Togo

YOKOUMI is a Togolese company specializing in the processing of shea nuts into organic shea butter and related products, including soaps and balms. Its shea butter is primarily sold in bulk to manufacturers and cosmetic brands for export. The company relies on a certified organic value chain that ensures the traceability of its supply and adherence to responsible practices. 

YOKOUMI also conducts awareness campaigns among women on environmental protection, sustainable management of natural resources, and economic alternatives to deforestation. It also supports the transition of women who previously earned their income from cutting and selling firewood toward the collection and processing of shea nuts. 

In its production process, the company uses oilcake as a source of energy for cooking, employs improved stoves and solar panels, and is continuing its energy transition through the installation of a biodigester and the upcoming implementation of a gasifier.

The Entrepreneur  

Kossiwa Delali ADEDJE is the founder, managing director, and sole shareholder of YOKOUMI SARL U. With a degree in development economics, she has gained an understanding of rural economic dynamics, particularly through her volunteer work with the association Solidarité Enfance et Vie on income-generating and microcredit projects for women. She became involved in the shea industry in 2016 after identifying a lack of profitable market opportunities for women shea producers in central Togo. She then launched an informal business buying and reselling shea butter, and from 2016 to 2019 coordinated the purchasing, processing, packaging, and shipping operations. In 2019, a meeting with a buyer interested in organic shea led to the creation of YOKOUMI SARL U. Since then, she has structured the company around local processing, organic and fair-trade certifications, sourcing from women’s cooperatives, and B2B sales primarily for export.

Partnership with I&P and Comoe Capital 

The total support provided to Yokoumi includes funding of 69,383 euros, earmarked for the following purposes: 

• Purchase of raw materials  
  • Purchase of production equipment:  
  • Mill
  • Dryer 
  • Butter churn 
  • Briquette machine for the roaster 
  • Conversion of the dryer to electricity 
• Fitting out of the production site 
• Construction of a well 

The support also includes two technical assistance services: 

• Accounting technical assistance; 
• Commercial technical assistance. 

IMPEX DIVINE EPICE is a Togolese company specializing in the processing and value-added production of local agricultural products, including chili peppers, ginger, onions, corn, and cocoa. It offers a range of value-added food products, including spices, cocoa powder, and flours. Having gradually evolved from a small-scale artisanal operation, the company formalized its structure in 2021 with the creation of IMPEX DIVINE EPICE as a limited liability company (SARL). Since then, it has strengthened its commercial presence and built customer loyalty. Today, its products are sold to wholesalers in several markets in Lomé, in supermarkets, and for export.

The entrepreneur 

After earning a degree in accounting in Togo in 2004, Olivia Magnon Afi VIGNON turned to entrepreneurship by launching a small-scale spice production business. Eager to build on her expertise, she trained in spice processing techniques before opening her first store in 2016. Between 2018 and 2019, she gradually expanded and structured her business through participation in several support programs and competitions, notably the PASA program (2018), followed by INNOV’UP and PNPER (2019), in which she was a winner. In 2021, she formalized her business by founding IMPEX DIVINE EPICE as a limited liability company (SARL), with the goal of promoting local agricultural products and offering high-quality processed goods. In recognition of her entrepreneurial journey, she received the 2025 Woman of Impact Award in the Best Female Entrepreneur category. 

Partnership with I&P and Proparco 

IMPEX DIVINE EPICE is supported by I&P Accélération FARM, a 4-million-euro program backed by Proparco and designed to finance some 20 SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa operating across the entire agricultural value chain (product processing, primary agriculture, livestock farming, aquaculture, distribution, sales of equipment and inputs, agritech, etc.). In Côte d’Ivoire, this program is implemented by Comoé Capital. 

This partnership will enable the SME to finance: 

• The purchase of equipment (automatic bagging machine and grinder); 
• The purchase of raw materials; 
• The purchase of packaging; 
• Finishing work on its production facility. 

Founded in 2016, Recycling is a Togolese company specializing in the collection, sorting, and recycling of plastic waste.

The company transforms the plastic waste it collects into secondary raw materials, in the form of plastic chips and pellets, for use by plastics manufacturers. By offering recycled pellets, Recycling provides a more economical and environmentally friendly alternative, enabling plastics manufacturers to reduce their production costs.

