Siatol

Siatol is a young soybean processing company founded in 2010 by Marcel Ouédraogo.

Siatol processes soybeans into two high-value products: soya cake, sold to poultry producers, and soya oil, for household consumption. Siatol soya oil is known for its gustatory and nutritional qualities (the oil is made without GMO and is free of cholesterol). Siatol is the only company in Burkina to locally produce soya oil. 

Siatol currently works with more than 3,000 smallholders and strengthens the support program set up by APME2A by providing seeds and small equipment to producers, by allowing technical follow-up and setting up evaluation meetings.

The entrepreneur

Marcel Ouédraogo worked ten years in the sector of soy production before devoting himself exclusively to Siatol, with the objective of developing new opportunities for small producers and strengthening the national production of soya oil.

Graduated from the Université Polytechnique of Bobo Dioulasso, Marcel Ouédraogo is an agro-economic engineer, specialized on rural development issues. In December 2004, he joins the CIDR (International Center of Development and Research), a French association implementing development programs in several Sub-Saharan countries. Marcel Ouédraogo notably works on the ESOP program, focused on the Burkinabe soy production sector. In 2008, the CIDR partners with the NGO APME2A, founded in 2004 and dedicated to agricultural SMEs in Burkina.

Alongside his work within the NGO, Marcel Ouédraogo developed an economical model that would be better suited for small producers, while competition in the soya sector becomes stronger in Burkina: “the very small enterprises promoted by the programme could not produce soybean oil, considering the technical constraints and the quality requirements to be satisfied. Our objective with Siatol is to remove entry barriers and ensure outlets to small producers”

Partnership with Sinergi Burkina

Siatol is the first investment of Sinergi Burkina, an investment fund dedicated to small enterprises and start-ups in Burkina Faso. Several objectives have been set:

• Improve the structure of the company

• Reinforce the production chain

• Improve the productivity of the producers

Expected Impacts

• In the medium term, Siatol could work with about 10,000 local producers

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