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TLG Capital has closed a $15 million facility for Kijenge Animal Products, an Arusha-based agro-processing platform. The transaction was structured alongside CRDB Bank to refinance legacy obligations and unlock working capital for production.
A core element of the transaction is the decision by TLG Capital and Kijenge to bring on board Manufacturing Africa, a programme funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and delivered by McKinsey & Company, BDO and partners. Manufacturing Africa will provide strategic and operational support to help Kijenge scale capacity and improve productivity.
Isha Doshi, partner at TLG Capital, said: “We are proud to help this business breathe again. Our partnership with CRDB centred on structuring a facility to put oxygen back into a capital-constrained business. With the strength of our structured capital and technical assistance partners, including Manufacturing Africa, Derrick and his team have a chance to increase capacity. This evidences our pragmatic partnership model designed to empower local entrepreneurs.”
Derrick Mollel, CEO of Kijenge Animal Products, commented: “We needed breathing room, patient capital, and an investor who truly understood our needs and could deliver on them. Our ability to stabilise, scale our operations and finally unlock our full productive potential would not have been possible without TLG. This partnership gives us the confidence to expand our team, support more smallholder farmers and rejuvenate the agricultural sector in and around Arusha. After more than 40 years of operation, this financing marks a turning point for Kijenge and the impact we are able to create. It allows us not only to restart production lines, but to invest for the next decades and realise the full measure of our capabilities.”
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