The Irvine’s Group has confirmed that Acacia Foods, B.V. and Tyson Foods, Inc. have committed to a long-term strategic investment in the Irvine’s Group holding company, Buchan Ltd., which owns and controls Cobb Africa, Irvine’s Botswana, Irvine’s Mozambique, and Irvine’s Tanzania. “Irvine’s aims to be the leading and most trusted chicken company in Sub-Saharan Africa,” said Craig Irvine, CEO of the Irvine’s Group.
Regarding the expertise and depth of the new investment group, Irvine further noted that in Acacia Foods, B.V., led by former Tyson Foods, Inc. CEO, Donnie Smith, we have found a kindred spirit with vast experience and an unrivaled passion for developing and integrating poultry throughout Africa. Donnie’s insight and depth in the poultry industry along with the resources of Tyson Foods, Inc. as a world leader in the poultry industry, allows us to accelerate our success across the continent.”
The Irvine’s Group, started as a family-run business in 1954 with operations in Zimbabwe, has rapidly expanded into an integrated poultry business servicing the Sub-Saharan region of Africa.
Emphasizing an interest and desire to participate in the expansion of a business critical to the daily welfare of Africans, Smith offered that “current projections predict that the population on the African continent will double within the next 3-4 decades to approximately two billion.
Affordable sources of protein will be increasingly important as the population swells. Poultry is the most efficient land-based converter of feed to protein. Having spent 36 years at Tyson Foods, Inc., I am thrilled to be working with the Irvines to fulfill our shared dream of creating affordable food solutions through the poultry value chain across Sub-Saharan Africa.”
