Agthia Announces $54 Million Corporate Venture Capital Fund
We are proud to announce the launch of Agthia Ventures and our effort with Agthia Group to help manage the fund. Below you can read the official press release, which is also published here.
-Mel Gaceta
What’s the news
Agthia Ventures is a $54 million corporate venture capital fund established to fuel innovation in the food & beverage industry. Funded by UAE-based Agthia and its parent company ADQ, the fund is stage agnostic with a focus on early stage better-for-you food and beverage brands, value chain technology, and ingredient technology.
Why it matters
As one of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s leading food and beverage companies, Agthia Group manages a balanced mix of brands in four key verticals of water and food, agri-business, protein and frozen, and snacking. The fund represents an opportunity to encourage global translation of ethnic and regional food tastes, developing greater awareness and understanding of different cultures. Agthia Ventures is Touchdown’s first formal business relationship in the MENA region.
Who it’s for
The fund targets investments in global startups developing healthier snacks, functional and premium beverages, food ingredient technology, and value chain technology from manufacturing through distribution. In addition to investment, Agthia Group seeks to support startups through commercial partnership opportunities. Agthia Ventures will leverage Agthia Group’s expertise across its food and beverage operations in areas such as product, market, and distribution to provide value to portfolio companies.
ABU DHABI — July 12, 2023 — Agthia Group PJSC today announced the launch of Agthia Ventures, a corporate venture capital (CVC) fund designed to expand Agthia’s innovation capabilities and create mutual value with startups as the company continues to drive profitable growth in both new and existing markets.
Funded by Agthia and its parent company ADQ, Agthia Ventures will be managed together with Touchdown Ventures, a global leader in establishing and operating bespoke CVC programmes for blue-chip corporates, with over 100 completed venture investments to date.
Agthia Ventures will build on Agthia’s four decades of experience, creating a programme to help the best and brightest entrepreneurs in food and related industries scale their operations and accelerate their product development and market adoption, through access to Agthia’s extensive industry knowledge, diverse distribution networks, technological infrastructure, research, development and marketing capabilities, and established customer relationships.
Utilising Touchdown’s extensive network of startups, venture capital relationships, incubators, and accelerators, Agthia Ventures is well-placed to identify attractive early-stage, seed, and growth investment opportunities, within relevant and target geographies.
The fund is stage-agnostic and will invest primarily in companies with clear product-market fit that are demonstrating revenue growth. Investments will focus on brands, categories, and solutions across Agthia’s portfolio that are both complementary and adjacent to its business model, for example in snacks and beverages, value chain technology, and ingredient technology. Target investment interests include premium and “better for you” snacks and beverages, functional water and hydration, alternative proteins, sustainability solutions in farming and packaging, e-commerce solutions for the food and beverage industry, and other capability enhancements relevant to Agthia’s value chain.
Alan Smith, Chief Executive of Agthia Group, commented, “Innovation is the lifeblood of Agthia Group and plays a vital role in our strategic vision of being a leading food and beverage company in the MENA region and beyond by 2025. In conjunction with our internal R&D initiatives, our CVC will give us access to cutting-edge technologies and market insights from dynamic entrepreneurs, helping to future-proof our growth and strengthening our ability to meet the evolving needs of consumers across multiple territories. In turn, Agthia will offer our product, market, and distribution expertise to the entrepreneurs supported by the programme to help them succeed.”
Scott Lenet, Touchdown President and co-founder, noted, “We believe entrepreneurs globally will be impressed by the collaborative, supportive culture of Agthia’s team and their capabilities to help a startup grow. Whether through providing expertise and distribution locally in the MENA region, or by working collaboratively in North American and European markets to leverage Agthia’s expertise, the team have a lot to offer to food and beverage innovators.”
###
About Agthia
Agthia Group is a leading Abu Dhabi-based food and beverage company. Established in 2004, the Company is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and has the symbol “AGTHIA”. Agthia Group PJSC is part of ADQ, one of the region’s largest holding companies with a broad portfolio of major enterprises spanning key sectors of Abu Dhabi’s diversified economy. The Company’s assets are located in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Egypt, Turkey, and Jordan. Agthia offers a world-class portfolio of integrated businesses providing high-quality and trusted food and beverage products for consumers across the UAE, GCC, Turkey, and the wider Middle East. More than 11,000 employees are engaged in the manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of various products in categories such as Consumer Business (Al Ain Water, Al Bayan, Alpin Natural Spring Water, Ice Crystal, VOSS, Al Ain Tomato Paste, Al Ain Trading Items); Snacking (Al Foah, Yoplait, Al Faysal Bakery & Sweets, BMB, Abu Auf); Proteins and Frozen (Nabil Foods, Atyab, Al Ain Frozen Vegetables); and Agri-Business (Grand Mills, Agrivita). For more information, please visit www.agthia.com or email us on corpcoms@agthia.com
About ADQ
Established in 2018, ADQ is an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company with a broad portfolio of major enterprises. Its investments span key sectors of the UAE’s diversified economy including energy and utilities, food and agriculture, healthcare and life sciences, and mobility and logistics, amongst others. As a strategic partner of Abu Dhabi’s government, ADQ is committed to accelerating the transformation of the Emirate into a globally competitive and knowledge-based economy. For more information on ADQ, visit adq.ae or contact media@adq.ae and follow ADQ on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Mel Gaceta is a Venture Partner at Touchdown Ventures, a Registered Investment Adviser that provides “Venture Capital as a Service” to help leading corporations launch and manage their investment programs.
This article includes information from third party sources believed to be reliable; however, we make no representations as to its accuracy or completeness. References to strategies are for illustrative purposes only and should not be relied upon as a recommendation to engage in any particular strategy or to invest in any particular security. Opinions expressed herein are based on current market conditions and may change without notice and we reserve the right to change any part of these materials without notice and assume no obligation to provide an update. Recipients are advised not to infer or assume that any securities, strategies, companies, sectors or markets described will be profitable or that losses will not occur. Any description or information regarding investment process or strategies is provided for illustrative purposes only, may not be fully indicative of any present or future investments and may be changed at the discretion of the manager. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
