Agro-food

Pâtisserie Les Douceurs is a company specialized in cooking, baking and pastry making in Burkina Faso. It offers a wide range of products and services (breads and pastries, cakes, canapés, school meals and snacks, sandwiches, fast food and catering).

The entrepreneur

Pâtisserie Les Douceurs was created by Mrs. Safiatou OUEDRAOGO-YABRE, a trained cook-pastry chef with more than 27 years of experience with the SERVAIR group and in the hotel industry.

Partnership with Sinergi Burkina and I&P

Pâtisserie Les Douceurs is supported by I&P and Sinergi Burkina through I&P Acceleration in Sahel. The main objective of this partnership is to :

• Increase the company's production capacity and improve product quality 
• Diversify the products offered 
• Support the company in its management (implementation of an adequate formal management system, including accounting, financial and fiscal management, production and human resources).

Expected impacts

• Consolidation of 20 existing jobs and creation of 5 new permanent full-time jobs
• Contribution to the employability of vulnerable populations (women and unqualified youth)
• Better structuring and organization of the company
• Establishment of good governance

Fruits and Berries is a Senegalese company that specializes in the production of fresh fruit smoothies and juices made from blended or squeezed fruit, with no additives, added sugars, conservatices or coloring.The company targets consumers who are aware of the health issues related to the consumption of industrial beverages and who value the nutritional value of fresh fruit-based drinks.

The entrepreneur

Fruits and Berries was founded by Youga GUISSE, a Senegalese entrepreneur passionate about agriculture. He graduated in Economics and Finance from the University of Bristol in England and holds a master’s degree in Economic Engineering from the University Pierre Mendes de Grenoble in France. He has more than ten years of experience in digital transformation.

Partnership with I&P and Teranga Capital

Fruits & Berries is supported by Teranga Capital and I&P through I&P Acceleration in Sahel. This partnership aims at :

• Set up a production unit in keeping with hygiene and quality standards
• Increase the production capacity with more efficient equipment
• Develop a distribution network through partnerships with supermarkets, gas station stores, hotels, cafés and restaurants
• Increase the company’s visibility and build a strong brand image

Multiservices Agricoles (MSA) is a company in Senegal specialized in the processing of locally grown paddy rice.

Since 2020, the company has specialized in the production of parboiled rice through a process of pre-cooking paddy rice in water, allowing the grain of the cereal to absorb the vitamins and minerals present between the hull and the grain of the rice. The production unit is located in Rosso (northern Senegal), in the Senegal River Valley. In 2021, MSA produced 34 tons of parboiled rice, which is sold in traditional markets, convenience stores, gas station stores, wholesalers, e-commerce sites and to individuals.

The entrepreneurs

MSA was founded by Ibrahima BEYE and Sidy Yeslem CHEIKH SIDY VALL.

Partnership with I&P and Teranga Capital

MSA benefits from I&P Acceleration in Sahel program implemented in Senegal by Teranga Capital, whose objectives are to :

• Support the company in its distribution strategy (modern trade)
• Strengthen the company's positioning in the traditional segment

About Teranga Capital

Teranga Capital is the first impact investment fund dedicated to the financing and support of Senegalese SMEs and start-ups. Headed by Olivier Furdelle, Teranga Capital is the third African fund sponsored by Investisseurs & Partenaires under the I&P Développement 2 program. The network currently includes a fund in Niger (Sinergi Niger), Burkina Faso (Sinergi Burkina), Ivory Coast (Comoé Capital) and Madagascar (Miarakap). → Find out more about Teranga Capital

Incorporated in 2014, iProcure is a Kenyan agricultural supply chain platform operating in rural areas within East Africa.  

In addition to procurement and last mile distribution services to agro-dealers, iProcure provides business intelligence and data-driven stock management across the supply chains. 

The platform offers a variety of services to consolidate the fragmented supply chain in rural areas:   

• Warehousing and last mile services: iProcure supplies fertilizers, seeds, animal feeds and agro-chemicals such as fungicides. The company buys the products from local manufacturers and suppliers and distribute them to distributors and retailers through 9 warehouses, 12 depots and 30 trucks 
• Data-Driven distribution: iProcure provides real-time business intelligence and helps distributors and retailers track sales, manage inventory and procurement 
• SaaS model: iProcure provides the software to their agro-dealers, together with a Point-of-Sale hardware. This is in the effort to digitize the sector, where information is generally inaccurate and unreliable. The Point of Sale platform helps to make the rural agro-dealers more efficient because they are able to track their sales, costs and inventory. The platform can also be used by other logistics and distribution players operating outside the agricultural sector

iProcure has started expanding to Uganda by installing the Point of Sale platform at the agro-dealers within the country, and will eventually launch a full scale expansion to Uganda and Tanzania. The company is also considering expansion to West Africa, using the vast experience they have already gained.  

