Fako Capital

CHOCOLATERIE NOHI is a Cameroonian company specialized in the artisanal production of chocolate and related products. It promotes local cocoa by offering natural and healthy products, ranging from chocolate bars to confectionery, spreads, and semi-finished products. Following a logic of local development and value creation, the company contributes to supporting rural communities and aims to become a key player in the chocolate sector in Cameroon and Central Africa.

Entrepreneurs

Founded in 2017, CHOCOLATERIE NOHI was created by two young Cameroonians, Nozawo Tchoffo Hippolyte and Boyoguino Yambena Pierre. Hippolyte, an engineer in industrial chemistry and environmental engineering, worked for several years in the industry before dedicating himself to his company while training small producers in good post-harvest practices and organic cocoa cultivation. Pierre, an engineer in the same field, managed his family’s plantations before joining the company as Operations Director. He oversees the company’s plantations and also contributes to training more than fifty small cocoa farmers grouped within a cooperative.

Partenariat avec I&P et Fako Capital

Chocolaterie Nohi is supported by I&P FARM, a €40 million program aimed at financing and supporting 28 start-ups and SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular focus on the Francophone countries of West, Central, and East Africa, in the agricultural sector, supported by PROPARCO. In Cameroon, the implementation of this program is managed by Fako Capital. This partnership will enable the SME to:

• Purchase raw materials: acquisition of cocoa beans and other local ingredients to support increased production volumes;
• Enter the market through commercial actions to be deployed: recruitment of a sales team and implementation of a targeted campaign to strengthen brand awareness and sales.

ECLIPSE ER Cameroun SAS is a Cameroonian company created in September 2020, specializing in the supply, design, installation, and maintenance of solar power plants and commercial solar energy systems in Cameroon. The company focuses on EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) services as well as O&M (Operation and Maintenance) services for the residential, commercial, and mini-grid segments.

To ensure the efficient execution of each project it undertakes, the company uses platforms (equipment suppliers) to remotely monitor the installed solar plants. This enables real-time tracking of solar system performance. Through dedicated sensors and software, Eclipse can monitor energy production, the condition of solar panels, inverter performance, and even the site’s energy consumption.

The entrepreneur

Ismael Touani, an EPC specialist with over 15 years of experience in the field, most of it acquired in Canada, is the founder behind this project, which he describes as the project of his life. His goal is to facilitate access to reliable and green electricity while demonstrating that renewable energy power plant installations in Cameroon can meet the same quality standards found elsewhere in the world.

Partnership with I&P and Gaia Impact

Eclipse ER Cameroun is supported by I&P Digital Energy, a €4.8 million program designed to finance and support around a dozen start-ups and SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa that offer digital solutions for access to affordable energy. The program is backed by AFD and the EU. In Cameroon, it is implemented by I&P Cameroun/Fako Capital.

This partnership will enable the start-up to finance:

• The purchase of equipment for project implementation;
• The acquisition of new vehicles for staff and material transport;
• The purchase of software allowing the company to increase its digitalized operational processes from 50% to nearly 80%, marking a significant step in its digital transformation;
• The creation of a safety stock to ensure the timely execution of ongoing and upcoming projects;
• The strengthening of its team through the recruitment of new profiles.

Nkwa Tech Ltd is a Cameroonian company that has developed an application that encourages its users to save: users can set savings targets in terms of either amounts or dates. Withdrawal before reaching the target leads to penalties (set by the users), while achieving the target on time leads to rewards in the form of interest generated on the amount saved.

Nkwa Tech Ltd has a platform whose transactions are based on mobile payment technology. The platform incorporates an interface dedicated to end users, the operators' customers.

The entrepreneurs

Nkwa Tech Ltd was founded in 2021 by Akwo ASHANGNDOWAH, a Cameroonian entrepreneur with experience in creating technological applications.

Partenariat avec I&P et Fako Capital

Nkwa Tech Ltd is supported by I&P Accélération Technologies, a €2.5 million programme to finance and support around fifteen digital start-ups in Sub-Saharan Africa, backed by AFD through  Digital Africa. In Cameroon, this programme is being implemented by Fako Capital.

This partnership will enable this start-up to carry out :

• Bring the company into legal compliance (recasting of articles of association, acquisition of microfinance approvals, etc)
• Strengthen the company's governance by setting up an advisory committee to assist with strategic decisions
• Supporting the company in its structuring by setting up a robust accounting and financial system, an operations management system, and in the development of its human resources
• Strengthening the company's marketing efforts to increase its visibility and the number of users
• Support in launching microfinance activities