Bless Agri Food Laboratory Services is a privately owned ISO 17025-certified laboratory specializing in food, water, and environmental testing, formally founded in 2011 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Bless is also an ISO 17020-accredited entity in Agricultural Products Sampling and Inspection. Bless Agri Food Laboratory Services' mission is to support the agricultural value chain and the food processing industry by providing services in areas such as product testing, Inspection, and certification, as well as Shelf life study, training, and consulting. It has customer service centers in Addis Ababa, Legetafo, Adama, and Bahir Dar. Bless Agri Food Laboratory Services is a joint venture between the Belete family and Nutriset Group through its holding company, Onyx Dévelopment.

Bless AgriFood Laboratory Services welcomes Safir as a new shareholder on March 29, 2023. Safir, a joint venture between the French family-owned Nutriset Group, MérieuxNutriSciences, and Bpifrance (the public investment bank), created in 2019 to support investments in agribusiness on the African continent, is making its first equity investment in Bless Agri Food Laboratory Services.

In combining their complementary activities, the three partners of Safir are committed to the development and financing of projects in Africa, linking public health, nutritional issues, and high-impact local development.

The partners of Safir came together with the intention of exploring the structure of agricultural and food laboratories, particularly in East Africa. Above and beyond analyzing local needs, this fresh approach seeks to satisfy the requirements with the main objective of reinforcing technical know-how and expertise while contributing to the broader issues of local economic and social development.

On March 29, 2023, a threshold was crossed to formalize these commitments when Bless AgriFood Laboratory Services welcomed SAFIR as a new shareholder. In the presence of Mr. Belete Beyene, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bless AgriFood Laboratory Services and its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Birhan Awoke, and representatives of Nutriset Group, Safir became a shareholder of Bless AgriFood Laboratory Services, alongside the founding shareholders, the Belete family, and Nutriset Group.

"This acquisition will contribute to the growth of Bless Agri Food Laboratory Services and the development of our activities, including the chemical and microbiological testing of food products, the inspection, shelf life study, and certification of these products, and training services. This development will be accompanied by investments in industrial equipment and human resources development and will contribute to the strengthening of internal know-how," said Mr. Birhan Awoke, Chief Executive Officer of Bless Agri Food Laboratory Services.

Thanks to this increase in capital, Bless Agri Food Laboratory Services has broadened its range of skills and now can benefit from the combined technical, industrial, and management expertise of Safir's three shareholders—Nutriset Group, MérieuxNutriSciences, and Bpifrance—to become tomorrow's benchmark agri-food laboratory in Ethiopia and its surrounding region.

About SAFIR and its shareholders: Formed in 2019 by MérieuxNutriSciences, BpiFrance, and Nutriset Group, SAFIR (Sociétéd'Appui au Financementd'InvestissementsResponsables) is a French company whose objective is to support investments in health, nutrition, and agribusiness on the African continent. By including an extended corporate objective in its articles and memorandum of association, Safir has put in place an overarching and coherent framework to govern and guide its entire range of activities.

MérieuxNutriSciences: At MérieuxNutriSciences, we draw on over 50 years of scientific and entrepreneurial expertise to meet the needs of the food industry. From this, we know that our customers need not only reliable analytical results but also practical and innovative solutions that will help make food systems safer, healthier, and more sustainable. Worldwide, we have over 100 accredited laboratories and a team of over 8,000 committed employees. We believe that together we can create solutions to give our planet better food. BETTER HEALTH. A BETTER WORLD. www.merieuxnutrisciences.com

BpiFrance:Bpifrance provides financial support to companies at every stage of their development with credit, guarantees, and equity, and assists them in their innovative and international projects. Bpifranceprovides its expert services worldwide across a wide range of products. Consulting, conferencing services, networking, and an acceleration program for startups, as well as for small and medium-sized companies, also form part of the services available to entrepreneurs. Thanks to Bpifrance and its 48 regional offices, entrepreneurs are provided with a local, unique, dedicated advisor to help them overcome their challenges. www.bpifrance.fr