Babyfood from Senegal: A value chain with star potential

Seeing mangoes wasted in the fields of my home country was a turning point in my career as an agribusiness engineer. I couldn’t ignore the gap between smallholder farmers struggling with post-harvest losses and children facing food insecurity and malnutrition.

Founding Le Lionceau was my way of building bridges: connecting farmers, children, and communities while fostering an inclusive and circular economy that values our local resources.

Of course, entrepreneurship is full of ups and downs, and scaling up in Senegal presents some significant challenges. For example:

• Unstable supply chains, with price fluctuations, inconsistent quality, and delivery irregularities.
• Limited financing options, with the “missing middle” making it hard for small and medium-sized enterprises to access affordable and flexible capital.
• Packaging constraints, as local glass jar production is non-existent, increasing costs and delays.

For baby food, access to quality raw ingredients is even more critical, especially when it comes to avoiding pesticide residues and chemical fertilizers in raw materials.

Overcoming challenges requires continuous adaptation, strong partnerships and a long-term vision. For one, we quickly realized that human resources are a long-term investment: surrounding ourselves with the right people has been so important to facing obstacles and adapting our activities.

Second, sticking to our vision even if the path seems so much steeper in the short term. But that’s the price to pay while building a resilient system that will, we believe, bring many more rewards in the long term. Support from partners, development programmes and a growing conscious consumer base has also been instrumental in our journey.

Still today, our food systems remain unbalanced. They require a more holistic and sustainable approach. Successful value chain integration happens when all stakeholders (farmers, businesses, communities) benefit from fair and lasting partnerships.

Economic viability and trust over time are key to transforming food systems. That’s what we strive to build at Lionceau for every crop we process. In the face of climate change, we believe that companies prioritizing local sourcing and climate-resilient crops like millet, fonio, cowpea, etc., will be the most robust in an era of increasing instability and climate unpredictability.

Our supply guidelines are simple: every single element that can be sourced in Africa with satisfactory quality, quantities and viable price level is preferred to an imported equivalent. Our packaging is 100% local for our infant flours, while glass jars are still imported until we find a solution on the continent that meets our needs. In the meantime, we have implemented a reuse system.

Our success is built on trust, offering parents high-quality, nutritious baby food that aligns with local eating habits while remaining affordable. We merge tradition and innovation, using African indigenous and opportunity crops to craft recipes inspired by our culinary heritage.

Another important driver is community engagement. Our network of moms, who act as brand ambassadors, plays a vital role in spreading awareness and trust.

Our initial private investment came from our personal savings as co-founders and "love money" from family and friends. Six years later, we’re still mostly bootstrapped. While fundraising for small business is challenging, we've collaborated with various partners who support us through our projects.

I believe the ideal financing model for a business like ours should blend patient capital for investments, loans for cash flow, and grants to support impactful activities. This year, we plan to open our capital to fuel our growth.

Our first milestone is to expand across Senegal in both urban and rural areas while addressing the differing needs of our customers: Urban families seek convenience and premium options, while rural communities prioritize affordability and accessibility. Each require a tailored approach in product design, communication and distribution.

We need to strengthen our supply chains, ensure consistent product quality and build strategic partnerships with distributors and governments across West Africa.

Leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area is essential for scaling, but challenges remain, such as navigating different regulations, cross-border trade barriers aligning with diverse market standards, logistics constraints and accessing financing for regional expansion.