John Alamu, founder and Group Managing Director of Capitalsage Holdings, explains how Johnvents is tackling challenges in Nigeria’s agricultural sector through cocoa processing, farmer support, sustainable sourcing, and value addition, while expanding across Africa and international markets.
Over the years, Johnvents, a subsidiary of Capitalsage Holdings, has leveraged Nigeria’s agricultural potential to develop an integrated agribusiness spanning commodity trading, agro-processing athen processJoselllamu, founder and group managing director of Capitalsage Holdings, discusses how Johnvents is transforming Nigeria’s agribusiness landscape through investments in cocoa and cashew processing, vegetable oil production, animal feed manufacturing and other value-added products.
PT: What motivated you to go into cocoa-product manufacturing?
Mr Alamu: I started my career at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan. I am also the proud son of a teacher who taught agriculture, and I graduated from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. So, when you look at my family background, education and career, you can see that agriculture has always been part of my journey. I began my career at IITA, a research institute, as a monitoring and evaluation specialist. This allowed me to work directly with farmers. At the time, we were not working specifically on cocoa. We worked with farmers cultivating cassava, maize and other crops.
Through our research, farmers repeatedly identified several challenges, but two consistently stood out: access to finance and access to markets. The response to these challenges was often more research, and the cycle continued. I decided not to see these two major problems in the agricultural sector merely as challenges. Instead, I saw them as opportunities to explore. I had several ideas about how to take advantage of these opportunities and turn them into viable businesses. I saw them as ventures I could pursue, and I believe that’s how the company name, Johnvents, came about. Our initial business focused on training farmers in good agronomic practices, buying their produce, and selling it to the market.
From there, we expanded into commodity trading. We supplied maize seedlings and grains to internally displaced persons’ camps to support food security efforts promoted by development finance institutions, the World Food Programme, Catholic Relief Services and other organisations. However, when I started my entrepreneurial journey, I did not limit myself to agriculture. I also established a financial services business called Credit Assistants Investment Limited, which has since grown into Capital State Technology Group.
At one point, I travelled to Akure to market a microfinance bank product. The visit took me to a site beside our current factory in Akure, owned by a cocoa cooperative conglomerate. The cooperative informed me that it had a distressed, moribund factory and was looking for investors. However, I knew nothing about the factory; bushes overgrown it, and the machinery needed attention. That experience sparked my interest. I told them I was willing to acquire the factory. I asked the cooperative for a flexible payment structure and help leveraging its brand. I also requested access to human resources, including engineers who could support the operation. One of the engineers recommended to us was Engineer Gomolu. He is still on our board today as the executive director, technical, at Johnvents Cocoa.
That was how the story began.
We secured financing from the International Finance Corporation to refurbish the factory and acquire new machinery for our Akure operations. From there, we further acquired Premium Cocoa Products in Oyo State. The business became even more interesting as we diversified beyond cocoa.
Today, we process cashews at our Ondo State factory, with a capacity of 30,000 metric tonnes. We also have 10 plants in Ondo that process cashews into kernels and shells, process soybeans into soybean oil and soybean meal, and run an animal feed mill.
We have also expanded significantly into fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). We process cocoa into products such as Johnvents Choco Pops, Johnvents Choco Cubes, and Johnvents chocolate, including products for children. We also have our own bottled-water brand.
We operate across the agricultural value chain, including upstream, midstream, and downstream activities. Our vision is to become a truly global and inclusive agribusiness that facilitates global supply chains, particularly in food production and food security. We currently operate in 19 countries, and we plan to consolidate our presence in those markets by transitioning from commodity trading towards agricultural processing. Enough is enough. Africa has spent too much time talking about the need to stop exporting raw commodities. We do not want to join the chorus of complaints. We want to keep building factories and changing that narrative in a significant way.
PT: How do you ensure the quality of your raw materials, given concerns about the quality of cocoa beans sourced in Nigeria?
Mr Alamu: Quality products begin with primary production. It starts on the farm. Johnvents has invested significantly in a robust sustainability programme. I should mention that Johnvents is Rainforest Alliance-certified. This certification validates our sustainability efforts. What do we do for farmers? We link them with relevant agricultural research institutions, including the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), which provides access to improved, high-yielding varieties. Gone are the days when farmers had to wait five years for cocoa trees to mature. Some varieties now mature in less than three years, and some reportedly in as little as 18 months. The first step is giving farmers access to high-quality seedlings.
Secondly, through our sustainability programme, we connect them with appropriate financing partners to improve access to finance. We also train them in good agronomic practices.
