Dialibatou Invest, a Senegalese tech-enabled startup that specialises in the roasting, production and on-demand delivery of ground coffee in sachets and capsules under the brand name Dialibatou Café Touba brand, has received 250 million CFA francs ($390K) investment from the WE! Fund (Women’s Economic Empowerment Fund), a fund established by FONSIS and UNCDF.
With the help of this support from the WE! Fund, Dialibatou Invest will be able to expand its activities and carry out its development strategy. Through the development of a new manufacturing facility in Thiès’ industrial zone, the said project will increase the capacity for producing coffee.
“Dialibatou sought the WE FUND established by FONSIS and UNCDF for extra resources and to achieve its goals. This money will allow our company to expand its production capacity by purchasing new machinery, among other things. It will also enable the construction of a new production unit of approximately 2,000 m2 in Thiès’ industrial zone, resulting in the creation of new jobs through the additional recruitment of 82 workers with a feminization rate of at least 60%,” Magatte Paté Faye, Co-founder and Manager of Dialibatou Invest said.
Why The Investor Invested
“We agreed to invest in Dialibatou Invest because it is a promising project with many spinoffs. It not only helps to diversify the economy the Senegalese economy and boost “local consumption,” but it also provides for the reduction of the coffee gap noticed on the Senegalese market in terms of aromas and quality in the offer. Dialibatou has taken on the challenge of conquering national and global markets in order to uncover local recipes for flavoured ground coffee in a variety of ways,” Babacar Gning, the president of WE! Fund, said.
“SMEs are crucial to our economy. They are the primary forces behind development and job creation. Based on this finding, FONSIS and UNCDF established the WE! Fund, a fund devoted to funding initiatives that have an effect on the economic empowerment of women,” Babacar Gning, the president of WE! Fund, said.
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A Look At What The Startup Does
Founded in 2020, Dialibatou Invest produces, markets and delivers the Touba coffee brand “Dialibatou.” The Touba coffee has become one of Senegal’s trademark drinks.
“Concerned about social disparities and the low rate of feminization in Senegal’s coffee branch, Dialibatou has integrated women into the heart of its industry project; integration that translates into an increase in the female resource within the company and in positions as strategic as operational,” said Magatte Paté Faye, of its collaboration with WE! Fund.”
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh