IPDEV1

Normat is a Beninese company specializing in drilling-mining services and civil-use explosive distribution (mainly used in mines, quarries, and some construction sites).

Up to now, granite local quarry workers had to internalize drilling-mining activities because there was no specialized company. Normat is now a reference actor and has won several industrial Beninese actors' trust by offering services that respect international security rules concerning explosive shots (ISO9001/2015 law).
The company was created in 2017, following the split of this drilling-mining activity from the Bhélix company, which exploits various granite quarries in Benin and in which I&P invested in 2009.

The entrepreneur

Narcisse Zolla is a public works engineer and a former consultant in some Dutch cooperation. He has a Master's degree in Management from the Université de Bordeaux.
He also leads the company Bhélix.

Discover the interview of the promoteur of Bhélix and Normat (2019)

Partnership with I&P

I&P is commited to Normat:

• In formalizing this new company;

• In advising Normat to find the right resources and an efficient organization in operations management.

Main impacts

• The emergence of the specialized job of drilling-mining in Benin

• ISO9001/2015 norm accreditation

ACEP Niger is a microfinance institution targetting small and very small businesses in urban areas.

ACEP relays on two agencies and several service points in the two main cities in Niger, Niamey and Maradi.

The operator

ACEP Group is a French microfinance operator founded by Nicolas Rofe and Thierry Perreau.

ACEP institutions, also present in Cameroon, Madagascar and Burkina Faso, share a set of common values and a rigorous methodology.

SINERGI Niger is a local investment company which aims at the creation and development of small formal enterprises with investments from €30,000 to €75,000.

In Sub-Saharan Africa and particularly in Niger, SMEs have a little access to financial markets. Nevertheless, these are at the heart of the economic development and main job creation sources. The investment fund objective is to answer this strong demand by financing profitable projects with a strong social impact. 

THE TEAM

The team of Sinergi is managed by Djibo Ibrahima.

Graduated in engineering (Ecole Normale Supérieure des Mines in Alès), Djibo Ibrahima has always shown a burning interest towards entrepreneurship. He completed various trainings and studies in management, business administration and project management. He spent a part of his career at leading positions in various Nigerien groups (Shell Niger, Niger-Lait) and led numerous feasibility missions for mining projects and companies in Niger, in Burkina-Faso and Mali with an ever-green involvement towards Sahelian SME/SMI. From 1991 to 1997, he was in charge of Nigetip development, a World Bank project designed to support Nigerien SMEs in the building sector.  

PARTNERSHIP WITH I&P

I&P is committed alongside SINERGI to:

• Recruit and train the managing team

• Set up a methodology for the selection and the deepened analysis of companies asking for financing 

• Bring an exterior and experimented look in the investment choice

KEY IMPACTS

• SINERGI has already invested in more than 7 companies in Niger

• Through realized investments, about a hundred of jobs had been created.

La Laiterie du Berger is the only Senegalese company to manufacture dairy products from local fresh milk, collected from more than 800 farmers in the area Richard Toll in northern Senegal. The products of Laiterie du Berger, distributed in more than 6,000 outlets in late 2012, face a stiff competition face to products made ​​from imported milk powder and dairy products from the informal economy.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

Bagoré-Xavier Bathily was born in Dakar and studied veterinary medicine in Belgium. He then worked in France and for an NGO in Mauritania. In 2005, with strong support from his brothers and sisters, he created La Laiterie du Berger to enhance the production of fresh milk in Senegal.

PARTNERSHIP WITH I&P

I&P committed alongside with La Laiterie du Berger to:

• To provide the capital needed for the company to start

• To contribute to the early strategy of the company

• To progressively implement management tools

• To contribute to the expansion of the shareholder base

• To provide technical assistance on various topics (operational and financial)

IMPACTS

• Steady revenue granted to 800 rural families guaranteeing economic security and preservation of their traditional activity

• Contribution to the structure of the dairy industry in Senegal

• Offer of healthy affordable dairies in individually marketed goods