In 2019, Investisseurs & Partenaires launched I&P Accélération au Sahel thanks to funding from the European Union, more specifically through The EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa. Financed up to €15.5 million, and deployed over 5 years, this program is aimed at start-ups and small businesses in the Sahel region with one main objective: to give them access to the financing and skills they need to enable their development and thus promote job creation.
Each year, Investisseurs & Partenaires evaluates and reports on the environmental, social and governance impact of its various funds. Highlighting the significant contributions of these funds to the African private sector.
Agro-Emballage specializes in the production and commercialization of woven polypropylene bags. Agro-Emballage aims to support the agri-food industry by making their products more competitive through the provision of packaging that is adapted and attractive in terms of design and quality. It also installs and maintains machinery.
The entrepreneur
Agro-Emballage was founded in 2018 by Célestin KANAZOE, an engineer specializing in mechanics and renewable energies from Mohamed 1er University in Oujda (Morocco) who has several years’ experience in entrepreneurship. With the support of his wife Estelle DJIGUIMDE, he began his entrepreneurial adventure by repackaging food products in attractive packagings. That’s how he began importing packaging for commercial purposes. Building on this success, he now plans to become the national leader in the production of polypropylene woven bags.
Partnership with Sinergi Burkina
Agro-Emballage is supported by Sinergi Burkina through an equity investment that aims at :
Since 2019 with the support of the European Union, I&P has been preparing small and medium-sized enterprises in the Sahelian sub-region for investment through the I&P Acceleration in the Sahel program. Three years after its launch, I&P is proud to present the first lessons of the program, identified following the mid-term evaluation carried out by Dalberg consulting firm.
AK Services, also known as Restaurant Chez Fitini, is a Burkinabè agri-food SME specializing in food service (specifically local meals) and event catering (weddings, birthdays, christenings, etc.). The company's target clientele consists mainly of individuals, companies, NGOs and local authorities. In just a few years, the company has built up a solid reputation, and enjoys the trust of a large portfolio of private and professional customers in Burkina Faso.
The entrepreneur
The company was founded in 2019 by Ms Assétou KOUANDA, who has over 10 years' experience in preparing African and European dishes.With a BAC G2 in accounting, her passion for cooking goes back to her childhood spent alongside her aunt who owned a restaurant in Ouagadougou's Paagla Yiri neighborhood. Over the years, she has acquired solid experience in the kitchen and consolidated her passion for entrepreneurship through trips to countries such as Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Mali, France, Turkey and China, where she had the opportunity to take part in various training courses on the culinary arts.
Partnership with Sinergi Burkina
AK Services is supported by I&P and Sinergi Burkina through I&P Acceleration in Sahel. The main aims of this partnership are to :
Pharm’Xpert is a company based in Burkina Faso specialized in the assistance and management of pharmacies: the company provides services such as feasibility studies for the opening of health structures, assistance in the management and recovery of pharmacies, training of pharmacy assistants and pharmacists, etc.
The entrepreneur
Pharm’Xpert was founded by Dr. Malick Ba in 2014, who started in 2002 in the Burkinabe civil service, looking for solutions to facilitate the accessibility of health products and care to the population. Convinced that a healthy population is an important lever of development for any nation, he created his own company in order to overcome the mismanagement and poor coordination of the activities of pharmaceutical structures with a view to providing quality health services to populations.
Partnership with I&P and Sinergi Burkina
Pharm’Xpert is supported by Sinergi Burkina through capital-investment. The main objective of this partnership is to :
Massaka is a media and communication consulting company in Burkina Faso offering communication to national and international institutions, NGOs and associations. It also offers a service of media coverage and advertorial, online training via its web platform named “Agribusiness TV” whose vocation is to promote agricultural innovations and youth entrepreneurship.
The entrepreneurs
Massaka was created by 2 young entrepreneurs passionate about rural development issues:
Partnership with Sinergi Burkina and I&P
Massaka is supported by I&P and Sinergi Burkina through I&P Accelération in Sahel. This partnership aims at :
Expected impacts
In this article from Le Figaro, Anne Cheyvialle describes the rise of the Burkinabe agricultural processing company Agroserv, now the leading player in the maize value chain in Burkina Faso and on its way to becoming one of the most important players in West Africa, and how I&P, through its various financing and support vehicles, has contributed to this growth.
In Ouagadougou, Angéline Yougbaré Traoré makes and sells fashion accessories based on the emblematic Burkinabe fabric, Faso Dan Fani. Combining tradition and modernity, La Maison Fenel is supported by I&P Acceleration in Sahel, a program launched by I&P, funded by the European Union and implemented in Burkina Faso by the impact investment fund Sinergi Burkina.
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