Today, we have about 40,000 farmers under our programme, making it almost impossible to work with every farmer individually. To address this, we use different strategies. Some farmers are organised into cooperatives, through which we engage with them, while others are connected through our local buying agents. Our farmers and local buying agents are certified, and our factories are recertified as well. Because much of Nigerian cocoa is destined for Europe, we must comply with relevant European Union regulations and sustainability requirements. Our sustainability programme has helped us address these requirements.
A significant proportion of the cocoa we handle is now compliant with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
This involves addressing issues such as traceability and child labour, ensuring that children are not sent to farms when they should be in school. It also covers pesticide residues in crops. Through our training programmes, farmers learn which pesticides to use and the appropriate quantities. These issues previously made Nigerian cocoa less competitive in international markets.
We have a cocoa bean processing capacity of 48,000 metric tonnes. However, Nigeria’s cocoa production is declining, with annual output estimated at 300,000 metric tonnes. One challenge is that our competitors are not just other cocoa processors; they also include raw cocoa bean exporters. Raw bean exporters enjoy shorter business cycles because they don’t need to store large quantities of cocoa in warehouses for extended periods or commit the substantial working capital processors require.
As processors, we must hold stock and tie up capital while waiting to process and sell our products. This puts us at a disadvantage compared with raw bean exporters. We recognise that Nigeria’s cocoa supply may not meet our needs unless the country develops a deliberate agenda to increase cocoa production.
Beyond our sustainability programme, which addresses existing cocoa farms, we are also working to replace old cocoa trees, as many in production are ageing.
We have also developed our own agroforestry model, which we are currently implementing in Ondo and Cross River states. We appreciate the state governments’ support. Ondo State has provided us with approximately 1,000 hectares of land, where cocoa farmers can own plots and establish cocoa farms in line with prescribed quality standards. The Cross River State Government has provided us with approximately 7,000 hectares. We will continue to advocate for support from other cocoa-producing states. We have written to state governments and are awaiting their response. We are ready to work with them to make more land available for cocoa production. Nigeria needs to increase its output to compete with other major cocoa-producing countries. Côte d’Ivoire, for instance, produces more than 1.2 million metric tonnes of cocoa annually, while Ghana produces approximately 700,000 metric tonnes. Nigeria was once one of the world’s leading cocoa producers. I believe we can return to that position by investing in production, improving farm productivity, and expanding the country’s cocoa-growing capacity.
PT: With monthly electricity bills reportedly hitting ₦45 million, how close is Johnvents to transitioning into a fully self-sustained renewable energy model, and what timeline should investors expect for this switch?
Mr Alamu: Energy efficiency and the transition to cleaner energy are strategic priorities for strengthening Johnvents Group’s operational resilience, cost efficiency, and environmental performance. Given the energy-intensive nature of our processing facilities, we are taking a phased, site-specific approach to identifying viable renewable energy solutions.
As reported in our 2025 Sustainability Report, 39.41% of the Group’s energy consumption came from renewable and low-carbon sources. Building on this baseline, we are committed to assessing renewable energy opportunities across our facilities, identifying energy-efficiency improvements and evaluating the technical and commercial feasibility of solutions such as solar power and energy storage.
In parallel, we are strengthening our greenhouse gas accounting by calculating and monitoring our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions to understand our emissions footprint better, identify key reduction opportunities, and track progress over time. These insights will help inform our energy transition priorities and support the development of a practical, data-driven decarbonisation roadmap. Our next steps will focus on assessing site-level energy demand, evaluating investment requirements and prioritising initiatives based on their potential to reduce grid dependence, energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
While we have not yet established a definitive timeline for achieving full renewable energy self-sufficiency, our immediate priority is to translate this ambition into a structured transition plan with measurable milestones, balancing emissions reductions and long-term cost savings with the reliability required to sustain our operations. Specific targets and timelines will be communicated as the assessments progress and the implementation roadmap is validated.
PT: Credit assessments have highlighted that a significant amount of working capital is tied up in inventory and advance deposits to aggregators. What steps are you taking to, free up cash flow and reduce liquidity pressures during the off-season?
Mr Alamu: Our working-capital requirements reflect the seasonal nature of agricultural procurement. During key crop windows, we strategically secure raw materials to support production and customer demand, with that inventory subsequently processed, sold, and converted into cash. Managing this cycle effectively is therefore a fundamental part of our operating model. Our focus is on maintaining strong discipline across the entire cash-conversion cycle, from procurement and inventory management to production, sales and collections. This includes strengthening demand and procurement forecasting, improving inventory turnover, aligning purchases with production and sales requirements, and maintaining close oversight of receivables.
