Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc is a big company in Nigeria that makes flour. They want to spend up to $1 billion in the next four years to make their business bigger and better.
The boss of the company, Mr. John Coumantaros, shared this news in an interview on Tuesday. He said this big plan shows that Flour Mills wants to put more money into Nigeria.
Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc wants to invest at least $500 million to make more sugar in a place called Niger State. Right now, they make 100,000 tons of sugar a year. They want to make more than 400,000 tons each year. Mr. John Coumantaros said this is part of their goal.
They also want to spend $100 million to build a factory that will turn cassava into starch, so they don’t have to bring starch from other places. In 2023/2024, Flour Mills spent a lot of money, about N1.8 trillion, on getting raw materials, which meant they made less profit, a drop of 91%.
Mr. Coumantaros also talked about making more breakfast cereals to eat in the morning.
The company said they will use mostly their own money for this big plan.
Mr. Coumantaros said, “We will need a lot of money, and we will provide most of it ourselves.”
“But you know, when you are growing, you can’t do everything by yourself. You have to ask for help from experts to grow the business and create more jobs for people here.”
Changing How They Do Business
The company is also thinking about changing the way they work because a local partner named Excelsior wants to buy a small piece of the company and make it private.
Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc has over 22 small parts of its business and plans to group them into just five different companies, Mr. John Coumantaros explained. “We want to find partners with skills and money to help us grow our sugar and food business. We have big plans to grow and invest more,” he said.
The company is also eager to explore other parts of Africa. They see a big chance in selling their products in many African countries, starting with places in West Africa.
“With the Africa continental Free Trade Area, we believe it’s time to think beyond just Nigeria,” Mr. Coumantaros said. “Our dream is to build a big food business across Africa, with our main office in Nigeria.”
Sharing the Business with More People
Mr. Coumantaros also talked about possibly listing their company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX) and maybe other stock markets too. They want to let people invest in their company after making some changes.
They hope that, in the future, they can be strong enough to open up to investors again, perhaps even becoming a company that operates across Africa. First, they need to organize everything well and gather enough resources for this big dream.
Important Things to Know
This $1 billion plan in Nigeria is good news for President Tinubu. In the past 18 months, many big international companies left the Nigerian market, especially in the medicine and everyday goods sectors.
But now, things seem to be getting better. Last month, Coca-Cola also said they plan to invest $1 billion in Nigeria to help their factories and distribute their products more widely.