Adenia Partners, a private equity firm investing in Sub-Saharan Africa, has announced that on December 5 2018, it completed an investment in Tumaini Self Service through a special purpose vehicle, Sokoni Retail Kenya. 

The transaction provides growth capital to Tumaini and was structured through Adenia Capital (IV), a €230m fund.

Established in 2006, Tumaini operates a chain of nine supermarkets in Kenya. 

A total of six stores are located in neighbourhood estates in Nairobi, and another three stores are located in Kisumu. 

The investment will not only be utilized to expand Tumaini’s store network in convenient and high potential neighbourhood locations, but also strengthen operational efficiencies that are aligned to international retail best practices.

Together with the founders of Tumaini, Adenia will partner with a strong management team to drive Tumaini’s expansion as well as strengthen corporate governance and leadership.

Moses Nditika, one of the founders of Tumaini said: “We are delighted to bring onboard Adenia Partners whose expertise will accelerate Tumaini’s expansion plans as well as offer our customers an enhanced product offering and customer experience at both our new and existing stores.” 

Adenia Partners and Tumaini’s founders together with the management team are aligned to achieve Tumaini’s growth objectives which will result in opening of new stores located in convenient locations that meet the changing needs of urban customers in Kenya.

Martha Osier, Principal at Adenia, said: “We were attracted to Tumaini as an investment because the Company’s stores offer an affordable product offering at convenient locations that complement customers’ busy lifestyles. We look forward to partnering with a strong management team that will leverage Adenia’s expertise in strategic and operational improvements, in addition to implementation of financial controls in order to achieve Tumaini’s ambitious development plan.”

Founded in 2002, Adenia Partners is a private equity management firm investing in some of Africa’s most promising businesses. 

Through three funds, Adenia Capital (II), Adenia Capital (III), Adenia Capital (IV), the firm currently manages $450 million of assets from its five offices based in Mauritius, Madagascar, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Kenya.