Ivory Coast

Founded in 2016, AS Pharm is an innovative pan-African start-up that offers pharmacies a SaaS platform to optimise their operational management. This comprehensive solution covers all the essential aspects of their business, such as sales management, customer relations, invoicing, stock tracking, accounting, data analysis, and much more. Available both online and offline, the platform guarantees total flexibility to meet the specific needs of each pharmacy.

The entrepreneurs

AS Pharm was co-founded by two entrepreneurs, Régis Salako and Aboubakar Sidick Aboudou:

• Régis Salako is an experienced IT professional with a solid university education and more than 10 years' experience in the sector. He graduated from the University of Rennes in 2012 with a Master's degree in Computer Science specialising in MIAGE (computer methods applied to business management).
• Aboubakar Sidick Aboudou has gained significant experience in the IT sector, having worked as an Analyst Programmer, Design Engineer and Information System Manager in an IT consultancy firm in France for seven years. He graduated from ENSSAT (Ecole Nationale Supérieures des Sciences Appliquées et de Technologie) in 2011 with a degree in Software and Computer Systems Engineering.

Partnership with I&P and Fako Capital

AS Pharm is supported by I&P Accélération Technologies, a €2.5 million programme to finance and support around 15 digital start-ups in sub-Saharan Africa, backed by AFD through Digital Africa. In Côte d'Ivoire , this programme is implemented by Comoé Capital.

This partnership will enable the start-up to :

• Recruit technical and sales staff 
• Expand its activities in Côte d'Ivoire and accelerate its growth in Senegal.
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YARANI is a private vocational training center founded in 1990 by the Association Of Education and Development – EDE

YARANI was created to support the advancement of women of all ages and all social conditions in society through professional qualifications. The school offers Vocational training and continuous training in Catering, hospitality, and Nurse Aid to only women. The school campus is located in Abidjan Côte d’Ivoire.

The Entrepreneur
After 10 years in secondary education, Marie-Odile CACHIA joined Yarani in 1994 as General Manager. 

She holds a BAC G2, a CPECF, a BTS in accounting, and many certificates (Psychopedagogy, Hotel Management, Digitization of Training Services, ...) over the last 16 years.

Partenership with I&P 

Yarani is supported by I&P through the Mastercard Foundation Covid-19 Recovery and Resilience Program (CRRP).

Expected impacts

• Improve the quality of education of education with the development of short term train,  acquisition of pedagogical equipment and the training of teacher
• Upgrade employability with the reinforcement of dual training, the training of the career center agents, and a technical assistance for the measurement of employability
• Provide scholarship program to support 25 women 
• Improve resilience through the recruitment of a community manager and a marketing campaign

Oui Lait & Dêguê is an Ivorian company that operates in the agri-food sector, more specifically in the production of yogurt (or curdled milk) and dêguê (a mixture of yogurt and millet semolina or couscous). Its products are marketed through two distribution channels: direct sales (distribution of products directly to customers via sales outlets) and online sales (home delivery).

The entrepreneur

Oui Lait & Dêguê was founded by Mrs Saran Fadiga.  Autodidact, she grew up in an entrepreneurial and sales environment. With a A-Levels in literature, she undertook various activities (selling yogurt, jewelry, shoes, etc.) for five years before starting Oui Lait & Dêguê in 2017.

Partnership with I&P and Comoé Capital

The company is supported by I&P and Comoé Capital through I&P Acceleration in Sahel. The aim of the funding is to :

• increase and optimize the company's production capacity
• contribute to the opening of new stands
• contribute to the digitization of business monitoring

Oui Lait & Dêguê will also benefit from a number of technical aids to improve production, accounting and financial processes.

The Espace Véritable Santé (EVS) medical center is a private health facility offering day care such as generalist consultations but also specialized consultations (ultrasound, radiology, maternity excluding caesarean sections and medical analyses).

EVS is located in San-Pédro, in the Bas-Sassandra district of Côte d'Ivoire.

The entrepreneur

EVS was founded in 2017 by Dr ALLA Konan Barthelémy.

Partnership with Comoé Capital and I&P

EVS is supported by Comoé Capital, a partner of I&P, through private equity.

