EHA Impact Ventures has announced a $50,000 investment in Mainstream Lime-Light Ltd, the company behind Ma’Zaine Foods, a women-led food processing business in Kebbi State. The funding aims to expand production and support the company’s planned entry into ready-to-use therapeutic food manufacturing, according to the investment announcement.
Funding Details and Business Performance Link
The financing, structured as a convertible revenue-based loan, will help the Birnin Kebbi-based company acquire equipment for its existing product lines and begin producing therapeutic food. Repayments will be tied to the company’s performance, with recovered capital earmarked for investment in other women-led businesses, the firm said.
The investment was announced during a facility tour attended by representatives of the Kebbi State Ministry of Health and the Kebbi State Investment Promotion Agency. Alongside the funding, Ma’Zaine Foods will receive technical assistance, strategic guidance, and communications support.
Addressing Child Malnutrition in Northern Nigeria
The proposed expansion targets a pressing concern for families in northern Nigeria: access to nutrition products for children affected by severe acute malnutrition. The announcement did not specify when therapeutic food production would begin, the expected output, or how the products would be distributed, leaving the scale of the expansion and its potential reach unclear.
Founded by Maryam Yakubu, Ma’Zaine Foods already produces Tom Brown cereal, date powder, sweet potato flour, baobab fruit powder, finger millet flour, and date seed coffee. The company says its product range serves different consumer groups, including children and breastfeeding mothers, and it also offers food processing training and manufacturing services to other businesses.
Local Production and Economic Opportunities
Yakubu said the funding would help the company increase capacity, reach more customers, and create local opportunities. “Our mission has always been to make nutritious foods more accessible and affordable for families,” she said.
The planned expansion comes against the backdrop of persistent nutrition challenges in northern Nigeria, including Kebbi. EHA Impact Ventures said supporting production closer to the communities being served could improve access to nutrition products while creating economic opportunities.
Evelyn Castle, chief executive of EHA Impact Ventures, said the firm invests in women entrepreneurs addressing problems they understand through their experience of living and working in those communities. She described Ma’Zaine Foods as part of wider efforts to expand locally produced nutrition options for children and families.
For the Kebbi business, the immediate priority is translating the financing into equipment and additional production capacity. Whether that expansion makes products more affordable and accessible will depend on implementation, pricing, and the company’s ability to reach households and institutional buyers.
