A Dakar-based waste recycling startup, E-cover SAS founded by a 25-year-old Senegalese Yaye Souadou Fall has secured 216 million CFA Francs ($382k) from WIC Gestion, manager of the WIC Capital Fund.

“This investment is an important step in the evolution of E-cover, created almost five years ago. WIC Capital is an investor whose added value goes well beyond the capital it brings and which will be used to support the growth of our company. WIC Capital knew how to believe in the potential of E-cover in a context where the environmental dimension is more relevant than ever. It assisted us in redefining our strategy and we are confident of its support in the management of the company and the implementation of international best practices recognized in our profession. This support will allow us to improve our production capacity and take advantage of the opportunities existing on the local and sub-regional market,’’ Yaye Souadou Fall, President of E-cover SAS said. 

Here Is What You Need To Know

• Apart from WIC Capital, a syndicate of individual investors also participated in this round of funding. 
• WIC Capital ’s investment will allow E-cover SAS to finance the installation of a semi-industrial production unit in Dakar.
• The E-cover SAS project had previously been awarded the Anzisha Prize by the European Union at the 2016 COP 22 for its action in support of the environment.

Read also: Why Startup Ecosystem in Africa’s French-Speaking Countries Is The Least Funded In Africa

Why The Investors Invested

Launched in March 2019 by the Women’s Investment Club (WIC) Senegal, WIC Capital is the first investment fund that exclusively targets women-led businesses in Senegal and Ivory Coast. The Fund brings together local and international institutional and individual investors, who pool their resources to invest in micro and small women-owned enterprises (MSMEs) in Senegal and Ivory Coast. The Fund invests through a mixture of equity and quasi-equity in companies from all sectors, founded by women, owned or managed at least 50% by women, or with a management team predominantly female.

“We are happy to participate in the innovative E-cover adventure alongside Yaye Souadou Fall and Khady Diallo, two young dynamic and very enterprising women. WIC Capital’s investment illustrates our confidence in the potential of Senegalese women entrepreneurs. We bet on inventiveness, entrepreneurial courage and the firm desire to make a difference in a sector where a local offer had to be developed in the face of an existing need. We wish to promote the development of local production tools and the contribution of added value. We look forward to supporting E-cover in the implementation of its strategy and its growth,’’ Evelyne Dioh, Director of WIC Gestion said. 

A Look At What The Startup Does

Co-founded in 2015 by Yaye Souadou Fall, and a team of seven, E-cover SAS is an innovative waste tire recycling startup based in Dakar, Senegal, which specializes in the recycling of used tires. The recycled tires are then transformed into two main products:

• SBR aggregates, mainly used for the installation and maintenance of synthetic turf and;

• Shredded tires, an intermediate product, used as fuel by cement factories, as a substitute for fossil fuels, in order to meet international standards and reduce costs.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer