mechanisation, logistics and FMCG. This is where our team of industry specialists from Unilever, Afgri, P&G, SAB Miller, Diageo and Imperial, feel at home,” says Dancun.

“We have built a great team that has been recognised through the support of our investor base. The team has demonstrated its ability to source and execute proprietary transactions and use our in-house industry skills to drive real value in our portfolio companies. I am very proud of what we have achieved and excited by the opportunity ahead,” says Valentine Chitalu, Phatisa Chairman.