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Weisse Illustration einer Fabrik mit dem Titel La Belle Usine

We're building a factory! 

We need more space to process our cashews and mangos in Burkina Faso. Follow our progress on 'La Belle Usine' here.

The plan for the new and bigger factory in Burkina Faso began in 2021 with our crowdfunding project, Walls Against Walls. More than 2'000 people donated in support of the building project, helping us raise over €900'000 for the construction. 

As the name of our crowdfunding Walls Against Walls suggested, the wall around the factory site should not divide, but connect. It was to become a platform for the local art scene, carrying its messages out into the world, a symbol of community and social change.

This vision has now become a reality! At the end of 2024, 20 artists from Burkina Faso realized their works on the wall around the factory site. We are thrilled by the wide variety of their creative work. Learn more about the project in the video:

Our current processing plant in Bobo-Dioulasso is bursting at the seams. So we're creating a new, bigger factory in Burkina Faso, along with 1'000 new jobs in the region. This will also enable us to source cashews and mangos from an additional 3'000 family farmers in future.  

We are currently on track to begin processing the first batch of cashews in early summer of 2025. After that, we'll gradually increase our annual mango processing volume from 684 tonnes to 1'500 tonnes. Cashew production capacity will be increased from 300 to 2'000 tonnes. 

We are investing in La Belle Usine – or beautiful factory, as the locals call it – in a place where hardly any foreign companies invest capital, creating added value and jobs where they are urgently needed. 

The plan for the new factory began in 2021 with our crowdfunding project, Walls Against Walls. More than 2'000 people donated in support of the building project, helping us raise over €900'000 for the construction. The development funds EDFI-AgriFI and BIO Invest both invested additional sums.  

It's our first construction project of this size. Many of the administrative steps have taken more time than we anticipated. The political situation in Burkina Faso has caused ongoing uncertainty – most notably, the two military coups in eight months in 2022. As a result, we lost a lot of time in obtaining the necessary approvals. But now our plans are finally taking shape! 

Interviews with the team on-site

Thierry Compaore

Thierry Compaore, our local co-project manager, was born in Burkina Faso. He has managed various construction projects and worked in Canada for several years before joining gebana.

You have previously worked on a number of construction sites. How does a construction site in Burkina Faso differ from one in Canada?
Thierry Compaore: In Canada and Europe, every type of machine imaginable is available for construction projects. Lorries, excavators, bulldozers. When it comes to groundwork, you don’t see anyone using a shovel or pickaxe. The concrete is  ready to use and delivered by lorry, whereas in Burkina Faso, we mix our own concrete on site. Another difference is the availability of trained and experienced builders. In Burkina, we work primarily with people from the region who desperately need work. Some have a bit of experience, but not all of them.

What's it like to work with the government authorities in Burkina Faso?
In Canada, and in European countries, you submit your documents and then you might have to follow up two or three times to get your permits. In Burkina, you need a personal connection to someone at the ministry or government authority. You have to make a lot of phone calls, meet people, explain the urgency and try to be as friendly as possible. Otherwise, your documents could even end up missing.

What impact did the two military coups have?
During the first coup, all the relevant key players remained in office. Because we had good relationships with them and our project will be creating added value locally, we had no major issues getting our paperwork. But the second coup directly impacted our environmental study, which cost us time. On the whole, however, our dealings with the local authorities have gone fairly smoothly.

What do you think about the delays you have encountered so far?
In Burkina and Africa in general delays caused by bureaucracy are normal. But delays during the actual building work are a global issue. Regardless of which country you're building in, there will always be minor issues or disruptions. Sometimes you don't have a choice, you have to take the hit and get on with it.

Mirjam Traoré

Mirjam Traoré was born in Switzerland and has been living in Burkina Faso since 2016. One of her roles at gebana Burkina Faso is Head of HR.

What does it take to find 1'000 employees in Burkina Faso?
Mirjam Traoré: While carrying out assessments before construction began, during the ceremonies held on site and discussions with village elders and government authorities, we repeatedly promised that the factory would create a lot of jobs in the region. Word has spread and we have people coming to see us almost every day to put their names on our list for future job opportunities. But we're also looking for technicians and electricians to service the machines, which we didn't have before. We're actively recruiting these skilled workers at the moment so they'll be available when the machines are installed.