Expected impacts

• Increasing reception capacity and diversifying care offerings
• Improvement in the quality of care, particularly in medical imaging and maternity care, given the alarming infant mortality figures in Côte d'Ivoire.
• Staff training and capacity building

Ivoire Garba, commonly known as I-Garba, is a company that markets and promotes an Ivorian dish called garba. The company's ambition is to create a fast-food chain in Côte d'Ivoire, and in the future to export its model to the interior of the country and to neighboring countries.

The entrepreneur

Ivoire Garba was created by Mamadou Sidibé, an entrepreneur from Côte d'Ivoire. Holder of a BTS in business management, he worked as a security professional, launching several activities including the export of Abidjan's piqué chicken to the interior of the country.  He had to abandon this activity following the various crises that Côte d'Ivoire has experienced. In 2018, he led an attempt to open a McDonald's franchise.

Partnership with Comoé Capital and I&P

Ivoire Garba is financed by Comoé Capital, a partner of I&P, through an equity investment.

Expected impact

• Enhancement of a local specialty contributes to the promotion of Ivorian culture 
• Creation of over 40 sustainable jobs

The first campus of the EDHEC Group was opened in Abidjan, in 2003. Then, Bouaké and San Pedro campuses opened respectively in 2009 and 2012. EDHEC group offers Higher Education diplomas in the Industrial and Tertiary sectors.

One of the main objectives of EDHEC is to make education accessible to all. Therefore, the school has introduced a discount policy for students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds and who do not benefit from government scholarships. As a result, ~100% of their students receive each year a scholarship either from the government or the school.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

Paul Dakuyo is the founder and the General Manager of EDHEC GROUP. He holds an MBA in Business Administration from the American Pacific University (1988), a DESS in Economic Diagnosis from the Faculty of Economic Sciences of Grenoble (1994), and a PhD in Business Administration from the Washington International University. After his studies, he returned to Côte d'Ivoire where he has been teaching for 38 years. Passionate about education, and willing to contribute to the decentralization of the educational system he decided to create the EDHEC Group in 2003, as well as NIMBA Consulting (in 2004), a training and placement firm.

THE PARTNERSHIP WITH I&P

Through its I&P Education to Employment program, I&P is committed to working with EDHEC Group to:

⇒ Improve the EDHEC IT Pack

⇒ allow all the students to have access to books by subscribing to a digital library that will be accessible on all the campuses through the IT rooms.

⇒ open a laboratory for a food processing program in San-Pedro

⇒ open an infirmary in San Pedro

⇒ improve equipment in the multimedia room equipment and  internet connection

⇒ train career center agents

EXPECTED IMPACTS

⇒ Boost the employability of young people

⇒ Improve the quality of training provision through the acquisition of new equipment and services

The Institut International des Affaires en Entrepreneuriat (2IAE) is a Grande Ecole founded in 2006 and has five campuses in Côte d'Ivoire: Abidjan (Cocody and Yopougon), Yamoussoukro, Mbatto and Azaguié.
The school offers courses focusing on the industrial sector (agricultural production and civil engineering), with a high proportion of practical courses offering students excellent employment and entrepreneurial opportunities. For example, the agricultural programs feature facilities such as a fish pond, a farm and several experimental plots.
Entrepreneurship is at the heart of 2IAE training. All students enrolling at the 2IAE, whatever their program, receive entrepreneurship courses. In addition to promoting self-employment, the founder partners with national and international institutions (Office International des Migrations, European Union, Agence Emploi Jeune) to set up programs where students with vulnerable profiles receive short-term training with many practical courses to help them integrate into the workforce.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

Séraphin Koua is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for agriculture. His vision is that entrepreneurship is one of the surest ways for African countries to solve the problem of poverty and unemployment. His aim is to train young Ivorians in self-employment and contribute to the country's socio-economic development.

PARTNERSHIP WITH I&P

Through its I&P Education to Employment program, I&P is committed to working with 2IAE to:

⇒ Improve the quality of teaching by diversifying experimental plots and equipping practical rooms for biochemistry, electronics and agri-food courses, and acquiring books for its libraries for the Azaguié, Yopougon, Yamoussoukro and Mbatto campuses.

⇒ Enhance the digital skills of students at Mbatto and Azaguié by equipping multimedia rooms for e-learning and improving the internet connection.

⇒ Improve student employability by training career center agents in best practices for professional integration.

⇒ Improve campus safety by helping the school implement a new safety process (evacuation drill) across all campuses.