THE ENTREPRENEURS

The company was co-founded by Stefano Carcoforo and Nicole Galletta: 

• Stefano Carcoforo, born in Kenya, is currently the CEO of iProcure. Prior to founding iProcure, he worked for Philips Engineering as a Systems Engineer and for a number of large development projects in Cameroon and Haiti. He did his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and Masters in Business / Project Management
• Nicole Galletta is co-Founder and Head of Innovation. She is responsible for onboarding retailers and distributors in Kenya and Uganda. Previous to founding iProcure, Nicole worked as an Urban Planner and GIS Expert for UN Habitat, and Geographic Information Manager for FAO. She has a Master’s Degree in Urban / Environmental Planning

PARTNERSHIP WITH I&P

• Supporting the growth of the company in East Africa, starting with Uganda  
• Further expansion into more counties in Kenya 
• Increasing the company’s capacity to use data to make the operations more efficient 
• Supporting the company in their quest to brand their own products 
• Improving the website and social media presence 

EXPECTED IMPACTS

• iProcure improves access to essential products for the rural farming population 
• Digitisation of agro-dealers using iProcure’s Point of Sale platform, which will over time, help to switch the agro-dealers from manual record keeping to digital records. This also helps the traders to forecast their inventory needs, and reduce pilferage within their shops 
• Increasing traceability of the agricultural inputs being sold to farmers – over time, this will help understand and reduce environmental impacts of these inputs 
• Growth of a Kenyan start-up expanding across East Africa and eventually West Africa, creating significant employment within the urban, and especially rural areas 

Le Comptoir fermier is a company that transforms and distributes processed and unprocessed meat in Cameroon (Yaoundé and Douala), but also in Gabon (Libreville). This young company is characterized by its respect of product quality criteria and customer service.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

Le Comptoir fermier was founded in 2018 by Eugene Badjang and Samuel Bito. The founders are both Cameroonian and have local and international professional experience.

PARTNERSHIP WITH I&P

Le Comptoir fermier is supported by I&P through I&P Acceleration in Sahel. The main objective of this project is to increase the company's production capacity, contribute to the improvement of its supply chain and implement a communication strategy.

Volaille du Sahel is a start-up that produces and sells hallal meat (chicken, guinea fowl, chicken derivatives) in Niger.

THE ENTREPRENEURS

Volaille du Sahel was created in 2018 by two associates:

• Harouna Nouhou Abdoulaye: With a Masters degree in business management, he registers years of work experience in telecommunications where he was in charge of marketing and sales management. He then evolved as a zone developer in the Maradi region at Zamani Telecom.                                                                                                                                                                           
• Ibrahim Mamane Laminou: He holds a master's degree in computer science from Abdou Moumouni University in Niamey and a Master's degree in Management of Information Systems from Sun Yat Sen University in Canton, China. 

PARTNERSHIP WITH I&P AND SINERGI 

Volaille du Sahel is supported by Sinergi and I&P through I&P Acceleration in Sahel. The main objective of this project is to increase the company's production capacity, contribute to the improvement of its supply chain and implement a communication strategy.

About Sinergi Niger

SINERGI S.A. is a private investment company created in 2006 and supported by I&P with a group of key individual and institutional shareholders in the Nigerien and international SME support landscape. Headed by Ibrahima Djibo, its objective is to contribute to the economic and social development of Niger through the promotion of entrepreneurship and the development of SMEs. SINERGI S.A. provides the means for entrepreneurs in Niger to achieve their growth projects by providing long-term financing and local support.  → Find out more about Sinergi​

Malakass is a young company whose mission is to contribute to the development of the cassava farming industry in the Atsimo-Andrefana region of Madagascar, thanks to the installation of a standard factory, allowing the transformation of cassava into high quality, bio and fair trade certified flour. The product is intended for both the local and international markets, in particular the major European importers, who are in demand for this high value-added product, which is gluten-free and used in both bakery and pastry-making.Malakass is a young company whose mission is to contribute to the development of the cassava farming industry in the Atsimo-Andrefana region of Madagascar, thanks to the installation of a standard factory, allowing the transformation of cassava into high quality, bio and fair trade certified flour.

The product is intended for both the local and international markets, in particular the major European importers, who are in demand for this high value-added product, which is gluten-free and used in both bakery and pastry-making.

The entrepreneur

Malakass is led by Houssen MEBOBALY, a graduate of INSEEC after a dozen years of study in France. After starting his career at BNP Paribas, he returned to Madagascar in 2019 to start his own business.

Struck by the under-valued potential of the cassava industry in his native region, while cassava flour consumption is rapidly increasing in Europe, he decided to add value by transforming it into high quality flour.

