Naspers announced on Wednesday an investment in the food service industry with a stake in the Food Supply Network (FSN).
FSN is an independent business-to-business marketplace that integrates ordering systems of manufacturers, distributors, and buyers (restaurants, hotels and retailers) of food products.
Naspers’s R1.4 billion early-stage tech investment vehicle aimed at boosting the South African tech sector.
“Naspers Foundry invests in early-stage and founder-led South African tech companies and we’re delighted to announce our backing of Food Supply Network,” Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, CEO South Africa of Naspers, said.
“It’s the third investment we’ve made through Naspers Foundry and we’re excited to add a food-focused company to our growing portfolio.”
The platform streamlines the process across the board – buyers reduce their administrative overhead, payment reconciliations and out-of-stock events; distributors improve service delivery and grow market share; manufacturers drive sales by accurately showcasing all their brands, products and promotions throughout their supply chain.
“The FSN deal is a great addition to our portfolio of early-stage tech investments. It’s a classic marketplace model using technology to more efficiently link the three distinct stakeholder groups involved in the process of efficiently ordering and moving food products across the supply chain,” Fabian Whate, Head of Naspers Foundry, said.
“We look forward to helping the FSN team continue to grow their business.”
FSN addresses a global problem. It is already active in South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, and will soon expand to Angola as it extends its reach to the rest of the continent and beyond.
“We’re extremely excited about our partnership with Naspers Foundry. Naspers brings unparalleled global experience, marketplace expertise and extensive networks to the table. Their capabilities complement our own, as well as those of our existing partners at Venturen, who also participated in this round,” FSN founder and CEO, Gert Steyn, said.
“Naspers shares our vision of optimising the local and global food supply chains in an industry that still relies on manual processes.”
Last year, Naspers Foundry invested in online home cleaning services marketplace business, SweepSouth and in subscription-based artificial intelligence (AI) agritech company, Aerobotics in May this year.
