Nutreco received regulatory approval for its partnership with Unga Group Plc, to form two joint ventures which will help meet the growing demand for high-quality protein in the East African region.

The partnership involves open-ended, Nutreco-managed joint ventures with two indirect subsidies of Unga Group - Unga Farm Care (EA) limited in Kenya, and Unga Millers (U) Limited in Uganda. Both ventures are named Tunga Nutrition, taking inspiration from the Swahili word Tunga, meaning “to compose”. Tunga Nutrition Kenya will increase production capacity at its jointly owned fish feed plant in Nairobi to commercialize these products under Skretting and Fugo brands, while Tunga Nutrition Uganda will make use of Unga Millers’ dormant flour mill in Kampala, converting this into a state-of-the-art feed mill producing animal feeds and concentrates. Its products will be sold under both Trouw Nutrition’s Hendrix and Unga’s Fugo Brands.

This announcement furthers Nutreco’s commitment to its purpose of Feeding the Future and will strengthen the footprint of its business lines, Trouw Nutrition and Skretting, in East Africa – a core focus region as it continues to expand globally.

Tunga Nutrition will have new senior management teams in Kenya and Uganda, bringing together the expertise of both Nutreco and Unga, strengthening their commitment and communication as partners. In Kenya, Harrison Juma will take the role of general manager, while Jennifer Wangari Githuku joins the team as finance manager. In the first phase of hires in Uganda, Pieter Bastiaanssen will take the role of general manager A.I, and TC Chido, the current controller of Skretting Nigeria, will be appointed project manager.

Pieter Bastiaanssen, managing director Middle East & Africa at Nutreco said, “we are proud to be partnering with Unga Group, and working together to share our knowledge of the animal nutrition and aquaculture markets. Unga Group possesses great expertise in the East African region, and we are delighted to join forces as we look to meet the growing demand for high-quality protein there.”

This partnership will bring significant investment to the Eastern African region, and support both Kenya and Uganda in meeting the rising demand for high-quality protein. The population in East Africa is expected to double from 170 million to 340 million by 2050, and the Tunga ventures will help meet the corresponding increased demand for aquaculture and agricultural produce to feed the growing population.

Joseph Malel Choge, CEO at Unga added that “after many years of working with Nutreco as a supplier, we are thrilled to have elevated our relationship to the next level through the Tunga ventures. Now is a critical time to increase feed and food production in the East African region, and alongside Nutreco we are confident we can help develop the market to keep up with demand.”