Entrepreneurs seeing profits in Africa’s fruit

From a dried fruit snacks company in Nigeria to juice businesses in Zambia and Sierra Leone, these three entrepreneurs have capitalised on Africa’s abundant fruit resources.

1. Nigeria: CEO grows dried fruit company from idea to modern factory

ReelFruit, a Nigerian dried fruit snacks company founded in 2012, recently unveiled its new 800-tonne-per-annum processing facility in Abeokuta, Ogun State. “This factory isn’t just a structure of bricks and mortar. It embodies my long-term unwavering belief in Nigeria’s agricultural and manufacturing opportunity,” said founder and CEO, Affiong Williams at the time. The facility enables the company to process a wide range of dried fruits on a large scale, catering to customers nationwide and promoting ‘Made in Nigeria’ products globally.

Williams views the significant Nigerian diaspora in America as a prime market for expansion. “There is no better market, or no lower hanging fruit, than your people in another country,” she explained. “I see a growing opportunity for products such as mine and other food products that are becoming more global in their standards, to sell to the Nigerian market in the US.” Read more

2. Entrepreneurs turn Zambia’s wild fruit into juice business

Forest Africa Zambia, an agro-processing company based in Chilanga, is transforming Zambia’s wild fruits into a range of juices and other products. The country boasts an abundance of indigenous fruits, such as baobab, African medlar, monkey bread, wild loquat, and governor’s plum, which are ideal for value addition. The company has established a secure supply chain by partnering with rural communities that have access to these fruit trees.

Targeting smaller retail shops has proven to be a profitable strategy for Forest Africa Zambia. “They pay cash on delivery, which is cardinal to our business, especially as the fruits we use are seasonal,” said co-founder Frazer Handondo. “This keeps us afloat, and we can manage our overheads without worrying about the longer payment terms from larger companies.” Read more

3. Creating a fruit juice business in Sierra Leone

For several months each year in Sierra Leone, tonnes of pineapples and mangoes fall from trees, often left to rot due to a lack of efficient market routes and storage facilities. Growers struggle to sell what little they can by the roadside or in local markets.

In 2013, Hamza Hashim founded Sierra Juice to utilise these surplus fruits. Today, Sierra Juice is one of the country’s most recognisable brands. With thousands of farmers supplying fresh fruit, the company’s drinks are sold by both formal and informal vendors at nearly every traffic jam and street corner across Sierra Leone.

“When we started, everyone told me I would fail. No-one was drinking juice in Freetown, except for a few expensive imported juices in the supermarkets. On the street, vendors were selling cheap knock-off colas at a far lower price point than we could offer,” Hashim recalls. Read more

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