Africa’s economic revolution won’t be televised—it will be manufactured.
For John Alamu, Group Managing Director of CapitalSage Holdings, the next frontier of African independence is not political, but economic.
“Export raw cocoa and you make $8,000 per tonne,” he explains. “Turn it into butter and you earn six times more. Make chocolate, and the value rises up to thirty times.”
That principle of value creation over extraction lies at the heart of Johnvents Group, CapitalSage’s agribusiness and manufacturing arm. Through ten integrated factories—including Johnvents Industries and Premium Cocoa Products (Ile-Oluji), one of Nigeria’s oldest cocoa processors—the Group now boasts an annual processing capacity of 48,000 metric tonnes of cocoa for export to Europe, Asia, and the United States.
But the Group’s ambitions stretch far beyond cocoa. Across sesame, legumes, cashew, and edible nuts, Johnvents is deepening Africa’s foothold in global supply chains, proving that the continent’s strength lies not only in its raw materials but in its ability to transform them into world-class products.
Building Africa’s Value Chain from the Ground Up
Through strategic diversification, CapitalSage Holdings has evolved into a fully integrated ecosystem connecting agriculture, finance, and technology.
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The Cocoa Division leads in the export of butter, liquor, cake, and powder—products that command higher margins and showcase Nigeria’s growing industrial capability.
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The Sesame and Legumes Unit sources premium-grade crops from across Africa, ensuring consistent quality and traceability for global buyers.
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The Cashew and Nuts Division expands the continent’s export basket, tapping into the booming global demand for plant-based products and healthy snacks.
Each of these business lines feeds into a single vision: building an Africa that owns its production narrative, captures more value locally, and creates wealth for its people.
Economic Freedom Through Innovation
For Alamu, this transformation is deeply personal.
“The next struggle, like independence, is economic freedom,” he asserts. “That requires courage, disruption, and African confidence.”
This conviction drives the Group’s operational philosophy—one that fuses innovation with discipline. CapitalSage’s fintech subsidiary, CapitalSage Technology, holds a BBB+ credit rating from all three Nigerian SEC-recognized agencies—GCR, Agusto & Co., and DataPro—a rare distinction that underscores transparency, governance, and fiscal strength.
Similarly, Johnvents Group, the agribusiness subsidiary, maintains its own BBB+ credit rating, reinforcing investor confidence and validating the Group’s strategic direction.
Recognition of Visionary Leadership
These milestones have not gone unnoticed. At the Marketing Edge Awards, John Alamu was honoured with the Business Conglomerate Leadership Award, recognizing his role in building resilient African businesses that merge profitability with purpose.
From an initial ₦100,000 seed fund to a multinational enterprise with a footprint across Africa, Europe, North America, and Asia, CapitalSage’s evolution embodies Africa’s untold potential—when enterprise meets purpose, and innovation meets integrity.
About CapitalSage Holdings
CapitalSage Holdings is an innovation-driven conglomerate committed to inclusive growth and sustainable transformation. Operating across Financial Technology, Agribusiness, FMCG, and Healthcare, the Group leverages enterprise to create shared prosperity and accelerate Africa’s economic rise.
Rooted in the belief that the future of the continent depends on value addition and human empowerment, CapitalSage is redefining what it means to do business in Africa — not as a supplier of raw materials, but as a creator of global value.
