SimpliFine Produce Invests in Cinch Markets to Expand Locally Grown Potato Supply
Nairobi, Kenya – January 30 th , 2024 – SimpliFine, a Kenyan integrated food producer offering locally sourced and manufactured food products across East Africa, announced today that it has made a growth capital investment into Cinch Markets via its parent company BlackIvy.
Cinch Markets is a Kenyan based agricultural and land management start-up focused on unlocking value for local smallholder farmers. Partnering with Cinch Markets aligns with SimpliFine’s growth strategy and efforts to grow the Kenyan Potato Sector by increasing the supply of locally grown potatoes for processing into French Fries “As our demand for high-quality, locally produced potatoes continues to increase we are excited to formalize our investment and strengthen our partnership with Cinch Markets,” said Lewis Ngwenya, President of SimpliFine. “Cinch Markets has a focus on product quality and reliability that aligns strongly with SimpliFine’s focus on delivering products of the highest quality to our customers.”
SimpliFine launched its French fry production facility in March 2021. Throughout 2022, SimpliFine upgraded and expanded its facility, including commissioning an Individual Quick Freezing (“IQF”) processing line. By investing in IQF technology, SimpliFine expanded its production of fresh French fries to offer frozen French fries, increasing the supply and extending the shelf life of locally produced potatoes. By investing in food safety, food quality and now Yum! Brands Tier 1 certification, SimpliFine is growing the market for Kenyan potato farmers and reducing the need for imported French fries.
“We are excited to partner with Cinch and support their innovative model that enables smallholder farmers to benefit from aggregated investments in advanced irrigation and agronomy and as a result serve large offtake customers,” said Aravind Maran, Vice President at BlackIvy, SimpliFine’s parent company. “We believe this model has tremendous potential for scale and impact for farmers in Kenya and the rest of Africa across multiple value chains.”
About SimpliFine
SimpliFine is a food production company offering locally sourced meat, vegetables, French fries, baked goods and other food products to restaurants, hotels, and retailers across East Africa. Simplifine’s purpose is to unlock nutrition for more and more people. We use imagination, determination, and local ingredients to produce quality, nutritious and delicious foods for all.
SimpliFine’s world class French fries are available in retailers across Kenya in the frozen foods section. The sales team can be reached at +254 20 651 251 or +254 733 786 202.
www.simplifineafrica.com.
About Cinch Markets
Cinch Markets is a Kenyan agricultural technology and land management company that unlocks the potential and value of the land held by smallholder farmers by aggregating the management of their land, allowing for investment into infrastructure and technical expertise and significant improvement in the livelihoods of these smallholder farmers. www.cinchmarkets.com
About BlackIvy
BlackIvy is a U.S. company that builds, operates, and scales businesses that drive long-term growth and resilient value in essential sectors: food, housing, healthcare, warehousing and logistics in Sub-Saharan Africa. BlackIvy’s mission is to grow businesses while generating sustainable economic impact for the people and regions in which our businesses operate.
BlackIvy aims to unlock significant value for stakeholders through quality food production and world-class, temperature-controlled storage and logistics across Africa.
www.blackivygroup.com.