What's your interview process like?
When you have to hire 200 to 300 people in one go, you can't have an in-depth interview with each person. We sit down together for a few minutes and explain how things work, when they would need to start and what the salary would be. We then hold group sessions to explain who gebana is and what we stand for. Unfortunately, we often get people who don't have an ID or even a birth certificate. This is linked with the movement of refugees within the country and the fact that up until recently, you could only obtain a copy of your birth certificate from your local municipality. But you can now apply for one remotely. We help those affected to take advantage of this new service as we can't employ them without papers.

How do current employees feel about the upcoming changes?
Everyone knows that, going forward, the painstaking task of cracking the cashews will be done by machines, and many are delighted. Some employees were initially worried that they'd lose their jobs. But we'll be needing a lot more people overall, so they will all be able to stay. Their work will shift to downstream processes, which require less effort than cracking cashews. I think everyone here at gebana Burkina Faso is really looking forward to the new factory. But we've been talking about it for a long time. By now, some people are starting to doubt whether La belle usine will really happen. That's why we've already organised several visits to the construction site to take a look at the first buildings with them and dispel any doubts.

Ousseni Porgo

Ousseni Porgo is Co-CEO at gebana Burkina Faso. His responsibilities include working with the family farmers and purchasing their raw materials.

How many new family farmers do we need for the new factory to run at full capacity?
Ousseni Porgo: Our goal is to increase the number of family farmers from our current total of 4'687 to around 7'000 within the next three years. We plan on adding the first 1'000 families to our network by the end of 2024. I'm confident that we'll be able to achieve this.

What are the challenges you face when searching for new family farmers?
The security problem in our country makes the search difficult. Things are improving around Bobo-Dioulasso and more and more families are returning to their homes, but it's still dangerous in the north.

How will the new volume of goods impact our local logistics?
The cooperatives are responsible for transporting their raw materials. But we also look at the distance of their transport routes when negotiating prices. For example, if a cooperative is located 200 kilometres from our warehouse, we pay a small surcharge to ensure they can finance the transport. The quality of the roads poses a greater challenge. It takes two days for some producers to get to Bobo-Dioulasso because the roads are so bad.

With so many producers, what is the quality like?
It is indeed a challenge. Even today, family farmers could theoretically harvest more than we currently need. But climate change is making this increasingly difficult. We experienced extremely high temperatures during the flowering season in February this year. A lot of trees lost their blossoms, which caused harvest volumes to plummet and had a negative impact on quality. That's why we're now focussing even more on training producers. In the end, climate change will make it even more important to maintain the fields with adequate fertilisation and to ensure the health of the trees.

Every day a step closer to La Belle Usine

Fabrikbau in Burkina Faso

 

The final construction work on the cashew processing building is underway. The cracking machines have already been installed and further machine elements are being set up. We expect to be able to crack the first cashews on site in August!

We laid the foundations for financing our construction project in 2021 with the Walls Against Walls crowdfunding campaign. Now we can finally put our promise to our supporters from back then into practice: 20 artists from Burkina Faso will paint the wall around the factory site with their works. The wall, an object of separation, will thus become a place of connection and a platform for the Burkinabe artists.
Fabrikbau in Burkina Faso

 

Over the last few weeks, the building site has gone from a huge expanse of red earth to a construction site with buildings. The first part of the cashew processing building now has a roof and we will be pouring the floor slab in the coming weeks. We expect to be able to start installing the cashew equipment in October. The construction work for the day care centre and the canteen is almost complete and the administration building is expected to be finished by the end of October.

 

Last but not least, we are currently planning a pilot project for a composting plant to use mango and cashew shells efficiently, which is being supported by a new financing partner. The aim is to enable family farmers to use the compost for their fields.

Fabrikbau in Burkina Faso

 

The foundations for the social block are almost finished and the walls for the canteen and the day care centre are already in place. The foundations for the cashew processing building are still being laid and the construction company is already assembling the steel structures.

 

The rainy season is just around the corner - the first stress test for the groundwork! We hope that the rain will not cause any other delays, because the cashew processing equipment has already arrived and we are ready to start cracking the first raw cashews as soon as the buildings are finished.

Fabrikbau in Burkina Faso

 

Workers are currently digging the foundations for the office buildings, canteen and daycare centre on site. In addition, the prefabricated building elements for mango processing have arrived in our storage location. The machines for cashew processing have also arrived in Bobo-Dioulassou and are awaiting customs clearance.

Spatenstich Fabrik

 

A groundbreaking ceremony for the factory is held on 2 February 2024 to mark the beginning of construction on the first buildings.

The site is mostly ready for construction. The boundary wall around the property is nearly complete and the site has been terraced. The steel structures for the buildings in which our cashews will later be processed have also been delivered. If everything goes according to plan, we'll be able to start processing the first batch of nuts in autumn 2024.

