An innovative organisation
from consumer to producer
To federate the initiative, the three countries have created an Economic Interest Grouping, whose leadership is provided by ADEPME (Senegal), APIX (Mali) and APIEX (Benin), as well as an Association in France (for imports). The producer's products are sent to a storage centre in Bordeaux (Cdiscount's fulfilment centre) and are ready to be dispatched the same day they are ordered.
Support from World Bank
Expertise at the service of the project
For this project, the three countries obtained technical and financial support from the World Bank. The World Bank provided the countries concerned with all its experience in implementing support for exporting SMEs.
Project steps
Pilot stage
The project entered its pilot phase on 1 January 2022. It includes 3 countries, 60 producers selected for the quality and originality of their offer. About 50% of the producers are women. The products will be distributed on several marketplaces (cdiscount, amanzon, etsy, nature & découverte, etc.). Shipments will be made in less than 24 hours from the first storage centre, based in Bordeaux, France. The next phases will see an increase in the number of producers and, if necessary, the opening of the EIG to other countries (Ivory Coast, Togo, etc.).
E-commerce advisors
the linchpins of Ecofowa
For the 3 countries, 12 e-commerce advisors have been trained. Their role is to support the first 60 producers in their international e-commerce adventure. In particular, they advise on taking semi-professional photos, writing product sheets, pricing strategy, referencing, etc.
