IPAE 2

XpressGas Limited is the fastest-growing and one of the largest LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) companies in Ghana.

The company was incorporated in 2009 and was granted a license by the National Petroleum Authority in 2010 to operate as an LPG Marketing Company. XpressGas currently owns 3 LPG refill stations, 23 LPG Bulk Road Vehicles (BRV-Trucks), and serves a network of 53 third-party owned stations across all the regions of Ghana.

The main focus of the business is on the peri-urban and rural areas of the country, and this is in line with the Government of Ghana’s stated objective to increase access to LPG by 50% in 2030.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is increasingly becoming the preferred choice of fuel in the world and Ghana is moving in the same direction. The increase in patronage could be attributed to its affordability, efficiency and environmental friendliness. The impact potential of switching consumers from harmful traditional fuels such as firewood to LPG is significant.

The entrepreneur

The company is managed by a strong promoter who has built a well-structured business that has advanced up the ranks of the top LPG companies in Ghana within the span of just 8 years.

Mr. Kofi Nketsia-Tabiri brings over 18 years of investing, business development and entrepreneurship experience to the management of XpressGas. Prior to starting XpressGas, Mr Nketsia-Tabiri founded Patient Capital Partners, an energy project development and investment advisory firm that has undertaken several modern energy related projects for international organizations such as the World Bank, Triodos, African Development Bank, United Nations Environmental Programme, etc.

Kofi was the inaugural head of the business innovations unit in Africa at E+Co, the pioneering organization that funded over 250 clean energy investments in emerging markets before its restructuring in 2012. In 2017, Kofi was recruited as an Investment Consultant for the Africa Renewable Energy Scale Up Facility (ARESUF), under the auspices of Micro-Energy International and PROPARCO.

Partnership with IPAE 2

With support from I&P, XpressGas aims to:

•— Consolidate and cement its position in the B2B market

•— Accelerate the launch of the B2C cylinder recirculation model (CRM)

•— Improve health and safety standards

Expected Impacts

⇒— A company at the forefront in increasing LPG availability and access to consumers especially those in the rural areas who continue to suffer from Household Air Pollution (HAP)

Context: It is estimated that about 18% of households in Ghana use LPG as their primary source of cooking. The remaining 72% of households mostly depend on firewood and charcoal for cooking. Exposure to household air pollution is responsible for 16,600 deaths and the loss of 502,000 disability adjusted life-years annually.

⇒— LPG emits lower greenhouse gas emissions than alternatives, CO2 emissions are relatively low. Greenhouse gases are reduced by 5-16 times per prepared meal compared to coal.

⇒— Creation of over 300 direct and indirect jobs over the investment period with specialized training provided to staff

⇒— Contribution towards the development and structuring of the cylinder recirculation model in Ghana to create a safer environment for LPG distribution

Launched in 2017, StarNews is a network of mobile video channels that gives access to quality content thanks to strong distribution and marketing partnerships with pan-African mobile operators such as MTN, Orange and Moov.

StarNews is positioning itself in a unique market, specifically adapted to the African context to unlock the potential of the creation of mobile video content on the continent.

StarNews was designed as a digital platform for creating, producing and distributing video content to mobile subscribers on various themes (celebrities, culture, cuisine, sport, humor, religion, beauty, events, etc.). The company started out collaborating with local and international African celebrities such as Fally Ipupa, Serge Beynaud, Lady Ponce or Davido and has been focusing since 2019 on the development of new themes.

StarNews has established partnerships with large pan-African mobile operators such as MTN and Orange in order to distribute exclusive and quality video content directly to users who can subscribe through their mobile to the various channels offered.

The company now operates in Ivory Coast, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa

THE ENTREPRENEUR

Guy Kamgaing, founder and director of the company, has over 20 years of experience in the mobile phone industry.

This Cameroonian entrepreneur began his career some 20 years ago by supplying network equipment to cell phone operators. He then entered the service sector and was a pioneer of mobile navigation by SMS ( jokes, quizzes, horoscopes, etc...) in Africa, before the widespread use of smartphones and mobile internet. He observed then that value-added service offers are usually not Africanized and even when they are, the content comes only from international players.

