Fresh from the signing of their $150m trade finance facility with Natixis Bank, Meridian announced their first debt raise of $30 million on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius on 25 January.  

In a process managed by Safyr Capital Partners, the debt raise was taken up by Investec Bank (Mauritius) Ltd, an international banking and wealth management group, attesting to the market’s confidence in Meridian future growth plans.

This is the first step in a targeted $100 million debt raise to assist Meridian to continually improve and increase its service provision to farmers in the south-east African region and serve as a platform for expansion into new markets. 

Meridian’s Treasury team is led by Steve Bezuidenhout and Andre Bruyns who have played a key role in accessing this source of funding.  

“We are delighted to partner with Safyr to provide us with an effective and efficient means of financing our enhanced business plan, and we see great potential in pursuing further funding on this platform”, Christos Giannakis, CEO of Meridian, noted. 

“The Note issuance and listing on the SEM by Meridian once again sends a strong signal to the international markets that Mauritius remains a robust jurisdiction to attract capital for a significant player within the African continent to support its growth plans”, stated Deva Marianen, Managing Director of Safyr Capital Partners. 

Agriculture is the dominant sector in Africa and Meridian are committed to food security in the south east region, increased productivity, cost effectiveness and importantly market accessibility and trade efficiency. 

Meridian develops knowledge, shares skills, creates jobs, educates, and uplift communities. The newest bulk blending facility in Malawi, will provide up to 30% import substitution for Malawi and employment opportunities and food security for its people.  

Established in the mid 1990’s in Malawi, Meridian has grown to be one of the largest and most effective importers, blenders and distributors of inputs to smallholder and commercial farmers in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia.  

For Meridian, majority owned by Ma’aden from 2019, a global phosphate producer listed on the Tadawul Saudi Stock Exchange, and the 14th largest mining company in the world, the process is part of the shared vision for increasing fertilizer consumption and crop yields in the region. 

Safyr Capital Partners is a niche investment banking institution licensed by the Financial Services Commission in Mauritius providing a range of financial services aimed at delivering value to the African continent primarily through the Mauritian capital markets. 

Safyr Capital is an impact investor with an agnostic approach to asset selection, focusing on asset classes that will have a direct or indirect positive impact to the community with the aim to disrupt the prevailing market through healthy competition that creates local and regional growth.