Imperial, which is owned by Dubai logistics giant DP World, has acquired a controlling stake in Nigeria’s Africa FMCG, which distributes fast-moving consumer goods across the African continent.
The move is part of the Dubai firm’s ongoing expansion in Africa, which it identifies as a key market with a surging population of 1.4 billion across 50 countries.
“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,” Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, group chairman and chief executive officer at DP World, said in a statement.
“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,” he added.
Dubai, in recent years, has been vying to expand its trade partnerships with major global markets. In 2021, the emirate launched a five-year foreign trade plan to boost its status as an international business hub, with a focus on high-growth markets such as Africa.
DP World is a critical actor in this Dubai ambition. In Africa, the firm operates nine ports and terminals across eight countries – Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Somaliland, and South Africa.
The Dubai firm aims to benefit from Nigeria’s growing economy, as well as the opportunities it could bring as a trade gateway to the rest of Africa.
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,” Mohammed Akoojee, group chief executive officer at Imperial, said.
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