Investors
USD 4.5 million blended-finance opportunity with strong additionality, demonstrable Paris-alignment and a projected equity IRR of 22.4 per cent over the ten-year hold. Senior debt covered 1.6× at base case.
Investment thesis
Zimbabwe imports more than USD 18 million of processed tomato products annually. Mutomato displaces a meaningful share at delivered cost — a hard-currency margin moat.
Energy is the largest opex line in any processing plant. A 500 kW solar-plus-storage asset insulates the business from grid instability and tariff escalation.
Fifteen hundred contracted outgrowers under fixed-price forwards de-risk feedstock volume and price across the agronomic cycle.
No commercial bank in Zimbabwe is currently financing similar-scale solar-integrated processing plants. The transaction is genuinely catalytic.
Strategic agri-processors, regional consolidators and impact secondaries provide multiple credible exit routes by year seven.
Eligible for 2X Challenge Level 2 reporting and Paris-aligned classification — a rare combination at this transaction size.
Capital stack
A blended structure that pairs concessional and senior tranches with sponsor and catalytic equity — sized to deliver additionality whilst preserving pari passu protections for commercial participants.
| Tranche | Source | Instrument | USD | % | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sponsor equity | Afroglobal Trade LTD | Common | 675,000 | 15% | Committed |
| Senior debt | Norfund | Senior loan | 900,000 | 20% | Pipeline |
| Senior debt | British International Investment | Senior loan | 810,000 | 18% | Pipeline |
| Mezzanine | FMO | Subordinated | 765,000 | 17% | Pipeline |
| Climate concessional | SEFA / AfDB | Concessional loan | 540,000 | 12% | Applied |
| Catalytic grant | AECF | Performance grant | 450,000 | 10% | Applied |
| Climate co-finance | GEF | Grant | 360,000 | 8% | Applied |
Returns & coverage
Use of proceeds
| Category | Description | USD | % of total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processing plant | Italian-spec line, civils, MEP, commissioning | 2,025,000 | 45% |
| Solar & storage | 500 kW PV, 1.2 MWh battery, BoS, racking | 810,000 | 18% |
| Outgrower programme | Input finance, drip kits, extension, MIS | 540,000 | 12% |
| Land & site works | Acquisition, perimeter, access road, water | 360,000 | 8% |
| Working capital | First-season raw material, packaging, payroll | 450,000 | 10% |
| Contingency & DSRA | 10% contingency + debt-service reserve | 315,000 | 7% |
| Total | 4,500,000 | 100% |
Risk & mitigation
USD-denominated revenues from regional offtake and import-substitution pricing hedge against ZWL volatility. Hard-currency reserves held offshore.
Diversified across 1,500 outgrowers and three cooperatives. Drip irrigation and weather-indexed insurance buffer drought risk.
500 kW captive solar with battery autonomy plus grid fallback. Diesel genset as final tier of redundancy during commissioning.
LoIs in place with two regional supermarket chains and one institutional offtaker. Export gateway via Beira and Beitbridge.
Fixed-price EPC with reputable Italian-Zimbabwean consortium. Ten per cent contingency and liquidated-damages provisions.
MIGA political-risk insurance under negotiation. ZIDA project status confers tax holidays and customs concessions.