Investment: WE! Fund, a subsidiary of FONSIS, mobilizes one billion FCFA for two Senegalese SMEs
The subsidiary of the Sovereign Fund for Strategic Investments (FONSIS) has signed two investment agreements with Mayawa Agro-Industrie, in Touba, and Amar Bio Solutions, in Sandiara. With a total amount of one billion FCFA, this financing should make it possible to strengthen the industrial capacities of the two companies and create nearly 200 direct jobs.
Financing for Senegalese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is strengthened with the intervention of WE! Fund. The FONSIS subsidiary has concluded two investment agreements in favor of Mayawa Agro-Industrie, specializing in the production of mineral water in Touba, and Amar Bio Solutions, which develops ecological hygiene and cleaning products in Sandiara, in the Thiès region.
With a total amount of one billion FCFA, these investments aim to support the industrial development of the two companies, increase their production capacities and promote the creation of nearly 200 direct jobs.
“Our intervention allows two Senegalese companies to reach a new industrial milestone,” underlines Seynabou Ndiaye, president of F-Gestion and director of WE! Fund. She specifies that the fund intends to provide them with the necessary resources to “increase their production capacities, structure their growth and create more value and jobs in Senegal”.
Mayawa Agro-Industrie strengthens its production in Touba
In Touba, the financing granted to Mayawa Agro-Industrie will be devoted to the acquisition of a new automatic packaging line for Aïnou mineral water. The equipment must allow the company to increase its production, packaging and distribution capacities.
This industrial expansion should lead to the creation of 160 direct jobs, with a feminization rate greater than 50%. The project also has an environmental and community dimension.
The company plans, in fact, the development of a basin intended to allow surrounding villages to reuse part of the water pumped from the source for market gardening, livestock and fish farming activities.
Through this system, the project intends to associate the development of industrial production with the local valorization of water resources, for the benefit of the economic activities of local communities.
In Sandiara, a unit dedicated to ecological products
In Sandiara, Amar Bio Solutions will benefit from funding for the installation of automatic production lines with a capacity of 5,000 liters per day. The company is developing an industrial unit specializing in the manufacturing of ecological hygiene and cleaning products.
The future factory will notably produce disinfectant gels, liquid soaps, dishwashing liquids, multi-purpose detergents, bleach and surface cleaners based on natural products.
The project is expected to generate nearly 40 direct jobs. It is based on the use of biodegradable components and is part of an approach combining local production, green industrialization and circular economy.
For Amina Lome Amar, general manager of Amar Bio Solutions, this investment constitutes an important step in the development of the company. “It will allow us to accelerate the production and marketing of innovative hygiene solutions based on plant-based active ingredients, while strengthening our innovation capabilities and our presence on West African markets,” she explains.
A lever for Vision Senegal 2050
These two investments are part of the strategy to support businesses with high potential for growth and economic development in the regions. For FONSIS, they participate in the dynamic of creating economic centers outside Dakar, in accordance with the orientations of Vision Senegal 2050.
“FONSIS supports the ambition of Vision Senegal 2050 to create the conditions for the development of territorial economic poles,” declares its general director, Babacar Gning. He believes that these investments in innovative SMEs, established outside the capital, demonstrate a dynamic now underway in Senegal.
Created in November 2019 by FONSIS, in partnership with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the Women Economic Empowerment Fund (WE! Fund) is an impact investment fund that supports companies whose activities contribute in particular to strengthening the economic opportunities of women and their participation in the national economy.
After a first pilot phase with one billion FCFA, the fund launched, in November 2023, a second investment phase increased to 10 billion FCFA, with the participation of the African Development Bank (ADB) and the German development bank KfW.
Since its creation, WE! Fund has invested 5.26 billion FCFA in 15 Senegalese SMEs. With the Touba and Sandiara projects, the fund continues its support for local businesses, with an emphasis on industrial development, job creation and the enhancement of the economic potential of the territories.
