Morocco: Proparco Invests in Africa Feed & Food to Support a Leading African Agribusiness

Proparco, the French development finance institution, and RMBV, an independent investment firm focused on North Africa, announce their joint investment in Africa Feed & Food (AFF) through a MAD 850 million capital increase.

This transaction, completed without any sale of existing shares, preserves the group’s family control while leveraging the expertise of two leading institutional investors.

A key player in strategic agri-food value chains in Morocco

Founded in 1978, Africa Feed & Food has established itself as a major integrated agro-industrial group, covering the entire value chain for cereals and poultry: grain imports, flour and semolina production, pasta and couscous production, compound feed production, and integrated poultry farming.

The prolonged droughts that Morocco has experienced in recent years have weighed heavily on domestic grain crops and significantly reduced available grazing land for cattle, goats, and sheep.

Against this backdrop, AFF has played a key role in securing the country’s supply of essential food products by importing soft wheat and durum wheat—two grains indispensable to the daily diet of Moroccan households (flour, bread, semolina, couscous, pasta). At the same time, the decline in forage resources has reduced livestock numbers while increasing farmers’ need for compound feed. Through its activities in animal feed and poultry farming, AFF has helped sustain the continuity of livestock value chains and preserve access to essential proteins.

An investment supporting a leading Moroccan family-owned company with regional ambitions

Through this transaction, Proparco is supporting the further growth of a leading Moroccan family-owned company poised to reach a new stage in its development and position itself as a regional leader in agri-food value chains.

The funds raised will accelerate AFF’s development around three priorities: increasing its industrial capacity in Morocco, strengthening vertical integration, and expanding its operations geographically in West Africa, particularly in Senegal and Mauritania.

Food security, resilience, and local anchoring at the core of the strategy

Proparco’s investment in AFF follows an impact-driven approach, supporting a company capable of ensuring a reliable supply of essential products at affordable prices.

Through its storage infrastructure and import capacity, AFF contributes to the national effort to secure soft wheat stocks. The group also supports the development of local value chains, with a growing ability to integrate domestic agricultural production when weather conditions permit, as is expected to be the case starting in 2026.

Beyond Morocco, AFF’s regional expansion will help strengthen food systems in West Africa by combining local production, industrial processing, and distribution.

A Franco-Moroccan partnership supporting agricultural value chains

This initiative also highlights the depth of economic ties between France and Morocco in the agricultural sector, with Morocco accounting for 26% of France’s soft wheat exports outside the EU and 13% of total exports over the past five marketing years. A significant portion of these volumes is processed by AFF, helping to build integrated value chains between the two shores of the Mediterranean.

Ahmed Chermati, Chairman and CEO of Africa Feed & Food:
“The acquisition of a stake in our company by RMBV and Proparco marks a major milestone in AFF’s development. Beyond the financial resources it brings, this transaction connects us with leading partners who share our ambition to build a high-performing agro-industrial group committed to responsible and sustainable development. We are convinced that this strategic alliance will enable us to accelerate our growth in Morocco, West Africa, and beyond across the continent, while helping to strengthen food security in the regions where we operate.”

Tibor Asboth, Head of Private Equity for Africa and the Middle East at Proparco:
“This investment, alongside RMBV, our long-standing partner, reflects our confidence in the strength of Africa Feed & Food’s business model and its ability to scale up. By supporting this key family-owned group, we are backing a major player in food security in Morocco and West Africa, while contributing to the emergence of a regional agro-industrial champion that is locally anchored and forward-looking.”

Strengthened governance to support growth

The investment by Proparco and RMBV will be accompanied by a strengthening of the group’s standards of governance, transparency, and ESG performance. Proparco will assist AFF in adopting best practices in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters.

This transaction remains subject to obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, including approval from the Competition Council.