Nigeria has moved up the rank in entrepreneurship, thanks to entrepreneurs such as Mezuo Nwuneli, who believes it is time home-grown successful entrepreneurs began to invest their knowledge, expertise and experience in helping young businesses. DANIEL ESSIET reports.
Harvard graduate Mezuo Nwuneli has two goals – to encourage more Nigerians to take up entrepreneurship and to serve the economy with good food.
Nwuneli is co-founder of AACE Foods, an indigenous agro-processing company, and a director of Sahel Capital Partners, an advisory firm focused on the agribusiness and manufacturing sectors. He set up AACE Foods as a social enterprise in 2009 with his wife, Ndidi Nwuneli.
As an entrepreneur, Mezuo Nwuneli ‘s products have significantly impacted thousands of food businesses across Nigeria and beyond.
His enterprise aimed to reduce Nigeria’s immense dependence on food imports. The company sources fruits, vegetables and spices from local farmers, processes them and sells locally. The company offers spices, sauces and complementary food for commercial and institutional buyers, including food processors, caterers, restaurants, hotels, wholesalers and retailers.
It also sources herbs, grains and cereals from farmers across the country and processes them into spices and flours. Its product line consists of nine spices and seasonings, which are sold in retail outlets such as Shoprite, GAME and Park ‘n Shop.
The company also produces Soya maize fortified with vitamins and minerals, which is a complete meal that fights malnutrition, moringa and bulk commodities such as bean flour, chili, ginger and soya which are used by noodle, pastry and biscuit manufacturers.
Nwuneli said AACE Foods has partnered key international development agencies to develop a local supply chain. To date, the company works with over 800 farmers and intends to extend this partnership to 5,000 farmers by 2018.
AACE trains and provides farm clusters with storage technology. This direct relationship has enabled the company to build reliable sources of raw materials and improve the lives of small holder farmers.
Nigerians believe the country needs angel investors, entrepreneurs and successful business leaders, who have deep knowledge and extensive experience in a particular industry. Nwuneli is one of the emerging fund managers, who has been entrusted by Sahel Capital with the creation of clusters of companies in the agric sector.
He is a visioner, who uses this domain knowledge and networks of contacts to support and guide entrepreneurs, creating significant value for the business.
He co-founded Sahel Capital in 2010 to focus on private equity investments, consulting projects and advisory transactions, primarily in the agribusiness and consumer goods sectors. In 2013, Sahel Capital was selected as fund manager for the Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN) by the fund sponsors, which at that time included the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development ( FMARD ) and the German Development Bank – KfW. Soon after, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority also joined as the fund’s third sponsor. Their investment firm is transforming the landscape by supporting small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises.
He said the fund provides primarily, equity and quasi-equity capital to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
According to him, the time has come for home-grown successful entrepreneurs to invest their knowledge, expertise and experience in helping young businesses. So far, the fund has demonstrated that viable commercial investments can be made within the agricultural sector.
According to him, the fund invests only in companies with a track record of strong performance, significant growth potential, competent and strong management team, and strong governance and ethical business practices.
He explained, however, that the fund was focused on providing growth and expansion capital to existing SMEs and not start-up companies or greenfields.
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