SEAF, in collaboration with DFC, USAID, and ABCapital, invests in Orient Tea, a women-led Tunisian food company, to enhance its growth and export potential post-COVID.

Target Company Overview

Orient Tea is a prominent Tunisian food innovation firm founded in 2013, known for producing natural instant tea products under the brand name Kyufi. Headquartered in Ben Arous, a city in northeastern Tunisia, Orient Tea is distinguished as a women-led business, with 45% of its full-time workforce consisting of women and 80% of its contracted farm workers also being women. The company has embraced a proactive approach in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, successfully pivoting to retail and B2B networks to sustain its operations during restrictive lockdowns and the closure of key distribution channels.

The need for capital has become increasingly critical for Orient Tea as it looks to enhance its digital presence and expand its warehousing capacity to mitigate supply chain disruptions. With SEAF's investment, Orient Tea aims to bolster its production capabilities and tap into new export markets while contributing to the creation of local jobs and providing sustainable training for smallholder farmers within its network.

Industry Overview in Tunisia

Tunisia's food industry has faced significant challenges in recent years, particularly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted supply chains and diminished market accessibility. Nevertheless, there remains an upward