By: The Kenya wall street

The regional competition authority has launched a formal inquiry into a proposed deal in which Inspired Evolution Managers Limited, a pan-African private equity firm, will acquire a 21.6% stake in Cold Solutions East Africa Holdings Limited (CSEAHL). The transaction is poised to significantly influence the development of cold chain logistics across Kenya and the wider East African region.

Inspired Evolution, acting through its Evolution III Fund, focuses on sustainable infrastructure and climate-resilient assets across several COMESA countries. The target company, CSEAHL, operates a network of energy-efficient cold storage and logistics hubs in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Mauritius—markets with rapidly growing demand for temperature-controlled supply chains. Kenya is expected to be a central focus of the inquiry due to its expanding food and pharmaceutical distribution needs and existing concerns about market concentration in key logistics corridors.

The proposed US $20 million investment is presented as a financial injection to accelerate the rollout of cold chain assets, addressing a chronic supply shortage in markets like Kenya. The regional competition commission (CCC) will assess whether the deal could distort competition in markets where cold storage capacity is currently limited and fragmented, evaluating its impact against a backdrop of other operators including private cold room firms and integrated food suppliers.