Development Partners International (DPI), a private investment firm that focuses on Africa, has announced its $165 million equity investment in Kazyon Ltd. This investment also includes co-investors such as British International Investment (BII) and South Suez, among others.
Kazyon, a supermarket chain and brand of Tawfeer for Food Products, an Egyptian joint stock company, was founded in 2014 and is considered one of the largest hard discounter supermarkets in Egypt. The company’s competitive prices and proximity to customers in most Egyptian governorates and neighbourhoods have allowed it to quickly gain a strong presence in the market. Currently, Kazyon operates over 600 stores in 18 governorates across Egypt.
As part of the deal, Kazyon will benefit from DPI’s expertise in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues and impact to accelerate its expansion strategy. Additionally, Kazyon will implement new ESG action plans to become more sustainable and institutionalized for future growth.
Hassan Heikal, Chairman and Founder of Kazyon Ltd, expressed pride in what Kazyon has achieved over the last few years, saying “This investment solidifies our position as the leading grocery retailer in Egypt and could not have happened without the trust of millions of customers that we serve regularly, and the dedication of the thousands of employees led by a very capable management team. DPI’s funding and contributions are helping the company to achieve its ambitions to become the largest discount retailer in Africa.”
Kazyon retailer Kazyon retailer
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