He therefore decided in 2015 to work on the creation of a platform to deliver African content at an affordable price to consumers. He launched StarNews in 2017, and after only 9 months of pilot deployment in Côte d'Ivoire in partnership with the operators MTN and Moov, StarNews Mobile reached over one million subscribers.

PARTNERSHIP WITH I&P

StarNews carries out a first fundraising campaign with Investisseurs & Partenaires through its I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs 2 fund.

The partnership between StarNews and I&P aims to:

• Building the skills of local teams (Abidjan, Douala, Johannesburg, Lagos)

• Developing value-added content for users

"We are proud to support a talented and experienced African entrepreneur who demonstrates a real commitment to deploy a pan-African and innovative solution. We share StarNews’ ambition to showcase African artists and to produce a greater diversity of quality local content with high added value for end users"

Nouss Bih, Investment Manager at I&P, based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

EXPECTED IMPACTS

• Generating new sources of income for African artists and various creators of content

• Supporting the development of an information platform with increasingly impactful content (health, employment, etc.).

Created in 2010 initially under the name of ICO and became ICONA in 2020, the Internationale des Céréales et Oléagineux, Nutrition Animale (ICONA) is a Burkinabe company specialized in the manufacture of animal feed.

ICONA is one of the few Burkinabe manufacturers able to provide feed adapted to animals, whatever their species and age. The company is thus particularly competitive, offering an attractive quality/price ratio.

The entrepreneur

Martial SAWADOGO is a French-Burkinabe entrepreneur, doctor in animal nutrition. He has more than 25 years of experience in the feed industry and has been an entrepreneur since 1999.

Partnership with I&P

Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) has committed itself alongside ICONA in order to

• Increase the company's production capacity and enable it to increase its volumes on the local market.
• Support it in strengthening its production equipment, facilities and commercial means (vehicles).
• To formalize, in particular through the setting up of contracts for its employees, their registration with the social security and the setting up of mutual health insurance for the whole staff.

Expected impacts

The partnership between I&P and ICONA should contribute to

• Improving the working conditions and wages of employees.
• Improve the availability of quality feed on the Burkina Faso market. Breeders often have to turn to low quality products. The increase in ICONA's production capacity will make it possible to respond to the supply deficit by offering quality products at an attractive price and will, therefore, have a significant impact on the local value chain.

 Learn more about ICONA

Founded in 2006 by the Malagasy promoter Malala Rabenoro, SOAFIARY is specialized in the sourcing, processing and commercialization of cereals (maize, rice) and leguminous plants (beans, cape peas, lentils, soybeans) on local and international markets. The company employs nearly 200 people, including 88% women.

Backed by a good reputation in this sector, the company begins to diversify its activities in 2017. SOAFIARY has set up a feed mill unit and has also launched the SOADIO project, a contract farming project run in collaboration with the diocese of the Vakinankaratra region, located in the highlands of Madagascar. The company trains the farmers and provides them with the agricultural equipment and inputs needed to operate the 4,100 hectares of land owned by the Diocese, and then buys the entire production. This project is a response to the challenges of traceability and product quality.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

The company was founded by Malala Rabenoro. With a background in marketing, Malala previously worked for an Microfinance Institution (MFI) where she gained more than 15 years of experience in administrative and personnel management. She left her position in 2011 to dedicate herself fully to SOAFIARY, where she manages the marketing, procurement and investor relations aspects of the business.

PARTNERSHIP WITH I&P

Soafiary is supported by the fund I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs 2 (IPAE 2). The partnership aims to:

⇒ Reviving the company's historical activity

⇒ Improving the quality management system

⇒ Supporting the company in the certification and standardization process (HACCP and Bio)

⇒ Developing the feed mill unit

⇒ Developing the SOADIO project

⇒ Strengthening corporate governance, Participating in management capacity building

⇒ Advising and supporting the company in its relations with investors and strategic third parties

EXPECTED IMPACTS

⇒ Promoting a committed female promoter

⇒ Creating jobs for a disadvantaged population with low education levels

⇒ Providing support to employees on literacy and hygiene-related issues

⇒ Supporting farmers through the SOADIO project

• Inclusion of small producers in the value chain
• Improving the living conditions of small producers