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Episode 02 The Investor Series
Luni Libës on why Africa Eats only backs profitable companies
Luni Libës of Africa Eats, a publicly listed investment company building Africa's food and agriculture supply chain, on profitable growth, diligence by doing, and why he invests in frozen peas rather than AI.
The portfolio
From $600K to $56M in a decade
Africa Eats is not a fund. It is a publicly listed investment company that takes minority stakes in businesses that buy from farmers, process a little and sell to retailers, and it holds them rather than selling. Luni puts total portfolio revenue at around $600,000 a decade ago and $56 million last year.
Total revenue across the Africa Eats portfolio, two points as stated by Luni Libës in the interview.
about two dozen
$1M in revenue
$10M in revenue
first cheque
The world is investing in AI. We invested in frozen peas.Luni Libës, Africa Eats
Key takeaways
How Africa Eats decides
What he backs, what makes him pass, and what a founder should send before the first call.
Profitable, or it is a pass
"We look a little like a venture capital fund, but we only invest in profitable companies." Even at $24,000 a year in revenue, no profit means no deal.
Growth of 50% to 100% a year
A five year old, profitable company growing 10% a year is not one of theirs. They want businesses that can compound fast.
Diligence by doing
Companies come through an accelerator, complete homework (a financial model, a pitch deck, a site visit video) and then get a small first cheque. "There is no better due diligence than that."
Hold, don't flip
Minority stakes only, inspired by Berkshire Hathaway, with follow on cheques as companies grow. Some holdings have received over $1 million across several cheques, with no cap.
For founders reaching out cold, his advice is simple: send a proper pitch deck. He points founders to his own lesson on how to build one, and sends incomplete decks back until they are done.