EXPECTED IMPACTS 

⇒ Strengthen young people's employability

⇒ Improve the quality of training provision through the acquisition of new equipment

Founded in 1996, Groupe Bowl is a Grande Ecole and a technical and vocational training school offering higher education, vocational training, and training courses in the tertiary and industrial sectors.  The Bowl Group has eight campuses across Côte d'Ivoire: Abidjan (Cocody, Marcory, 2 in Yopougon), Bouaké, Dabou, Daloa and San Pedro.
Vocational training at the Group's Bowl attracts a large number of students because of the type of programs offered (cashier, care assistant, medical delegate) and the school's good integration rate (100% of students get an internship after their training and 61% of trainees get a job - 2021 data) thanks to the many partnerships they have with recruiters (+250 partnerships). From the start, the Bowl Group has understood that practical training leading to qualifications represents a fundamental factor of competitive distinction and professional recognition for young people and companies alike. That's why our training programs place practical experience at the core of learning. The majority of Groupe Bowl students are women (75% of women enrolled for the 2022-2023 academic year).

THE ENTREPRENEUR

A graduate in export sales engineering, Jean Paul Dodo is also C.I.M. certified (Chartered Institute of Marketing in London). In 1996, in association with university friends, he set up a small business offering home tuition to children in the French collège and lycée system. However, to cope with the drop in business due to the socio-political crisis in Côte d'Ivoire in 2002, they decided to diversify their activities by introducing vocational training. In 2002, Group Bowl was accredited by the Ministry of Technical Education and Vocational Training to provide vocational training. At the same time, he has been a trainer in marketing and stock management, a software product manager and president of the Coordination des entreprises privées de formation professionnelle de Côte d'Ivoire (CCPFP-CI).

PARTNERSHIP WITH I&P

Through its I&P Education to Employment program, I&P is committed to working with Group Bowl to:

⇒ Improve the quality of education with the acquisition of teaching materials and the installation of a multimedia room for digital practice.

⇒ Reinforce well-being and safety on campus by building a canteen and an infirmary on the Daloa campus

EXPECTED IMPACTS 

⇒ Strengthen the employability of young people

⇒ Improve the quality of training provision through the acquisition of new equipment

The Institut Ivoirien de Technologie (IIT) is a higher education institution created in 2019 and providing training in the fields of engineering and management.

The general philosophy that guides the education provided at IIT is that of "Mens et Manus", which means Mind and Hands. The founder, Caliste Claude M'Bahia, believes that the acquisition of knowledge is as important as its practical application in the field. Therefore, IIT combines practice with theory through group work and interactive learning with professionals.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

Caliste Claude M'BAHIA is a computer engineer, entrepreneur and company director with a passion for technology. He graduated from the University of Washington and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

He began his entrepreneurial career with the creation of Smart Technologies, an IT services and consulting company where he served as CEO for four years. He then decided to found the Institut Ivoirien de Technologie (IIT) in order to contribute to the emergence of a more prosperous African society, through the learning of technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.

PARTNERSHIP WITH I&P

Through its I&P Education to Employment program, I&P is committed to working with the Institut Ivoirien de Technologie to:

⇒ Improve the quality of education with the acquisition of electronic telecommunications and network equipment 

⇒ Support the implementation of a scholarship program for girls co-funded by the program and already identified ecosystem actors, 

⇒ Strengthen campus safety and security through the implementation of an infirmary and a new security process

EXPECTED IMPACTS 

⇒ Strengthen the employability of young people

⇒ Improve the quality of training provision through the acquisition of new equipment

⇒ Enable twenty young women from disadvantaged backgrounds to access appropriate training through a scholarship system

Siallou Production Agricole & Animale (SPAA) is a company specialized in the transformation of coffee beans (green coffee) into ground coffee in Ivory Coast.

The entrepreneur

SPAA was founded by Armand Siallou Kouadio, a young entrepreneur with a DUT in Communication and Human Resources and a BTS in Business Communication. After spending 11 years with agricultural cooperatives in coffee and cocoa, he founded his own company.

Partnership with I&P and Comoé Capital

SPAA is supported by I&P and Comoé Capital through I&P Acceleration in Sahel. This partnership will enable to organize the production unit and to improve its production capacity. SPAA will also benefit from a technical support which will revitalize the accounting and commercial functions of the company and improve the production process as well as the quality of the products.