US Edition'I bought their dream': How a US company's huge land deal in Senegal went bust
- In 2021, African Agriculture, a U.S.-registered company, promised to develop a large agricultural project in Senegal, but the project ultimately failed, leaving unpaid workers and community division in its wake, as explored by the Associated Press.
- Africa, possessing a significant portion of the world's uncultivated arable land, has become a target for foreign investment projects, though many of these ventures fail, often without attracting widespread attention.
- African Agriculture, led by Frank Timis and Gora Seck, planned to grow alfalfa for export to the United Arab Emirates, acquiring land approximately twice the size of Paris and hiring about 70 residents from the 10,000-resident community, a proposal that divided the local subsistence farmers and led to the formation of the Ndiael Collective in opposition.
- African Agriculture announced plans to go public in November 2022 with a $450 million valuation, a figure questioned by the Oakland Institute, raised $22.6 million in its December 2023 NASDAQ offering with shares initially trading at $8, but after paying $19 million to the inactive company it merged with, 0X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp. II, its stock value plummeted to less than a penny.
- The failed project has resulted in community distrust, unpaid wages , restricted access to land for herders and farmers due to a barbed-wire perimeter patrolled by security guards, and the company's delisting, while former COO Javier Orellana claims he is owed 165,000 euros, and CEO Alan Kessler has moved on to a new venture, African Food Security, seeking $875 million in investment, despite blaming the previous project's failure on the public offering structure.
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Associated Press News+20 Reposted by 20 other sources
'I bought their dream': How a US company's huge land deal in Senegal went bust
Rusting pipes in a barren field and unpaid workers are what remain after a U.S. company promised to turn a huge piece of land in Senegal — about twice the size of Paris — into an agricultural project and create thousands of jobs.
·United States
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Total News Sources22
Leaning Left8Leaning Right2Center5Last UpdatedBias Distribution53% Left
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C 33%
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