The Yield Uganda Investment Fund (Yield Fund) is pleased to announce an investment in Newman Foods Ltd, in a blend of equity and quasi-equity. This marks the Fund’s 14th investment into the Ugandan agricultural sector.
Newman Foods Ltd is a Kampala-based agro-processing company whose primary business is the production and marketing of branded consumer foods sold through retail stores in the local and the regional market, as well as aggregation and export of fresh fruits and vegetables (FFV) to the European market. The company was incorporated in 2013, initially focusing on procuring, packaging, and exporting fresh fruits and vegetables, and later diversified its strategy in 2017 through the introduction of the consumer foods/snacks product category. Newman’s integrated business model, combined with high-quality products, has allowed them to grow their income and increase market share over the years, even during COVID-19 disruptions.
Yield Fund’s investment into Newman Foods Ltd is fully positioned to support the scaling of the consumer foods/snacks segment which has a clear scaling opportunity, high margins, and income generation. The investment will be used to fund the construction of a new processing facility and the acquisition of a larger modern equipment to improve the production throughput, support the company to improve packaging, branding and increased marketing of Newman products, as well as to augment its supply network for the consumer foods segment. Yield Fund invested in the company for its strong social impact proposition, which is demonstrated by strong backward linkages with smallholder farmers and ambitions to develop a sustainable supply chain largely made up of local youth and women farmers.
