The largest U.S. angel network for Africa invests in a sesame manufacturing and exporting company.
Through support from USAID and its Feed the Future AGP-Agribusiness Market Development program, members of the Impact Angel Network (IAN) and another U.S. investment group are investing in a sesame manufacturing and exporting company based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The investors participating in the deal anticipate that over the next five years, the company will support over 10,000 small farmers, strengthen the sesame industry in Ethiopia, generate $32 million in export sales and create more than 60 jobs in the manufacturing sector.
“We are excited to participate in the great potential of the sesame industry in Ethiopia and about the impact this investment will have,” said a member of the network.
The investment, like others the IAN has made into small and medium enterprises in East Africa, is anticipated to have a significant impact on the local economy.
This is the IAN’s fourth investment in Ethiopia and fifth investment in East Africa since 2013. The Impact Angel Network (EIAN) invested in METAD, an Ethiopian specialty coffee company in October 2013. METAD used the investment to establish a coffee processing facility on its coffee farm located near Yirgacheffe in the district of Hambela in the Oromia Region.
Sesame seasonal workers in the sesame growing lowlands in Northern Ethiopia
Sesame Value Chain
Globally, Ethiopia fourth in sesame exports and first in Africa, yet sesame production and quality still depend on a rain-fed farming system that put farmers at high risk of failure every season. In addition, Ethiopia’s sesame farmers have no access to certified seed, suffer an overwhelming lack of warehousing, and spend large amounts of money in transport, processing and cleaning. Mitigating these risks while increasing access to finance and markets leads to bigger profits and gives farmers the tools and confidence to face subsequent seasons.
Since 2012, AGP-AMDe supported the establishment of four 5000-MT capacity warehouses on a cost-sharing basis with key sesame farmer unions. In addition to warehouses, AGP-AMDe co-funded six industrial sesame cleaning machines and provided 24 sets of grading equipment for the sesame growing cooperatives. These activities, in addition to increasing the capacity of farmers and promoting the use of improved seed, have contributed to increasing quality and profitability of Ethiopia’s sesame sector.
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The Impact Angel Network (IAN) is the largest U.S.-based angel network for Africa. RENEW is an impact investment firm working in Ethiopia through its partnership with USAID activities. RENEW manages the IAN and provides professional investment advisory and consulting services in support of its investments.