Due to factors such as the unstable political situation, it's taken much longer than anticipated to obtain planning permission for our project. We finally receive confirmation from the relevant authorities at the end of November 2023. This is a major milestone for the project!

Mauerbau Fabrik

 

We begin construction on the boundary wall surrounding the site. Once completed, it will be decorated with works by local artists.

Eight months after the last government was overthrown, another military coup takes place in October 2022. The head of state, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, is removed from office. The country is now led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré. On 30 September 2022, coup plotters blockade the capital Ouagadougou, restricting access to the presidential palace and completely sealing off the country. The coup pushes back our building project considerably. There are further delays, as outstanding permits and ongoing procedures relating to the construction cannot move forward for the time being.

My Image

 

In anticipation of the construction starting soon, we are planning the first work on the plot. Before construction can begin, the top layers of earth have to be removed, stones crushed and bushes and trees removed.Any trees that don't necessarily need to be removed will remain where they are. Once this is done, we can begin terracing the site. In parallel, the team in Burkina Faso negotiates with suppliers for the machines that will later be used to process the mangos and cashews.

My Image

 

Our team visits various ministries and authorities in Burkina Faso to present our project to the national cashew authority and the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Minister of the Environment, Energy and Water, Dr Maminata Traore, is particularly interested in our commitment to the employment of women and organic farming.

The Belgian development bank BIO Invest and the Belgian Agriculture Financing Initiative (AgriFI) agree to provide €6 million in financing for the construction of our new factory. After extensive preliminary discussions, we receive a commitment for their support. The coup in Burkina Faso has hindered the audit process and the site visit of the people in charge. Now the financing of our project has finally been secured.

On 24 January 2021, the military announced that it had deposed Roch Kaboré, the President of Burkina Faso. The constitution is suspended, while the temporary closure of the country's borders and the imposition of night-time curfews take effect.

 

The coup causes some concern among our financing partners. The political situation makes investing in the country even riskier than before. Administrative processes are delayed due to a lack of clarity regarding responsibilities within the government.

 

Nevertheless, we press ahead with the plans for our new factory. We have found both a local contractor and a technical project manager.

We purchase about 11 hectares of land near Bobo Dioulasso and begin planning the construction work. Because the site isn't completely flat, we first have to terrace it. The plan is to build two or three large warehouses for production and infrastructure with a total area of more than 12'000 square metres. In addition to the warehouse for the cashews and mangos, the plan includes a building for processing. There will also be office space, an in-house laundry, a canteen and childcare facilities for employees.

€960'569 pledged by 2'082 supporters: We have raised an impressive sum with our Walls Against Walls crowdfunding campaign. Although we didn't quite reach our target of €1 million, we still consider the crowdfunding campaign a great success.

Our Walls Against Walls crowdfunding campaign starts in early 2021. The goal is to raise €1 million for the construction of a new, larger factory in Burkina Faso. The project involves over 30 international artists, each of whom will donate a work of art to the project. Some of these works will be created especially for our project. Supporters of the project can choose a print of one of the pieces as a thank you for their donation. Once completed, the wall around the factory site will be decorated by local artists from Burkina Faso. This will give the local artist community a platform, and the walls of the factory will carry their message out into the world.

More space = greater impact  

We have been selling products from Burkina Faso for over 20 years and operating our own local processing plant since 2006. The number of employees and family farmers we work with has been increasing steadily ever since. Given the political situation in the country, investments in Burkina Faso entail significant risk, and navigating our activities has proven to be exceedingly complex.​ Hardly any Western companies have invested in long-term projects in the country.  

We are investing over €11 million in the country by creating La Belle Usine. We're also generating 1'000 new jobs. Our factory will become a key driver of the local economy. And we are getting closer to our goal of doubling our impact over the next few years.   

One of the donors for our project is EDFI AgriFI. This is an impact investment facility funded by the European Union, managed by EDFI Management Company, with a mandate to provide medium to long-term financing to private sector enterprises active in the agri-food value chain with a focus on smallholder farmers.

Our project is also supported by The Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries, BIO. This is a development finance institution established in 2001 by the Belgian development cooperation to support private sector growth in Africa, Asia & Latin America. BIO provides long-term financing to enterprises, the financial sector, and private infrastructure projects, as well as grants for feasibility studies and technical assistance programmes. BIO invests in projects targeting both high and sustainable development impact, and a modest financial return. BIO is a member of EDFI.

 

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