Unmarkets

Founded in 2023 by Milan Samani, Unmarkets is a venture builder that co-creates new businesses with established African companies that already have deep market knowledge, trusted relationships and proven operating capabilities. The local partner brings the operational platform, then Unmarkets identifies new opportunities, develops products and brands for regional and global markets, and provides the capital needed to build and scale the business. Unmarkets is targeting around 2,000 jobs by 2030 and expects its ventures to reach 100,000 farmers directly and indirectly through sourcing and distribution. 

In 2024, Small Foundation provided a grant to help the team answer questions that its model had not yet resolved around the legal and corporate structure that would hold as the business grew, and how ownership and incentives should work between the holding company and its venture partners. 

Small Foundation’s current investment is funding the launch of Unmarkets’ four new ventures through their initial phase of trading, backing this model to test whether pairing capital with the expertise of established local operators produces stronger, more investable rural businesses than backing founders alone.