Nigeria: Nutrik increases its local production capacity for emergency therapeutic food

NutriK, a company set up in 2019 by Onyx Développement (holding company of the Nutriset Group), has just signed a €2 million senior loan with Proparco. This financing will contribute in particular to increasing the capacity of its production via the construction of a new plant in Kano, in the north of the country (near the Niger border). NutriK also plans to strengthen its partnerships with local peanut producers, thus supporting the local economy by promoting sustainable production that benefits farming communities. This will enable the company to better meet the increasing demand for emergency food security in Nigeria and bordering countries, by offering competitive nutritional solutions tailored to needs on the ground.

This project is all part of the Food & Agriculture Resilience Mission (FARM) initiative, launched in 2022 by Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, alongside the European Union, the G7 and the African Union. FARM’s ambition is to improve food security in vulnerable regions, in particular by promoting local agri-food supply chains to reduce dependency on imports and foster local and regional production.

This goal is fully illustrated by the Nutrik project, which will enable the production, as close as possible to local needs and improve access to RUTF (Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food) of international quality, which Nigeria is sorely lacking.
In sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria is the most affected country by malnutrition. In 2023, around 34% of children under 5, or some 12.1 million, were stunted, despite a gradual improvement in recent years. In addition, around 1.5 million pregnant and breastfeeding women suffer from malnutrition, compromising both their health and that of their unborn or young children.

The €2 million loan is proposed to Nutrik as part the FARM initiative but also of France’s Choose Africa 2 initiative, under which Proparco provides access to financing for numerous SMEs in Africa, particularly in the most fragile countries. NutriK, which operates out of a region suffering from the violence of non-governmental armed groups, is primarily targeting the Nigerian market, but will also be able to supply neighboring countries where child malnutrition is highest, such as Niger, Chad, Mali and even Cameroon.

"This partnership with Proparco marks a significant step forward in our ability to respond to nutrition crises," said Abdoulkader Boukari Yonli, Managing Director of NutriK. "This financing will enable us to improve the efficiency of our operations while contributing to sustainable economic development for local communities. NutriK is committed to being a key player in the struggle against malnutrition in Nigeria and more generally in West Africa".

 “We are incredibly proud to support Nutrik’s initiative to tackle child malnutrition in the vulnerable northern region of Nigeria,” said Françoise Lombard, CEO of Proparco. “This partnership is a prime example of what Proparco means by ‘Acting together for greater impact,’ and it aligns with the mandate entrusted to us through the FARM initiative to strengthen food security in Africa by supporting private-sector players.”

Adeline Lescanne, Managing Director of the Nutriset Group, adds: "It is by strengthening local production capacities that we reinforce the nutritional resilience of the most vulnerable. We are delighted with this partnership, which is in line with our commitment to developing sustainable agro-industries, by offering added value through the transformation of agricultural commodities into high-quality, high-value foods".

The project addresses the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 2 (Zero Hunger). It also contributes to SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 10 (Reducing Inequalities) by helping to support a local, quality agro-industry that creates jobs (60 jobs created and 269 maintained).