The African Agriculture Fund (AAF), managed by Phatisa, has invested in the Meridian Group, a $250m (revenue) business with operations in Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mauritius.

Joseph Bergin, who led the deal for Phatisa, said: “Meridian is playing a vital role in improving food security in Africa by providing smallholders with the inputs necessary to improve their yields and break the poverty cycle. We are working closely with management and we believe our strategic investment will help take this business to new heights.”

Meridian’s main focus is the manufacture and distribution of specialised fertiliser blends.

The Group also includes a business in the processing and storage of agricultural products and a chain of retail stores.

Poor soil fertility is one of the major causes of food insecurity in Africa.

The balanced application of fertiliser is critical to improving food production because it improves soil health, and dramatically increases agricultural yields and profitability.

The Meridian Group of companies can trace their origins back more than 25 years.

Today, Meridian employs over 3,000 people and is responsible for distributing over 350,000 tonnes per annum of its products throughout Southern Africa.

Andy Watt, Director of Meridian Group, said: “We are excited by the African Agriculture Fund’s funding into the business as this will help support expansion plans across the Group. We believe that with this investment, Meridian will be well positioned to meet the increasing demands for fertiliser in sub-Saharan Africa.”

AAF is a private equity fund committed to investing in the African food value chain.

The investment in Meridian also presents the AAF’s Technical Assistance Facility with the opportunity to deploy much-needed technical knowhow to African smallholder farmers.

The Meridian investment is the seventh for the fund, representing a further step for the AAF in building on the inputs platform they have created over the last three years in southern Africa.