To date, Recycling has collected more than 20,000 tons of plastic waste, contributing to a significant reduction in plastic pollution in Togo. The company works closely with a network of more than 3,000 collectors and employs 39 people, including 17 women, generating a significant economic and social impact for all stakeholders in the chain.

Recycling is led by Tchomela N'Yabé Bekounim, a graduate in ecology and environmental sciences from the University of Lomé and founder of the VEGA association, an organization committed to raising public awareness of environmental protection and waste management. His commitment to the environment and communities has been recognized and rewarded on several occasions. In particular, he was the winner of the FAIEJ (Fund to Support Youth Economic Initiatives) green projects competition and the KPEKPE Togo 2017 competition, and came third in the “Africa is Calling You” Challenge in the same year.

In 2021, he received support from UNDP Togo through the Togolese Facility for Acceleration and Innovation (FTAI).

I&P has partnered with Recycling to:

• Strengthen the company's production capacity;
• Improve the production process;
• Develop the production site; and
• Provide technical support to improve accounting, financial management, and internal organization.

Main Impacts 

• By producing 456 tons of recycled plastic pellets in the first year after investment, Recycling will prevent approximately 2,000 tons of CO2eq.
• Creation of 37 jobs over a period of 3 years.

Find out more

• Recylcing website
• Recycling facebook page 

The African Institute of Sciences, Technologies and Trades (IASTM) is a graduate school, offering training in Business Law, Taxation, Insurance, Marketing, Agribusiness, Transit-Logistics, Software Engineering, Accounting in Lome, in Togo.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

IASTM was founded by Boris SEGBENOU MENSAH is a Togolese graduate in Political Science, who after a decade of professional career, embarked on educational entrepreneurship by founding in 2015, UASTM in Niger. After the launch of USATM in Niger, he started the first steps of the school in Togo in 2020. UASTM is a global project to develop a pan-African network of higher education institutions and incubators under the brand UASTM/IASTM.

PARTNERSHIP WITH I&P

IASTM is supported by I&P through the education and employment component of I&P Acceleration in Sahel program (IP2E).

The funding and support provided to IASTM aims at :

• Fitting out and equipping classrooms
• Acquire multimedia for the development of e-learning
• Strengthen the marketing campaign and the positioning of the school 
• Strengthen the company's working capital

Lomé Business School ( LSB) is a university offering training courses in Information Technology Management  and Business Management in Lomé, Togo. LBS opened  in 2013 with 13 students and has 117 students today. 30% of the students are coming from 8 countries in the West African sub-region, Cameroon and Gabon.

THE ENTREPRENEURS

Born in Côte d'Ivoire, Fulgence Amani (CEO of LBS) studied in Côte d'Ivoire and in France. As a telecommunication engineer from ITES (Institut des Technologies et Spécialités), he worked as an IT engineer in Abidjan before continuing his studies in France where he got a master's degree in finance at SKEMA. After several years in IT Management in France at Total and Capgemini, he worked as an IT and Fintech consultant and worked with clients such as Orange Bank, Ernst & Young and Société Générale in Africa. For the past ten years, Fulgence Amani has also held teaching positions at USTA-Ouagadougou and ESSCA Paris in addition to his consulting activities before co-founding LBS with his wife, Patience Adjivon.

Marketing Director of LBS, Patience Adjivon holds a master's degree in R&D and Biotechnology from Paris VI. With a rich professional background on missions as a laboratory researcher in healthcare in France (Institut Jacques Monod, Institut Cochin, Sanofi, Pierre Fabre) and at Cap Gemini as a Fintech project coordinator, she co-founded LBS.

PARTNERSHIP WITH I&P

LBS is supported by I&P through education and employment component of I&P Acceleration in Sahel program (IP2E).

The funding and support provided to LBS aims to :

• Set up an e-learning platform to digitalize a large part of the training program
• Strengthen the pedagogical equipment of the school
• Set up a pedagogical engineering process including aspects related to digitalization

EXPECTED IMPACTS

• Strengthen access to quality higher education in Togo