French billionaire family Creadev acquires stake in Twiga

French-based investor Creadev has pumped $5 million (about Sh507 million) into Kenya’s mobile-based food delivery firm Twiga Foods in a deal that will also see the Mulliez family, one of the richest in the world and which controls the private equity firm, acquire a stake in the company.

The cash injection will go towards helping the firm upscale its support to small- scale farmers in the country.

“Having Creadev join our shareholding is a huge boost to our mission to deliver safe, affordable high-quality food to urban consumers, while providing reliable markets for farmers.

Creadev is a global long-term investment firm which has so far invested about Sh1214 billion into companies at different stages, from venture capital to growth equity and buyout.

Twiga was established in 2014 and is among Africa’s most funded startups. It runs a cashless platform through which vendors can order and pay for vegetables and fresh food from farmers, resulting in a more efficient supply chain by elimination multiple layers of middlemen.