When asked to name one of his key strengths as a business owner, Siaka Sanon, the founder of AgroServ Industrie, Burkina Faso is quick to respond. “Patience,” he answers before adding that optimism and a steadfast vision have allowed him to navigate challenges which might have made a less resilient entrepreneur give up.
“I come from a family where my mother, a cereal producer, had a big influence on me,” says Siaka. “She was a strong woman. Her efforts paid my school fees.” After graduating with a degree in IT Management, Siaka joined his mother’s business, modernizing and managing it for ten years until she died. In 2008, he relaunched it as AgroServ. “I always had a strong work ethic,” he says. “I wanted to instill the pride in work which my mother gave me, in others.”
AgroServ focuses on the production and processing of agricultural products including maize. The company is located in the industrial zone of Kossodo, in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. It offers high quality products made from locally grown maize and has two automatic production lines with a production capacity of 50 tons per day each. The company has 120 employees and works with a network of more than 6,000 small producers from all over Burkina Faso.
“Our relationship with farmers is very important,” says Siaka. “We work closely with them to increase productivity and provide them with training and support. AgroServ’s processing units ensure that the harvested grains are cleaned, sorted and graded before being packaged and sold domestically and internationally.
“A core focus of our work is on sustainability and supporting local producers,” says Siaka. We aim to improve food security and increase productivity in the region.” Our relationship with farmers, though, is not without its challenges.”
Two ladies inspecting the dried maize kernels
Burkina Faso is experiencing an alarming rise in armed violence which is impacting its rural agricultural communities and leading to forced migration. The situation is exacerbated by climate change, further destabilizing the country’s food security. Livelihoods and social structures have been disrupted, exacerbating poverty. Around 80% of the country’s farmland is degraded. With producers dependent on imported fertilizers to grow crops, soaring prices have been too much for many farmers to afford, meaning crops have been planted in degraded soil.
“The combination of climate change and terrorism and their impact on sustainable agriculture presents many significant challenges for Burkina Faso,” says Siaka. “It’s important to promote adaptation strategies to mitigate the impact of climate change, as well as support for displaced people. A coordinated approach to these issues is necessary for long-term stability in Burkina Faso”.
Siaka is passionate about strengthening his country’s ability to produce its own food. “We must contribute to feeding Africa,” he states. “This is challenging as local conditions are difficult. Many believe that agricultural products should be imported from big European multinational corporations but I disagree. I firmly believe that Africa must feed itself.”
In 2015, Siaka heard about the business investment fund Sinergi Burkina, a partner of Argidius.“We made contact with Sinergi Burkina and around one year later, we began the relationship.” Created in 2014, Sinergi Burkina is the first impact investment fund dedicated to financing and supporting SMEs and start-ups in Burkina Faso. Launched in 2015, the fund is sponsored by the organisation I&P. “The main benefit of the collaboration has been the formalization of AgroServ,” explains Siaka. “They encouraged me to hire agents, pay taxes and formalize jobs.”He adds that the new structure has not been without difficulties. “We had to change our ways of working. Some employees didn’t understand the need to do this and rejected the changes. Yet today we can firmly see that it has been a solid credibility pledge for the company and our employees.”
The partnership has brought visibility to AgroServ. A launch event held at the company’s headquarters in 2018 saw the presence of His Highness, Prince Albert II of Monaco, together with the President of Burkina Faso, a visit which was widely reported locally.
Sinergi Burkina supported and financed Agroserv Industrie between 2017 and 2022. Through this partnership, AgroServ has committed itself to a fair governance dynamic and improving its economic and social impact. “This collaboration has enabled the industrialization of the company through a better structuring of the supply chain and a second production line, increasing its production capacity,” says Siaka. “The partnership has also allowed the strengthening of a network of around 6,000 small maize producers and the employees jobs’ formalization.”
The company has since welcomed new partners, including I&P (through its fund I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs), OikoCredit, BIO and EDFI AgriFi. This new investment amounting to €12.2 million will allow Agroserv Industrie to build a new production unit in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso, the economic capital of Burkina Faso and second most populated city after Ouagadougou. The funding will increase the company’s processing capacity to 160 tons per day and will be used to invest in more smallholder farmers supplying Agro Serv.
Agro Serv also plans to diversify into higher value-added products, including high-energy flour, pre-cooked cornmeal and soy protein, which will be sold to households, the government for school canteens and the World Food Program.
Aïcha Zio Savadogo is director of investments at Sinergi Burkina and has worked closely with AgroServ throughout the partnership. “It’s tough to be an entrepreneur in Burkina Faso and I just admire people like Mr. Sanon, who are very resilient,” she says. “It’s necessary and important to continue to support them. They are doing a very good job. Mr Sanon takes advice easily and is eager to learn new things. The development of their business means they are not having to buy in from abroad. Agroserv Industrie has, in our eyes, been an exemplary investment.”
AgroServ was strongly impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. To maintain its activities, the company decided to diversify its products by integrating the production of flour and semolina for households. Today it continues to be affected by the security situation in Burkina Faso. At the same time, the war in Ukraine has been accompanied by increasing prices of equipment and transport costs.
“It’s tough to be an entrepreneur in Burkina Faso and I just admire people like Mr. Sanon, who are very resilient. It’s necessary and important to continue to support them…The development of their business means they are not having to buy in from abroad. Agroserv Industry has, in our eyes, been an exemplary investment.” Aïcha Zio Savadogo, director of investments at Sinergi Burkina
This story was submitted by Argidius Foundation and edited for alignment with the Missing Middle campaign.