Interview of Mamadou Sanankoua, Director of Conergies

Mamadou Sanankoua manages Conergies since 2011, after several years spent in Europe and in Canada for his studies and work. Returning to Côte d'Ivoire, he takes over the family business and actively participates to the development of the company, in partnership with I&P which partners with Conergies in 2012.

In a short interview, Mamadou discusses the evolution of Conergies, a group based in Côte d'Ivoire and Mali specialized in the design and installation of air conditioning and industrial cooling systems.

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3 Questions to Mamadou Sanankoua

You took over the company founded by your father in 2011. Why this choice and what major evolutions since the creation of Conergies?

I studied engineering in Canada and France, where I did a Master's Degree at ESCP. After that I worked ten years in France and Belgium in the field of air conditioning and energy efficiency. After this 10-years experience, I thought that the best place to develop these activities was. So I decided to return to Cote d'Ivoire and Mali to take over the family business.

I started in 2011 in Bamako. When I arrived the company made about 800 000 € turnover and there were about twenty employees. We decided to develop in air conditioning and refrigeration, installation and maintenance. Today the turnover is 4.5 million euros and we have about 100 employees in Côte d'Ivoire and Mali.

How did first meet I&P and what did you get from this partnership?

The first time we met, it was in Portugal during an event dedicated to investment. We went out of curiosity but we met I&P, one of the only entities that invested in SMEs in West Africa. From there we started to work together and this resulted in I&P investing in Conergies in 2012.

I&P has allowed us to deploy the strategy identified in the business plan, in Côte d'Ivoire and in Mali. They also helped us in the structuring of the entire financial part, with the implementation of an integrated and computerized management system and the formalization of the financial reports.

They also helped us structure our vision on ESG and impact issues, pushing us to consider the impact the company had on the environment, our employees and all those who interact directly or indirectly with us.

I&P works with Conergies since 2012 and is now preparing its exit. What are your plans for the future?

Our projects for the future are to continue to grow in a profitable way, first by developing our activities in West Africa. The aim is to develop in countries such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and possibly English-speaking countries. One of our biggest challenges is also to develop our human resources. The second important challenge is to be able to finance the working capital requirement that this growth will generate.

With I&P we achieved a first level, that of being a leader in the two countries where our subsidiaries operate. The second stage is to become one of the key actors throughout West Africa