Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
AfricInvest has announced that it has acquired an undisclosed minority stake in Justrite Superstore, a leading Nigerian family-owned retail department store.
The new collaboration is poised to make Justrite Superstore the king of retail in Nigeria. This, the investor said, will be done through operation optimization, brand visibility, and customer growth, among others.
In a statement, AfricInvest said the partnership with Justrite will contribute to building affordable grocery outlets that source local products, support domestic agriculture value chains, and create new jobs while improving the availability of safe, high-quality foods.
The new investor, with its 30 years of footprint across markets, aims to help accelerate Justrite’s growth by putting in place enhanced governance tools and digitalizing the company’s processes and services.
It plans to leverage its multisector investment platform and create synergies between its other portfolio companies and Justrite to increase its reach and provide access to technical expertise.
Founded over 22 years ago by Dr and Mrs Aderinwale and Mrs Omoboye, Justrite caters to consumers in the Southwestern region of Nigeria with 17 stores across Lagos (Ikeja), Ogun (Abeokuta), and Osun State (Osogbo), with a combined shop floor exceeding c.20,000m² and 57,000 Stock Keeping Units (SKUs).
This transaction builds on AfricInvest’s decade-long relationship with the Justrite team that began with an investment from the firm’s credit vehicle, AfricInvest Private Credit (APC).
It also marks the fifth investment of AF IV, AfricInvest’s flagship fund which invests in African mid-cap companies across diverse sectors to accelerate their regional growth, delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns and supporting inclusive and sustainable development.
Speaking on this, Dr Ayo Aderinwale, co-founder and Chairman of Justrite, said, “As Justrite embarks on a new growth phase, Tosin, Boye, and I are very excited to partner with Africinvest to help both our consolidation in the local market as well as our exploration of other markets outside Nigeria.
“We look forward to benefiting from their immense experience across Africa to galvanize our expansion. We welcome our new partners.”
On her part, Mrs Abiola Ojo-Osagie, Senior Partner and MD, AfricInvest Anglophone West Africa, commented, “Justrite is a clear market leader with well-defined growth potential and we are very proud to be partnering with such knowledgeable and dynamic sponsors.
“The management team has demonstrated a strong willingness to sustainably expand their footprint across Nigeria and beyond. AfricInvest will support them in enhancing their corporate structure and improving operational performance. We are indeed excited to play a role in Justrite’s growth journey.”
“Our mission in AfricInvest is to identify companies like Justrite which possess strong growth potential and support them in their expansion while upscaling governance standards.
“Through this partnership, AfricInvest and Justrite will be increasing access in largely underserved neighbourhoods to everyday essentials while upholding high sanitary standards, contributing to the improvement of Africans’ daily lives,” added Mr Mohammed Sebti, Partner Africinvest.
