Nambu Group, a South African agritech firm whose technology uses the larvae of the Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia Illucens) to manufacture high nutrition animal feed, has received seed funding from E Squared Investments.
Nambu’s approach works by providing food and organic waste to Black Soldier Fly larvae, which subsequently breed. The larvae are then sold as live feedstock, processed into protein feed, and the byproduct is used to make nutrient-rich compost.
By tackling the important issue of food waste disposal at landfills and delivering creative recycling alternatives beyond composting, the startup provides a sustainable recycling service for businesses.
Nambu will use the funds to more than double its existing 23-person workforce, enhance and extend its Black Soldier Fly (BSF) production facilities, raise product sales revenues, and increase the business’s sustainability.
“Going into the new year with additional E Squared funding means that we can crystalise some promising engagements and expand without compromising our supply of high-quality feed or negatively affecting existing relationships and commitments,” said Lowell Scarr, founder and CEO of Nambu. “It also means that we can undertake R&D on further product offerings and process significantly more waste as part of our expanded waste management service.”
Read also South Africa Records Astonishing Rise in Contactless Payments
According to Global Market Insights, the global alternative protein business reached USD 60.45 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow at an 18.5% CAGR between 2022 and 2028, owing to feed makers’ expanding focus on creating feed products with high nutritional value. The insect protein market, on the other hand, is predicted to reach $9.46 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 28.4% between 2022 and 2030.
This market potential is one of the factors that prompted lead investor E Squared to make an investment to assist Nambu’s growth plans.
“We are excited to augment our Nambu partnership for this next phase of the growing venture. Expansion at this stage makes a lot of business sense and we are confident of Lowell’s ability to take Nambu to the next level whilst remaining committed to his vision,” said Tshilidzi Matlala, E Squared’s chief portfolio officer.
Nambu claims to offer waste management as a service and is trying to increase its capabilities in order to provide a sustainable and alternative recycling solution for organisations that create considerable volumes of food waste.
The firm will be able to process up to 20 tonnes of additional food waste every day after extending its capacity.
Nambu Group
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard