Marc Josz, volunteer OVO coach, tells us:
At a social event in December 2021, a friend of mine told me about OVO, which I didn't know at all, about his activities within OVO and the fact that he was looking for a 'lead screener' to accompany a young woman entrepreneur of top quality in Senegal. My fascination with Africa and the description he gave me of the young entrepreneur convinced me to join.
The entrepreneur, Khadidiatou BA, is now 24 years old and combines a master's degree in marketing and business strategy with the management and operations of her business, Afro Feewi. She rents a small retail space coupled with her workshop where she makes all her own hair and skin care products (see on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afro.feewi/ and on https://feewimarket.com/en/). She participated in the Boostcamp organized by OVO in September 2021 in Senegal.
I quickly realized that Khadidiatou was indeed an exceptional person and that I was at the beginning of a mission that would be interesting and even fun.
- Her plan is to develop her business by creating a hair and body care facility in Dakar under the name "Feewi Institute" based on natural treatments and care. This project fits in with the continuity of the already existing brand Afro Feewi, activity started in September 2018.
- We immersed ourselves in the reading and in-depth analysis of the very detailed and complete business plan written by Khadidiatou (30 pages). We also conducted a very detailed analysis of the direct production costs of Feewi's main products and the projected margins per product. The financial analysis of the initial business plan showed an operational cost structure that was too heavy compared to the anticipated sales volumes and their evolution.
- The business plan was reviewed by Khadidiatou, particularly for the investment and operational costs. A new financial plan was then established which showed that Feewi would continue to generate a significant profitability and could finance its investments through self-financing.
- On the other hand, Feewi was a victim of a much faster start than expected. Achieving a turnover of € 54,000 in 2021 highlights a large gap between the level of income already achieved and the lack of an accounting system, even though Khadidiatou had fairly good documentation of her income and expense streams. We then decided to address the accounting issue as a priority. The objective is to install ODOO for the current year so that we have more reliable accounting figures for the end of 2023. On the basis of the 2023 accounts, we will rework the financial plan at the end of the year to see if the current conclusions regarding Feewi's self-financing capacity are confirmed.
What to remember about this project:
- Khadidiatou seems pleased with the collaboration with OVO, and I myself am delighted to have accepted this assignment.
- The fact that a project might not result in a loan by OVO is obviously not to be considered a failure.
- The very proactive collaboration between the accountant recruited by Feewi (Benoît Diene) and Thierry Duquenne for the implementation of the ODOO accounting software is progressing at a fast pace, facilitated also by the local support of Daha Diallo and Abdoulaye Diop, OVO coordinator in Senegal.
Since October 2022, I have been working on another project in Senegal (the FAPAL project) which should be submitted shortly to the OVO Investment Committee for a loan request of 50,000 €.