$10m investment to catapult KAS Africa’s growth

In a transaction aimed at supporting economic growth in Africa, KAS Africa has strengthened its balance sheet with a $10m investment from TRT Investments. Abby Vorster talks to Vinny Perumal, CEO of KAS Africa, about the Midrand-based contract manufacturer’s unique selling points and its plans for aggressive growth over the next few years.

As one of Africa’s leading contract manufacturers of personal, home, baby and oral care FMCG products, KAS Africa has built its reputation on achieving the highest levels of quality throughout the manufacturing value chain.

The company is committed to meeting industry demands for a reliable contract manufacturing company that can respond effectively to local and global market dynamics. Based in Midrand, Gauteng, KAS Africa offers a full basket of in-house services from research, design, testing and sourcing of raw materials to production, packaging and the delivery of premium-quality products.

Did you know?

KAS Africa was established in 2019 after acquiring the assets of Le-Sel Research and taking over employees from the previous company. Since then, the business has been completely rebuilt by KAS Africa in terms of processes, systems and capacities and it has introduced new capabilities while ensuring world-class quality and safety standards are maintained.

This 360-degree service offering takes clients’ ideas from concept and design through to sourcing and completion. KAS Africa’s world-class formulation, stability and safety testing facilities also provide clients with foundational support.

WOMEN IN MANUFACTURING

KAS Africa is a majority black woman-owned business, with a focus on helping women previously excluded from the industry to become successful beauty entrepreneurs.

“We have established an academy for previously-excluded females which gives them cost-effective access to a programme that provides them with everything they need to take an idea from a concept to a finished product. The programme uses KAS Africa’s formulation, design, manufacturing, packing, labelling and stability testing services and gives them access to our distribution partners to get their products on the shelves at retailers,” explains Perumal.

Before joining KAS Africa, Perumal worked in the IT and telecoms industry for over 20 years and successfully built and managed a business specialising in backup power for mobile operators. Her drive has always been to localise manufacturing in South Africa, but this was challenging to do in the IT and telecoms industry due to the competition from China.

Determined not to give up her ambition, Perumal decided to enter the personal care and contract manufacturing industry, which led to her discovering a second passion for empowering previously-excluded women to become successful entrepreneurs.

Perumal enjoys the innovation associated with the industry. She is used to the pace and her expertise in redesigning businesses has proven valuable in establishing KAS Africa.

“Over the years, we have built one of the continent’s foremost manufacturing plants in terms of size, volume, product variety and capability standards. We have earned a reputation for delivering quality, localised and flexible manufacturing capabilities, which meet the most rigorous international standards,” she adds.

We have earned a reputation for delivering quality, localised and flexible manufacturing capabilities

AGGRESSIVE GROWTH PLANS

The transaction by TRT Investments includes the purchase of a 49% stake in KAS Africa as well as capital to purchase a new plant and equipment to build the manufacturer’s capacity and capabilities. It also provides KAS Africa with access to working capital put in place by TRT Investments with the support of the African Export-Import Bank.

This will enable KAS Africa to ramp up capital investment in line with its plan to expand in South Africa and, more importantly, throughout Africa. Perumal says, over the next three years, the company will establish two new manufacturing plants on the continent – one in East and another in West Africa.

“We believe continental domestic investment and confidence in regional markets can transform Africa into an economic superpower. There is a close fit between our contract manufacturing business and TRT Investments’ vision for unleashing Africa’s potential as an industrial powerhouse of the future,” she comments.

The investment will also help the contract manufacturer enhance its product range and expand its client base across the continent. Through its efforts to localise the manufacturing of FMCG products, KAS Africa has become mindful of just how diverse the consumer landscape in Africa is. Perumal says the company celebrates this diversity and is deliberate in how it champions, for instance, the globally recognised term ‘multicultural hair’, instead of referring to ‘ethnic hair’.

KAS Africa also specialises in manufacturing products for niche categories in hair care with its hot fill capability, differentiating it from other manufacturers in the market. In terms of beauty innovations, the company is researching CBDinfused skin and face care products, which it will eventually add to its basket of offerings.

A LEADER IN THE INDUSTRY

KAS Africa is a Level 1 B-BBEE company whose processes are deeply integrated in quality, health, safety and environmental management systems. The company recently completed an integrated management system audit with SGS which covers ISO 9001 / ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001.

The manufacturer’s facility is considered one of the best and biggest in the industry and it is said to be “the leading local contract manufacturing company in terms of size, volume, quality and capability”.

The manufacturing processes at KAS Africa are all carried out in separate product-specific areas, i.e. personal care, home care, baby care and oral care. Within each of these areas, different processes, specific operations and combinations are possible.

Based on these high-quality operational standards and the immense potential of the business, Adam Molai, chairperson of TRT Investments, is positive about the transaction.

“We have bought a significant share in KAS Africa because it fits into our strategy of industrialising Africa and helping to build the continent into the alternate supply chain of the world. Our objective is to increase KAS Africa’s breadth and depth and to grow the company aggressively. We are particularly excited about the company’s potential for expansion into East and West Africa,” says Molai.

TRT Investments is a Mauritian independent investment holding business with more than $200m in assets under management. The company manages a diverse portfolio of investments across Botswana, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, the United States and Europe. •