Nambu Looks to Close Feedstock Gap after Seed Fund close
Nambu Group, a South African Agritech business, has received seed funding from E Squared Investments for its technology, which uses the larvae of the Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia Illucens) to make high-nutrition animal feed. By providing food and organic waste to the Black Soldier Fly larvae, who then proliferate to produce protein feeds which are marketed as live feedstock.
About 30% of the total gross value of agricultural production in Africa is currently accounted for by the production of livestock. The demands of growing human populations, however, are putting a strain on production. The cattle industry is unable to thrive and satisfy the growing demand because of the high cost of feed. Due to their high nutrient content, insects have been recognized as prospective replacements for the traditional protein sources utilized in animal feed.
Black Soldier Flies are not pests and can be raised and harvested without special facilities. Their larvae have 29% fat and 42% crude protein, yet they have more saturated fats than most insects. They don’t concentrate mycotoxins or insecticides. They are already grown and recommended for use as animal feed, but with regional legal restrictions on how this is done.
By tackling the urgent problem of food waste disposal at landfills and offering creative methods for recycling outside of composting, the startup provides a sustainable recycling service for businesses.
One of the factors that encouraged main investor E Squared investments to back Nambu’s expansion plans was the market potential. Data has shown that the alternative protein market reached a value of USD 60.45 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow at a rate of 18.5% between 2022 and 2028. This growth is attributed to feed manufacturers’ increasing emphasis on developing feed products with high nutritional value.
Nambu will use the funding to double its current 23-person staff, upgrade and expand its Black Soldier Fly (BSF) production facilities, improve product sales revenues and increase the sustainability of the business.
Lowell Scarr, founder and CEO of Nambu said: ”Going into the new year with additional E Squared funding means that we can crystalise some promising engagements and expand without compromising our supply of high-quality feed or negatively affecting existing relationships and commitments.
“It also means that we can undertake R&D on further product offerings and process significantly more waste as part of our expanded waste management service,” said Scarr.
“We are excited to augment our Nambu partnership for this next phase of the growing venture. Expansion at this stage makes a lot of business sense and we are confident of Lowell’s ability to take Nambu to the next level whilst remaining committed to his vision,” said Tshilidzi Matlala, E Squared’s chief portfolio officer.
In addition to its primary service, Nambu also offers waste management as a service and is attempting to increase its capacity to give a sustainable and different recycling option for companies that produce a lot of food waste. The firm will be able to process up to 20 tonnes more food waste each day after increasing the capacity of its facilities.