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Unmarkets builds and invests in African food and agribusiness ventures alongside established family-owned companies.
Build with us
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We create new joint ventures with established, family-owned businesses in Africa. Our local partners bring existing infrastructure, sourcing networks, operational expertise, and a track record of scaling real-economy businesses in complex environments.
Unmarkets brings expertise in building global brands, developing new products, and attracting world-class talent. Together, we create high-margin businesses with ethical supply chains and brands positioned for global reach. Each new joint venture is co-invested in by Unmarkets and the local partner, creating alignment from the outset.
We invest through our $12m capital vehicle, backed to date by Shell Foundation, Small Foundation, and values-aligned family offices. Our sector focus is food and agribusiness, and across our portfolio we target material income uplift and improved climate resilience for 200K smallholder farmers, 60% of whom are women.
A structured, time-bound phase in which, together with a prospective partner, we research and define the business case for a high-impact business with high-quality earnings, supported by clear revenue, EBITDA, and impact targets.
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A 9–12 month phase to move from concept to operating business, with early traction and clear KPIs. Both partners contribute a right-sized initial investment ($250k–$500k each) and begin early hiring, supported by Unmarkets’ platform expertise across brand, product, and supply chain.
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An experienced, full-time CEO is appointed, with competitive compensation and equity. Unmarkets invests follow-on growth capital ($2m–$4m) to help the business expand operations, become cash-flow positive, and prepare for future fundraising or exit. Joint governance continues through a shared board.
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We are supported by patient, institutional impact-capital and family offices who back our unique joint venture model, and provide independent impact monitoring and evaluation for our portfolio companies.
Our partners are excited to build globally relevant brands and co-create commercially ambitious businesses together. Just as importantly, they are motivated to build companies that create real, lasting impact – strengthening livelihoods, supporting inclusive growth, and contributing to the wider economy.
We are supported by patient, institutional impact-capital and family offices who back our unique joint venture model, and provide independent impact monitoring and evaluation for our portfolio companies.
Milan leads Unmarkets’ strategy and capital raising, and works closely with the VPs and JV partners on Co-Designs and Builds.
Before founding Unmarkets, Milan was Managing Partner at TIL Ventures, where he co-created ventures with Barclays, Disney, Pearson and BMW. His work helped establish Barclays’ impact investing business and was featured in case studies by Harvard Business Review and Saïd Business School.
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Rohit was CEO of Tilda Rice for 37 years, growing the business into a market-leading brand with revenues of $200 million. He later secured private equity backing to found Vibrant Foods, building Europe’s largest ethnic foods group through the acquisition of multiple family businesses.
Rohit supports Milan and portfolio company CEOs in delivering strong commercial and impact performance.
Quresh was Marketing Director at Colgate-Palmolive, where he conceived and launched new businesses across the US, Europe and Africa. He later founded Zahra Foods, a dried fruit brand and manufacturer in Uganda, before exiting the business and joining Unmarkets.
At Unmarkets, Quresh co-leads JVs through their Co-Design and Build phases, working across strategy, finance and operations.
Paul was co-founder and CEO of AFRIpads, Africa’s largest reusable sanitary pad manufacturer, based in Uganda. After exiting the business, he served as Chief Operating Officer at Giraffe Bioenergy in Kenya before joining Unmarkets.
At Unmarkets, Paul co-leads JVs through their Build phase, focusing on execution, launch milestones and leadership recruitment to support a smooth transition into Scale.
Francisco was Head of P&G’s Laundry Business in Sub-Saharan Africa, in a career spanning brand, commercial and P&L leadership. After leaving the corporate world, he advised the World Bank, private equity firms and growth-stage businesses, including KOKO Networks and African Originals.
At Unmarkets, Francisco co-leads JVs through their Co-Design and Build phases, with a focus on brand and commercial strategy.
Loraine was Investment Manager at 54 Collective (formerly Founders Factory Africa), focusing on venture investing and venture support. Earlier in her career, she worked at Capria Ventures and in investment banking at Stanbic Bank Kenya.
At Unmarkets, she works with the CEO and board on capital raising and structuring, while also co-leading JVs through their Co-Design phase.
Adelaide’s background is in venture building and investing. She was previously an Investment Associate at 54 Collective VC (formerly Founders Factory Africa) and Viktoria Ventures.
At Unmarkets, Adelaide works closely with the VPs across both the Co-Design and Build phases.
Lulu’s background spans software development, business operations and support to founder-CEOs. At Unmarkets, she serves as Executive Assistant to the CEO, supports the firm’s operations, and works closely with the VPs across both the Co-Design and Build phases.
Adam was COO and CFO of Bridgepoint, one of Europe’s leading private equity firms. Earlier in his career, he was CFO of Pret A Manger and NBCUniversal. He also serves on the boards of Burger King UK&Europe, Itsu and Moneycorp Bank.
He brings more than 35 years of business and private equity experience and engages with Unmarkets on a fortnightly basis.
Meera is Head of Smallholder Farmer Portfolio at Shell Foundation, reporting to the Foundation’s CEO. She has more than 15 years of experience seeding, scaling and supporting pioneering social enterprises, venture studios and funds across Africa and India, including M-KOPA, Factor E Ventures and Equator.
As a catalytic investor in Unmarkets, Meera engages on a fortnightly basis, with a focus on impact strategy and interventions.
Rupin is Owner and Managing Director of First International Investments. He has more than 35 years of experience in portfolio management, investing and business leadership. Over the course of his career, he raised and managed $5 billion in assets across multiple asset classes globally through a multi-family office, which he later exited.
Based in Nairobi, David is an Investment Director at Small Foundation, also a catalytic investor in Unmarkets. Through both his work at Small Foundation and his earlier role as Managing Director of the Alphamundi Foundation, he brings more than a decade of experience investing in and supporting social enterprises across East Africa.
Ali is a Senior Vice President at Helios Investment Partners, with more than 13 years of experience in investment banking and private equity. As part of one of Africa’s leading private equity deal teams, he brings valuable commercial insight to Unmarkets’ portfolio companies.