Partnership with I&P

I&P committed alongside with Malakass to:

• Fund the acquisition of the production line and the supply vans
• Fund the construction of the plant
• Fund the working capital requirements and ensure a minimum cash flow for the company during its first two years
• Support the company in structuring the supply through the research of subsidies, the implementation of certifications, training and support for producers ...
• Provide strategic and operational support

Read More : Press release

Faso Elevage Bio is a Burkinabe company specialized in the production of breeding materials. This young company has progressively developed five activities aimed at poultry farmers: production and commercialization of chicks and breeding equipment (incubators, cages, brooders, etc.), implementation of a farm monitoring system, rent of livestock buildings and training of poultry farmers on good breeding practices.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

Faso Elevage Bio was created by Abdoul-Wakil Faïçal PALENFO when he was a young student entrepreneur. Before starting his own business, Mr. PALENFO was a livestock consultant for NGOs and companies like Ferm'Afrik. He holds a professional master's degree in animal production from the University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (USTA) in Ouagadougou.

PARTNERSHIP WITH I&P AND SINERGI BURKINA

Faso Elevage Bio is supported by I&P and Sinergi Burkina through I&P Acceleration in Sahel. The support will allow the company to : 

• Strengthen the chick production capacity
• Improve the quality of the egg brooding machines
• Strengthen the company's market presence
• Strengthen the structuring and the management system (SIG)

EXPECTED IMPACTS

• Creation and consolidation of jobs
• Increase the local supply of chicks
• Valuation of local products 
• Establishment of good governance

About Sinergi Burkina

Created in 2014, Sinergi Burkina is the first impact investment fund dedicated to financing and supporting SMEs and start-ups in Burkina Faso. Headed by Job Zongo, Sinergi Burkina is the second investment fund sponsored by Investisseurs & Partenaires as part of the I&P Développement 2 fund. The fund network currently includes a fund in Niger (Sinergi Niger), Côte d'Ivoire (Comoé Capital), Senegal (Teranga Capital) and Madagascar (Miarakap).  → To learn more about Sinergi Burkina​

Based in Limbé, in the west of Cameroon, CassVita is a young company specialized in the production and transformation of cassava. The company produces Watafufu powder, a dish consumed in most regions of Cameroon and Nigeria, and is developing cassava and modified starch-based pastry flour.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

The company is led by two entrepreneurs, Nembu Milton and Pelkins Ajanoh.

Born and raised in Limbe where he did his primary and secondary studies, Nembu Milton went to the Ecole Nationale Supérieur des Travaux Publics from where he graduated as a Public Works Engineer. Before the CassVita adventure, Nembu Miltona previously had a business experience marked by the launch of a restaurant called Mr. Restaurant Chaba.

A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Havard Business School in the United States, Pelkins Ajanoh has received several recognitions for innovation and leadership including the 2015 Guistwhite Scholarship, an academic and leadership award given to only fifteen students in the United State.

PARTNERSHIP WITH I&P

CassVita is supported by I&P through I&P Acceleration in Sahel, funded by the European Union. The funding and support aims to help the company increase its production capacity, improve its supply chain and implement a new marketing strategy.

Kokuma is an industrial unit for processing paddy rice into whole white rice, broken rice and rice bran in Burkina Faso.  It is one of the best paddy rice processors on the Bagré plain, with a daily processing capacity of 30 tons of paddy. The company obtains its paddy from a network of more than 200 producers in some 20 groups.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

Kokuma is an initiative of the diocese of Tenkodogo, represented by Father Jean-Paul Yoda. Before managing Kokuma, he was the manager of the store of the minor seminary of Baskouré for about four years and also conducted personally during his young age, the breeding of pigs and poultry that allowed him to build up small savings to contribute to his schooling. As he likes to repeat, entrepreneurship is not primarily done to get rich, but to improve the living conditions of man and every man.

SINERGI BURKINA'S CONTRIBUTIONS

The company is accompanied by Sinergi Burkina (capital investment).  The partnership aims to :

• Increase qualitatively and quantitatively the company's offer 
• Diversify the customer portfolio 
• Establish the basis for an organizational and accounting structure of the company 
• Create impact through the structuring of strong and organized producers' cooperatives

EXPECTED IMPACTS

• Formalizing and securing jobs 
• Improvement of health and safety measures at work 
• Creation of new jobs 
• Valuation of local products 
• Establishment of good governance 
• Payment of taxes and social contributions

About Sinergi Burkina

Created in 2014, Sinergi Burkina is the first impact investment fund dedicated to financing and supporting SMEs and start-ups in Burkina Faso. Headed by Job Zongo, Sinergi Burkina is the second investment fund sponsored by Investisseurs & Partenaires as part of the I&P Développement 2 fund. The fund network currently includes a fund in Niger (Sinergi Niger), Côte d'Ivoire (Comoé Capital), Senegal (Teranga Capital) and Madagascar (Miarakap).  → To learn more about Sinergi Burkina​