AgDevCo commits $15m follow-on investment to Victory Group

LONDON, April 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AgDevCo, the specialist agriculture investor, has made a $15 million follow-on investment in Victory Group, an East African aquaculture company producing and distributing Nile tilapia.

Victory Group farms tilapia on Lake Victoria in Kenya and Lake Kivu in Rwanda. The company sells fresh fish to thousands of mama samakis (female market traders), via more than one hundred sales outlets. The company expects to produce 30,000 tons of fish in 2026, helping broaden access to affordable and sustainable protein across the region.

The financing will support Victory Group’s next phase of expansion, including multiple new farming sites in Kenya and Rwanda. AgDevCo’s mezzanine loan will help the company respond to rising regional demand and improve reliability of supply for market traders.

Joseph Rehmann, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Victory Group, said: “Our aim is to build a leading aquaculture business that supplies nutritious protein at scale, while creating opportunities for the traders and communities that depend on our value chain. AgDevCo’s investment will help us expand production and strengthen distribution as demand for affordable, high-quality fish continues to grow across East Africa.”

John Jakobsson, Investment Director at AgDevCo, said: “Our follow-on investment reflects our confidence in Victory Group’s management team and growth potential. Since our initial investment of $4 million in 2021, the company has significantly increased production while improving operational efficiency. We are delighted to put our capital to work to drive more impact in the region.”

Trinity International (UK), BJTK (Netherlands), Martha Mbugua & Associates (Kenya) and Certa Law (Rwanda) provided AgDevCo with legal transaction services.

AgDevCo invests exclusively in the African agriculture sector, providing patient capital to businesses that create jobs, strengthen food systems and support economic growth. It has $340m in assets under management and has made more than 88 investments to date, including 51 exits.

Contact for media enquiries: John Jakobsson, Investment Director ([email protected]).

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Gulf Hotels Group Expands Hospitality Portfolio with Launch of Gulf Catering

Manama, Bahrain, Feb. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gulf Hotels Group (GHG), Bahrain’s leading hospitality group, has announced the launch of Gulf Catering, a dedicated hospitality and catering services company designed to deliver structured, scalable food and service solutions across institutional, corporate, and event–driven environments.

The launch marks a significant development in the Group’s evolution, translating more than five decades of experience in premium hospitality and restaurant operations into a fully integrated catering and hospitality platform. Over the years, Gulf Hotels Group has built a strong reputation for service excellence and food quality among individual and corporate consumers. With Gulf Catering, the Group is extending that trusted standard to a wider range of sectors through a clearly defined operating model and disciplined service framework.

Gulf Catering will provide catering and hospitality services to schools, universities, hospitals, corporate offices, industrial facilities, and large–scale events, in addition to serving individuals and private functions. The company operates under unified quality standards and structured processes designed to ensure consistency, safety, and reliability across all points of service, while preserving the creativity, experience quality, and diverse culinary offering—spanning both local and international cuisine—that define Gulf Hotels Group’s brands.

Central to Gulf Catering’s operations is a newly developed Central Kitchen, purpose–built to support high–volume, multi–site delivery. Designed as an advanced production hub aligned with leading international catering operations, the facility operates under strict quality control and food safety standards and is equipped to support complex, large–scale service requirements.

A key component of the Central Kitchen is a dedicated Research & Development (R&D) kitchen, reflecting global best practice in large–scale catering and hospitality operations. The R&D kitchen enables structured menu development, testing, and refinement, supporting innovation, standardisation, and localisation of offerings in line with sector–specific needs. This approach mirrors established models used by major catering platforms internationally, where continuous product development and operational testing are integral to maintaining quality at scale.

The Central Kitchen has been developed with a forward–looking operational vision, incorporating modern service models, including cloud kitchen capabilities. This allows Gulf Catering to deliver consistent service across multiple locations with speed, efficiency, and operational discipline, while remaining flexible to evolving market requirements.
Commenting on the launch, Ahmed Janahi, Group Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Hotels Group, said: “The launch of Gulf Catering represents a carefully considered step within a new vision for Gulf Hotels Group. Through this platform, we are translating more than five decades of experience in delivering premium food and hospitality into an integrated operating model that can function at scale and with higher operational efficiency. This initiative supports our strategy to diversify the Group’s business portfolio, strengthen our position in the hospitality sector, and deliver integrated solutions to institutions, corporates, and large–scale events.”

Raed Mayoof, General Manager of Gulf Catering, added: “Gulf Catering has been developed around an integrated operating model that prioritises food quality, safety, and service consistency across all operating locations. Supported by the Central Kitchen and a dedicated R&D capability, we are able to develop, test, and deliver menus that meet the operational and cultural needs of different sectors, while maintaining the service and food standards long associated with Gulf Hotels Group.”
The launch of Gulf Catering reinforces Gulf Hotels Group’s commitment to developing structured, future–ready operating models within the hospitality sector—models capable of meeting complex, multi–sector requirements while maintaining consistent quality, governance, and service delivery.

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