Launch of a tomato processing plant through diaspora support

The Agency for the Promotion of Community Entrepreneurship’s (APEC) pooled diaspora and in-country capital to launch a tomato processing plant in Bobo-Dioulasso. The plant consists of a central buiding, two warehouses (one for finished products and another for raw materials), an administrative building, a canteen, a changing room area and a medical clinic. The factory, which will produce tomato paste for domestic consumption and for export, was estimated to create 100 direct jobs and more than 5,000 indirect jobs, primarily benefitting youth and women.