DP World’s Imperial acquires major stake in Africa FMCG Distribution Ltd

Imperial, owned by DP World, on Tuesday announced the strategic acquisition of a controlling stake in Africa FMCG Distribution Ltd (AFMCG). The move aligns with Dubai’s five-year plan to expand the emirate’s trade partnerships with promising global markets.

Last year, Dubai adopted a five-year foreign trade plan to boost its status as an international business hub, focusing on high-growth markets including Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

Part of the Chanrai Group of Companies, AFMCG is a multi-faceted business distributing products that positively impact consumers’ daily lives across Africa. The business offers a nationwide and best-in-class route-to-market solution across multiple channels in Nigeria. Its services also extend to co-manufacturing, co-packing, sourcing, and value-added services in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector.

Strategic Expansion

DP World has been strategically expanding its business in Africa, a growth region presenting trade opportunities for further development in the key sectors of ports and logistics, trade corridors, and e-commerce, among others. With a surging population of more than 1.4 billion across more than 50 nations, Africa is centrally positioned to fit into the global trade and supply chains.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, said: “This transaction is aligned with our ambition of becoming the leading market access and logistics partner in Africa by connecting trade flows into and out of Africa. AFMCG boasts unmatched route-to-market solutions in Nigeria. It also offers strategic value to DP World from a supply chain and fintech perspective, in line with our strategic objective of leveraging assets and logistics to create an integrated global supply chain – from the factory floor to the customer’s door.”

Poised for Growth

Driven by rapid population growth and urbanisation, trade in Africa is reckoned to grow at more than twice its GDP, offering significant investment opportunities to international players such as DP World, a global leader in supply chain solutions. Developing trade corridors and port infrastructure is critical to connecting the continent to drive economic growth and development. DP World operates nine ports and terminals across eight African countries, including Algeria, Angola, Mozambique, Egypt, Rwanda, Senegal, Somaliland, and South Africa.

With a nominal GDP of over $430 billion in 2020, Nigeria is a strategically essential and economically influential economy that is an important gateway to trade with Africa. Nigeria’s AFMCG represents some of the world’s leading multinational FMCG companies and their brands. Its wide-ranging product portfolio is managed by an experienced, efficient, and highly professional team, supported by robust technology and infrastructure.

Leveraging its business legacy built through the Chanrai Group of Companies for over 130 years, AFMCG has developed longstanding relationships with multinational FMCG companies, established itself as a leading player in the Nigerian consumer market, and demonstrated good corporate citizenship through its broad-based social impact initiatives.

“Being one of the largest economies on the African continent with attractive demographic and macroeconomic fundamentals, Nigeria boasts a significant consumer market. AFMCG presents

an ideal opportunity with the necessary scale for us to leverage to sell truly Pan-African solutions to our principals and clients,” said Mohammed Akoojee, Chief Operating Officer of DP World Logistics and Group CEO at Imperial.

Subodh Chanrai, Chairman of AFMCG, said: “This strategic transaction further enhances our foothold in this significant market and allows us to offer further benefit to our principals and keep pace with the evolving needs of the African consumer.”