WIC Capital and WE! Fund, a fund of the Sovereign Fund of Strategic Investments (FONSIS) of Senegal and UNCDF (United Nations Capital Development Fund) dedicated to SMEs, announce their investment in the Senegalese startup MBURU.
MBURU is a bakery brand created in 2019 in Ngaparou, in the Thiès region, by Ms. Isseu DIOP SAKHO and operated by the company PATRIA. MBURU specializes in the production and marketing of breads, pastries and pastries made from local raw materials (millet, corn, sorghum, seasonal fruits, etc.). These cereals are still little used in Senegalese bakeries despite their nutritional value and local availability. MBURU has developed a whole range of bakery products around the promotion of dry local cereals as a substitute for commonly imported wheat. At the same time, MBURU has developed a distribution network based on women’s groups in rural areas. This integrated vision of MBURU makes it possible to structure a value chain ensuring outlets for local cereal producers and ensuring income for the mobilized women processors.
This investment of 243 million FCFA made by WIC Capital and WE! Fund is a mix of capital and quasi-capital. This fourth investment by WIC CAPITAL was made with the participation of the General Delegation for the Rapid Entrepreneurship of Women and Youth (DER). WIC CAPITAL has, to date, unionized nearly 750 million FCFA (~ 1.4m USD) in African businesses run by women.
Created in 2019, WE! Fund, a private equity firm set up by FONSIS and UNCDF, specializes in financing projects contributing to the economic empowerment of women. WE! Fund provided 120 million FCFA for the realization of the operation.
The founder of MBURU, Isseu DIOP SAKHO, declared: “I am delighted with this funding by WIC Capital and WE! Fund, which reinforces the development potential of the brand. This investment will allow us to pursue our innovations which lie in the digitization of our production and marketing chains and constitutes the first step towards our desire to expand throughout the national territory. The partnership with these two players, WIC Capital and WE! Fund, which works for the empowerment of women, also brings us a clear possibility of growth by strengthening our production tools and by ricochet a positive touch on the lives of women distributors of our products and producers of local cereals with whom we collaborate. ”
Speaking on behalf of WIC Capital, Ms. Évelyne DIOH SIMPA, Executive Director of the fund, said: “We are happy to join Isseu in the growth momentum of MBURU. We believe that the alliance of technological innovation, creativity and the central place occupied by women in MBURU’s strategy will make the company a benchmark bakery brand in Senegal.
The bakery and pastry sectors occupy a prominent place in the diet of our populations and have been able to resist the COVID 19 crisis. Including digital distribution and the use of local cereals is a factor of sustainability. of the company.
Invest alongside WE! Fund in this type of enterprise is another step towards strengthening the African private sector, thus contributing to job creation, innovation and GDP growth in our States. This is our first joint investment and we hope this financial partnership will be extended to other women entrepreneurs. ”
Mr. Babacar Gning, President of WE! Fund commented: “MBURU has won us over with its approach that consolidates a value chain in the area of food sovereignty. In addition to generating a positive impact on the economic empowerment of women, MBURU is creating a new model of production and distribution of breads and pastries throughout the national territory by including areas that are often lacking in bakery products. quality; thus contributing to territorial equity. We welcome our collaboration with WIC Capital in this project, which confirms the emergence of a Senegalese capital investment adapted to the needs of our SMEs “.
