ZAMBIA – Inside Capital Partners has announced the merger of Kalulushi Clay Bricks (KCB) with Beta Holdings Limited to create a regional building materials champion.

KCB is Zambia’s oldest and largest clay brick manufacturing facility.

Initially a minority investor, Inside took full control of KCB in 2018 transforming the company into a well-structured business positioned for growth.

 KCB services the construction market in Zambia and the DRC region.

On the other hand, BETA is Zimbabwe’s largest building materials supplier with operations in clay bricks, concrete products and aggregates with its origins dating back to 1953 when it was established as Alpha Bricks.

KCB and BETA share a joint vision of becoming the largest building materials operator in several Southern African Countries.

The combination of KCB and BETA’s assets and expertise will give birth to a merged business well positioned to grow exponentially through the synergies created while maintaining shared values of integrity and operational excellence.

Rushil Patel, Interim Chief Executive Officer at KCB and Principal at Inside Capital Partners said: “We are extremely excited to work with the Beta Holdings team to materialize the joint vision of creating a diversified regional building materials player. KCB has grown to be the leader of the Face Brick market in Zambia will now be able to tap into Beta’s Stock Brick production expertise, a new complimentary product which we feel is truly relevant for our markets. By increasing our geographical reach, we are also able to optimize the significant production capacity of the KCB assets and enhance the opportunities for our staff, customers and suppliers including the wider socio-economic environment.”

On his side, Jerome Lagesse, Managing Director of Inside Capital Partners said: “Inside has a mission of actively supporting local players with a relevant business model and help them become regional champions. From the early days of that investment, the strong potential of KCB was identified by our team and – despite a complex economic environment – we have worked hard to develop that enterprise and find the right partner to bring it to the next level. We feel that Beta’s team, under the leadership of Godfrey, is the perfect match. The complementarity between the companies is also extraordinarily strong and we are confident that indeed, we are participating in the creation of a regional champion”

Mr Godfrey Manambara, Group Chief Executive Officer at Beta said: “This merger will strengthen BETA’s market leadership position in the infrastructural inputs market in Southern Africa through a combination of KCB’s energy efficient manufacturing expertise and BETA’s innovative and quality centric production. Our combined brands and businesses mean increased scale and relevance in our respective markets and the region, we are thrilled about the unique opportunities this merger will create for our customers, employees and business partners.”

Inside Capital Partners

Inside Capital Partners is an independent private equity manager aiming to invest through equity in strong potential SMEs in selected Southeast African countries.

Inside believes that access to high level information, a strong focus on selected geographies and enterprises along with a strong network of operational and business experts are key to enhancing value creation.

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