Cogitel headquarters near Sfax in Tunisia.The flexible packaging company’s business is booming. Despite the economic downturn elsewhere in the world, Cogitel is still expanding, mainly across North Africa and Europe. Nadia Zghal is director general and the daughter of the company’s founder who set up the business in 1984.
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(2/1248 c.) “We are constantly hiring whether its engineering staff or other specialists or the general workforce. 2009 has been a great year and we’ve enjoyed a two-digit growth in turnover as well as reinforcing our reputation internationally.”
« On recrute toujours, aussi bien au niveau de l’encadrement, donc ingénieurs ou maîtrisard ou au niveau du personnel ouvrier, donc beaucoup de recrutement. Nous avons eu une bonne année 2009 donc accroissement chiffre d’affaires, un accroissement a deux chiffres et une renommée qui se voudrait aujourd’hui internationale »
The company’s potential made it an attractive proposition for private equity investors such as Tuninvest, 270 kilometers away in the capital Tunis.
Intvu Ziad Oueslati, Founding Partner, Tuninvest (1/2150 c) “When we invested it was a very small family company. Today it’s a company that grew to acquire a company in France, to open through a green field project in Algeria, a flexible packaging company, and we’ve made also lately an acquisition in the Egyptian market and it’s a company that is worth almost $100m today and has a strong position in the Mediterranean market.”
Tuninvest’s Maghreb Private Equity Fund has helped finance business throughout North and Sub-Saharan Africa and has in turn attracted outside investors such as the African Development Bank.
Intvu Ziad Oueslati, Found Partner, Tuninvest (1/1736) “It’s still like a frontier market, so we need AFDB, we do have the IFC, the affiliate of the World Bank, we do also have the Dutch Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, the French development agencies and other European development agencies.”
Outside investment accounts for 70% of Tuninvest’s development base. The fund allowed Cogitel to purchase state of the art machinery, which has boosted capacity to 40,000 tons of packaging a year. The packaging can range from cartons, to bottles and wrapping, tailored to meet the client’s requirements and specifications. Deliveries are made not just to North Africa but to Europe too, and one of Cogitel’s clients is another Tunisian success story.
Mahdia, sixty kilometers up the coast from Sfax is a popular tourist site and is known for its sardines and olive oil. Nowadays it has also built a reputation as the country’s largest dairy producer thanks to Vitalait. Like Cogitel, Vitalait started off as a family run affair.
FAUT UNE VOIX HOMME ANGLAIS
Intvu Ali Klebi, Founder, Vitalait – PARLE FRANCAIS (2/0800 c) “When I started the company in ’89 we had just one production line and just 70 people, now we have more than 600. I'm a local man you see and I wanted to help and participate in the regional development. And that’s what we’re doing today.”
« On a commence avec 70 personés en ‘89, il y avait juste une ligne. Aujourd’hui Vitalait c’est 600 emplois permanents. Personnellement je suis originaire de la région et j’ai voulu rendre service et participer au développement régional. Quand on est de la région on est content de faire ce qu’on peut”
Vitalait processes a quarter of a million liters of milk a day. It has also expanded into yoghurt, yoghurt drinks, butter and fermented milk products. Turnover has risen fivefold in just over ten years to more than $75 million. It has become a byword for milk in Tunisia and has a remarkably strong brand identity developed in part, through extensive advertising campaigns. But getting investors to finance growth though wasn’t an easy process
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Intvu Ali Klebi, Founder, Vitalait – PARLE FRANCAIS (2/1240 c) “It’s not an easy industry to be in and investors usually avoided the milk industry because, you know, the prices are controlled by the government and the profit margins aren’t really what they should be.”
« Bien si le secteur n’était pas très facile, vous savez les investisseurs évitaient le secteur du lait, parce que dans le lait les prix sont encadres par le gouvernement la rentabilité n’est pas ce qu’il doit être aujourd’hui »
But nevertheless healthy enough for Tuninvest to step in and help. And the investment was not just about money.
FAUT UNE VOIX HOMME ANGLAIS
Intvu Ali Klebi, Founder, Vitalait – PARLE FRANÇAIS
(2/1351) “Tuninvest is a very active shareholder, they invest their money but they also invest their time and expertise into the project.”
« Tuninvest est un actionnaire très actif ils s’investissent et ils investissement dans le projet »
Intvu Ziad Oueslati, Founding Partner, Tuninvest (1/924 c) “When we invest we put in place a road map and where we have a very strong presence on a weekly basis sometimes, it depends on the maturity of the project. We’re there to support them on the strategy side, on hiring the right managers and provide them with the right guidance in terms of corporate governance. Corporate governance that I think has been one of the key of our investee companies.”
Corporate governance that includes an eco-friendly working environment and a management that is geared to reach even higher growth levels to help create more local employment opportunities.
Cogitel headquarters near Sfax in Tunisia.The flexible packaging company’s business is booming. Despite the economic downturn elsewhere in the world, Cogitel is still expanding, mainly across North Africa and Europe. Nadia Zghal is director general and the daughter of the company’s founder who set up the business in 1984.