- EHA Impact Ventures has invested $50,000 in Kebbi’s women-led Ma’Zaine Foods to expand production and support plans for therapeutic food
- The funding will help Mainstream Lime-Light Ltd buy equipment, while repayments will depend on business performance
- The planned expansion aims to improve access to locally made nutrition products, though production timelines and distribution plans remain unclear
EHA Impact Ventures has announced a $50,000 investment in the company behind Ma’Zaine Foods, a women-led food processing business in Kebbi State, to expand production and support its planned entry into therapeutic food manufacturing.
The funding will help Mainstream Lime-Light Ltd, based in Birnin Kebbi, acquire equipment for its existing product lines and begin producing ready-to-use therapeutic food, according to the investment announcement.
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The proposed expansion targets a pressing concern for families in northern Nigeria: access to nutrition products for children affected by severe acute malnutrition.
Funding tied to business performance
The investment was announced during a facility tour attended by representatives of the Kebbi State Ministry of Health and the Kebbi State Investment Promotion Agency.
EHA Impact Ventures, a gender-lens investment firm under the EHA Group, said the financing takes the form of a convertible revenue-based loan. Repayments will be linked to the company’s performance, with recovered capital available for investment in other women-led businesses.
Alongside the funding, Ma’Zaine Foods will receive technical assistance, strategic guidance and communications support.
The announcement did not specify when therapeutic food production would begin, the expected output or how the products would be distributed. Those details will help clarify the scale of the planned expansion and its potential reach.
Building on locally produced foods
Founded by Maryam Yakubu, Ma’Zaine Foods already produces Tom Brown cereal, date powder, sweet potato flour, baobab fruit powder, finger millet flour and date seed coffee.
The company says its product range serves different consumer groups, including children and breastfeeding mothers. It also offers food processing training and manufacturing services to other businesses.
The investment will therefore support both an established product range and a proposed new manufacturing activity, rather than the launch of an entirely new business.
Yakubu said the funding would help the company increase capacity, reach more customers and create local opportunities.
“Our mission has always been to make nutritious foods more accessible and affordable for families,” she said.
Nutrition needs shape expansion
The planned expansion comes against the backdrop of persistent nutrition challenges in northern Nigeria, including Kebbi.
EHA Impact Ventures said supporting production closer to the communities being served could improve access to nutrition products while creating economic opportunities.
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Its chief executive, Evelyn Castle, said the firm invests in women entrepreneurs addressing problems they understand through their experience of living and working in those communities.
She described Ma’Zaine Foods as part of wider efforts to expand locally produced nutrition options for children and families.
For the Kebbi business, the immediate priority is translating the financing into equipment and additional production capacity. Whether that expansion makes products more affordable and accessible will depend on implementation, pricing and the company’s ability to reach households and institutional buyers.
50 Nigerians to get N320m in funding
Legit.ng earlier reported that 50 Nigerian founders have been selected to receive a combined N285 million in non-dilutive funding under the Founders Lab Cohort 1 programme, an initiative of the Federal Government’s Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) Programme.
The programme, delivered through the iDICE Startup Bridge and implemented by the Bank of Industry (BOI), is designed to help idea-stage entrepreneurs move from concepts to viable and sustainable businesses.
Source: Legit.ng