SEAF, a prominent impact investment firm, has teamed up with Development Finance Corporation (DFC), The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and ABCapital to announce a major investment in Orient Tea, a rapidly growing and innovative Tunisian food company. This significant investment has been made possible through SEAF’s Tunisia Resilience Fund and SEAF Covid-19 Global Gender Lens Emergency Loan Finance, which was established by the DFC to address the challenges faced by SMEs supporting women during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Founded in 2013, Orient Tea is a trailblazing food company led by women, specializing in the production of natural instant tea products under the brand Kyufi. The company operates in the city of Ben Arous, located in northeastern Tunisia, an area that was particularly affected by the early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The region experienced restrictive lockdowns and the closure of key distribution channels, prompting Orient Tea to adopt an agile and proactive approach by shifting its focus to retail and B2B networks. However, to further expand and thrive, the company required additional capital to enhance its digital presence, improve online brand awareness, and expand warehousing capacity to overcome supply chain disruptions.
The investment by SEAF in Orient Tea is based on a gender lens approach, with the aim of supporting the company’s growth and promoting an inclusive and sustainable business model within the agri-food sector. As a women-led company, Orient Tea employs 45% women in full-time positions and supports 80% of contracted farm workers as women, creating nearly 500 indirect and direct jobs. With this funding, Orient Tea will be able to boost its production capacity, explore new export markets, and strengthen its market position, while also providing vital training opportunities to smallholder farmers in its network.
Jan Cherim, SEAF Vice Chair for Europe & Africa, expressed enthusiasm for partnering with Orient Tea during this challenging period in the Tunisian market. SEAF’s dedicated team, led by Ingrid Chou, worked seamlessly with ABCapital and Orient Tea to successfully close this impactful deal, with expectations for more similar investment opportunities in the future.
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ABCapital is delighted to contribute its support to SEAF, facilitating the execution of the Orient Tea transaction and the implementation of the Tunisian Resilience Fund, a pioneering financing mechanism designed to catalyze additional capital for Tunisian SMEs. This fund is not only supporting SMEs in their post-COVID resilience efforts but also unlocking their growth potential. Hela Jelassi and Anis Borchani, Managing Partners at ABCapital, commend SEAF’s innovative Gender Lens Investing approach, which plays a significant role in promoting inclusive and impact-driven businesses within Tunisia.
USAID/Tunisia is committed to enhancing access to capital for high-potential Tunisian businesses. Scott Dobberstein, USAID Mission Director, expresses pride in supporting investment facilities that cater to the unique needs of SMEs, fostering sustainable development outcomes. In addition to direct funding, this partnership provides Orient Tea with access to valuable tools such as impact monitoring systems, gender analyses, and access to new markets, thereby boosting their investment readiness and contributing to inclusive economic growth.
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Jim Polan, Vice President of DFC’s Office of Development Credit, highlights the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial markets and its disproportionate impact on women-owned businesses in developing countries. DFC is proud to collaborate with SEAF in supporting innovative transactions like Orient Tea, which offer economic relief and positive development impact to businesses striving to overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic.
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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