American Firm Invests in Local Food Maker

Dec 28 , 2019


[ssba-buttons]

PepsiCo, an American multinational food, snack and beverage corporation, joined Senselet Food Processing Plc as a major shareholder. Veris Investment, a private equity firm, and PepsiCo will run the company, the former being a minority shareholder. Veris Investment, which is engaged in the food value chain in Sub-Saharan Africa, founded Senselet Food in 2015. Senselet makes the SUN Chips brand from locally-sourced potatoes. SUN Chips is distributed with various flavours and different sized packs. The company has established business partnerships with local farmers over the past three years. Along with the Dutch government, the company has been facilitating farmer training programmes intended to increase yield and produce high-quality potatoes. Located around 65Km from the capital, Senselet has more than 150 employees.


Radar

US Renews National Emergency, Sanctions on Ethiopia

The United States has extended the national emergency and sanctions on Ethiopia for another year under the African Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA). Signed by President Donald J. Trump, the measure was first declared on September 17, 2021, through an executive order citing the conflict in northern region of the country as an "unusual and extraordinary" threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy. The extension, effective until September 17, 2026, keeps in place restrictions targeti...


Radar

Rockefeller Pitches Clean Cooking to Curb School Meal Emissions

A recent study has revealed the staggering environmental toll of school feeding programs. A single school serving 400 students can burn through the equivalent of 56 hectares of forest each year to fuel cooking. The Rockefeller Foundation flagged the health risks too, with most cooks, predominantly women, breathing smoke levels ten times higher than the World Health Organisation's safe limit. "If every school meal transitioned to clean cooking with electricity and solar, the emissions saved wo...


Radar

Sun-Powered Grid Brings Light to Qunbi District

A new 600KW solar mini-grid in East Hararge'sQunbi district has connected 2,200 households to electricity, marking a milestone in the recent rural electrification push. Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) laid seven kilometres of medium-voltage and 10 kilometres of low-voltage lines, installing four transformers to reach communities long cut off from power. Customers cover only meter and installation costs before accessing the service. The project is part of the national strategy to expand energ...