August 19, 2020

*photo credit VeggieVictory

By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media

VeggieVictory, the first vegan company in Nigeria, has raised an undisclosed round of Angel funding from Ryan Bethencourt, founder and CEO of California-based Wild Foods, and Anant Joshi, founder of UK-based Plant CEO. 

Bethencourt, who has previously invested in plant-based companies Evo Foods and NotCo, said “I’m delighted to announce my very first African angel investment in VeggieVictory,” according to The Vegan Review. 

Co-founded by Oyebola Adeyanju and Hakeem Jimo in 2013, VeggieVictory operates out of Lagos where it has developed meat alternative products such as soy-based hot dogs, plant-based burger patties and shawarmas, tofu scrambles, and cuisine tailored for the Nigerian market, such as efo riro stews and vegan meats.

GreenQueen reports that in 2016 the company developed VegMeat, locally-produced, plant-based meat chunks that require no refrigeration, that are now distributed across 12 Nigerian states, and are seeing growing demand among even farther markets. 

“We need to connect the plant-based movement to more markets, especially to where global impact for food systems can be fixed and how we can feed 10 billion people in the near future,” said Joshi.

African Market

The plant-based food market in Africa is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.9 percent between 2020 and 2025, according to Modor Intelligence. 

A booming population that is expected to double by 2050, a strengthening economy, innovations in plant proteins, and growing consumer awareness about the connection between their diet, food supply chains and health are all drivers of climbing demand on the continent. 

Adam Bergman,  managing director of EcoTech Capital, noted in his article, Part II: Plant Based Protein is Here to Stay, published by GAI News in December 2019, “Customers believe they have a good understanding of the food they eat and have traditionally made their purchases based on a variety of factors, including brand name, cost, and taste. Today, new factors are playing a part in consumer decisions, including environmental impact and ingredient lists, making developing products with a clean label and that are more environmentally sustainable more important.”

These conditions are presenting a market that is primed for an upsurge in plant-based startups and investment.

“Even Nigeria alone, with a 200 million population, needs obviously more than one investment, without talking about the 1.2 billion on the entire continent,” Jimo told The Vegan Review. 

Africa and Beyond

As climate change intensifies, volatile weather such as droughts is increasingly creating challenging growing conditions across Africa, and are accelerating the need to ensure food security for its populations. Further complicating issues is a greater demand for animal protein, which is often a driver of environmental damage and is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

Now on its third ideation of VeggieChunks, and the development of a new Premium line of products including plant-based jerky, VeggieVictory has its sights set on an expansion throughout West and East Africa.

“What’s amazing is the opportunity that there is in Africa with a population forecasted to be more than doubled by 2050 to 2.5 billion people,” Joshi told GreenQueen. “Bringing with that a huge demand for protein which is healthy, sustainable and plant based.”

With this foreign investment, VeggieVictory is also seeing its business expand overseas, according to Jimo who said, “We already have orders from the US and UK. It will be sending our VeggieChunks there within the next few weeks.”

“In Africa, we are looking at a few neighboring countries in West Africa — like Ghana and Ivory Coast. In East Africa, we’re looking at Kenya for a start.”

– Lynda Kiernan is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, and HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She is also a contributor to the GAI Gazette. She can be reached at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.