Amethis and Naivas launch the Solidarity Project in Kenya

The epidemic of Covid-19 is still present on the African continent and continues to affect its population, especially the most disadvantaged and poorest. This situation is particularly felt in Kenya, where we opened an office in 2019. Families in poor neighborhoods continue to suffer from the restrictions linked to the epidemic and the general economic slowdown that results from it.

In June 2020, together with Naivas, a large local supermarket chain and portfolio company of Amethis Fund 2, Amethis launched an initiative to support these communities by providing basic necessities and essential goods to these populations.

The project is sponsored by the Amethis team, Edmond de Rothschild Private Equity and our co-investors in Naivas – namely the Mukuha family (majority shareholders of Naivas) and all other stakeholders in the transaction (which includes Amethis Fund II, IFC, DEG and MCB). On the ground, food packages were provided by Naivas, and a local NGO, Shamas, supported by the local Amethis team in Nairobi, organized the distribution and logistics.

Two distributions were organized, in July and October 2020. The distributions were a success, enabling the delivery of more than 4,000 baskets of Naivas goods to as many households in the most disadvantaged communities in Nairobi and beyond, in Narok County and the coastal region.