I&P Accélération au Sahel

DameGreen is a company specialized in the production and marketing of organic fertilizers in Mali.

The entrepreneur

This young company was founded in 2020 by Awa Dembélé an entrepreneur who is passionate about ecology and the environment. Awa held the positions of procurement manager and quality manager from 2018 to 2021 at Elephant Vert Mali, the national leader in organic fertilizer production. She also held the position of Project Assistant at the Institute of Rural Economy of Mali (IER) in 2017.

Partnership with I&P and Zira Capital

Damegreen is supported by Zira Capital through I&P Acceleration in Sahel. The main objective of this partnership is to :

• Increase the production capacity and improve the quality of finished products through the acquisition of more efficient equipment
• Finance the purchase of raw materials and related supplies from local suppliers (manure, organic waste, packaging)
• Support the company in strengthening its brand identity
• Structure the company's organization through the implementation of internal procedures

The Central Chaare-Tsedek University (UCC) is a university offering courses in law, economics, literature and humanities in Daloa, in west-central Côte d'Ivoire. This year, the university welcomed more than 137 students enrolled in 3 university faculties.

The entrepreneur

The university was founded by Franck Emmanuel Bleu in 2020.

With a Master's degree in Finance from the University of Bouaké, this entrepreneur worked as a financial engineer in SMEs in Côte d'Ivoire for 6 years before switching to teaching. He is a teacher-researcher in finance and risk management at private higher education institutions in the country and is also actively involved in several projects to create universities and grandes écoles. He has a solid experience and proven skills in the higher education sector. 

Partnership with I&P

UCC is supported by I&P through the education and employment component of I&P Acceleration in Sahel program.

The funding and support provided to UCC aims at :

• Fitting out and equipping classrooms adapted to e-learning courses
• Acquire equipment for a multimedia room
• Acquire a digital ERP solution Konosys and DOKENT for administrative management and e-learning courses
• Carry out a promotional/marketing campaign and improve its website

Supagro is a school based in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast, training in agriculture and management. The school was created to face the difficulties of recruitment in agriculture.

The entrepreneur

Supagro was created by Ange PETE, an entrepreneur in the agricultural field and started its activities in 2021.

Aged 40 and of Ivorian nationality, Ange PETE has more than 15 years of experience in France and in Ivory Coast both in banking (Deputy Financial Director of Groupama Bank in France) and in the startup environment (Country Head of Jumia Market and Commercial Director of Jumia Ivory Coast). He holds a Master of Science in Management (Entrepreneurship option) from HEC Paris and a DEA in Remote Sensing from the University of Cocody.

Partnership with I&P :

Supagro is supported by I&P through the education and employment component of  I&P Acceleration in Sahel.

The funding and support provided to Supagro aims at :

•  Fitting out and equipping dormitories, 3 classrooms and a computer room

Kouran Jabo, literally "they brought back the light" in local Arabic is a solar energy distributor in Chad. Founded in 2017, this company aims to make solar energy accessible to all social strata in Chad through the sale of solar lamps and kits to households, businesses and also training in installation and maintenance of solar equipment. More than 1118 households and small businesses have already been connected to solar energy, and 60 young people trained in the installation and maintenance of solar solutions.

The entrepreneur

Kouran Jabo was founded by Youssouf Mbodou Ali, a young 32 year old Chadian. Graduated in Management and Business from Lille1-Villeneuve d'Ascq France and Master specialized in Economic and Sociological Analysis of the Euro-Mediterranean zone delivered by ISCA group - Casablanca in Morocco and passionate about the community of his country, he held the position of Marketing and Project Manager of "We Share Property" in Dubai. When he launched Kouran Jabo, he hoped to make solar energy accessible and affordable to 110,000 households and support 600,000 people economically.

Partnership with I&P

Kouran Jabo is supported by I&P through I&P Acceleration in Sahel, funded by the European Union. The funding and support aims to :

• Restructure the administrative, financial, inventory and cash management systems
• Support the opening of 6 new points of sale
• Implement a new marketing and communication strategy
• Formalize 7 existing jobs and create 11 new regular and 11 seasonal jobs by 2023 
• Acquire 1,930 units of solar kits for sale 
• Support the company in raising more funds for the expansion of its activities
• Support the company in the implementation of the waste recycling process

Expected impacts

• Reduction  of polluting fuels (wood, charcoal, animal dung) and deforestation 
• Reinforcement of continuous access to energy in remote areas  
• Improvement of household income through the creation of related activities (telephone booth, battery charging station) 

Ivoire Beauty Academy (IBA) is a training center for the professions of cosmetics and well-being in Côte d'Ivoire.

Ivoire Beauty Academy delivers certificates of professional qualification (CQP) and certificates of professional aptitude (CAP) after an academic course of 9 months combining theory and practical courses. In two years, the school has trained fifty young girls between the ages of 16 and 30 who have dropped out of the school system or are looking for professional integration and/or retraining.

The entrepreneurs

IBA was founded in 2020 by two young Ivorian entrepreneurs who were convinced of the need to professionalize the training market for the cosmetics and wellness professions, a sector in which the majority of training is done through "on-the-job learning": 

• Abdoul Razak Ouattara: with a master's degree in Audit and Management Control and a BTS in Finance and Business Management, he had a career as an accountant in various accounting firms in Abidjan and in a training school 
• Carmen Lavri: this young woman has had various professional experiences in institutes in Accra and Abidjan.

Partnership with I&P

IBA is supported by I&P through I&P Acceleration in Sahel program dedicated to education and employment (IP2E).

The funding and support provided to IBA aims at :

•  Develop and equip the present site to reach a capacity of 60 learners
• Develop and equip a beauty institute  
• Open a second training site
• Support the company in the realization of a marketing campaign