A Ziweto Enterprises agrovet retailer
Malawi-based Ziweto Enterprises is likely one of the prime performing corporations within the portfolio of Africa Eats, an funding holding firm devoted to Africa’s meals and agriculture worth chain.
Ziweto is a provider of agrovet merchandise, a producer of animal feed, and a future producer of day-old chicks and hen in Malawi. Luni Libes, founder and CEO of Africa Eats, recollects first assembly the corporate in 2016 when it operated simply three small agrovet outlets – described as pharmacies for animals – serving small-scale farmers in rural areas. On the time, every store earned solely about $10,000 per 12 months.
In 2017, the distributor supplying 80% of Ziweto’s merchandise got here up on the market, and the corporate raised the mandatory funds to accumulate the distributor.
By 2019, Ziweto had develop into the largest supplier of agrovet products in Malawi, offering vaccines, medicines, and different veterinary provides to impartial agrovet outlets whereas additionally operating 10 of its personal shops. In 2022, the corporate expanded additional by constructing an animal feed manufacturing unit and reported revenues exceeding $1.3 million in 2023.
In December 2024, Ziweto listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius.
Responding to buyer demand, Ziweto started establishing a hatchery for day-old chicks. Libes explains that Ziweto plans to make use of the proceeds from its public itemizing to construct out the hatchery, increase its animal feed manufacturing, and start operations in neighbouring nations.
“What we anticipate from this firm in a 12 months or two is that these farmers are going to say, nice, these day-old chicks you’re promoting to us with the feed you’re promoting to us and the medicines you’re promoting, now we want somebody to purchase the precise chickens and produce them to market,” he says, including that he expects Ziweto to diversify into poultry manufacturing.
Watch our full in-depth interview with Africa Eats CEO Luni Libes: Investing in African agribusiness, Warren Buffett style