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Summary

Through a visual and analytical investigation, Small is Powerful

provides an unusual vision of the African continent by exploring it

through its Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). The project focuses

on the entrepreneurs and various aspects of office life, but also goes

beyond by assessing the impact that these companies have on their

environment and stakeholders (employees, clients, local population,

State...).

By producing five reportages on SMEs operating in different coun-

tries and sectors, the project aims to show how African SMEs are

a catalyst for growth on the continent.

The projecT inTendS To

1 / Fight against stereotypes on how African economy and society

are currently perceived ;

2 / Support and promote the reality of African entrepreneurship

which is rich and dynamic, carrying prospects for the future ;

3 / Produce visual and analytical content allowing an efficient case

to be made for these entrepreneurs committed to this dynamic, and

who are vital contributors supporting African growth.

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projecT deScripTion

Unlike the image that is conveyed far too often, Sub-Saharan Africa

is not an entrepreneurial desert, only stirred by international help

and micro-business : many companies spring up, innovate and

grow on the continent. They are often small in size, but constitute

a powerful tool for growth !

Small is Powerful aims to show a new facet of the African continent.

It combines on-site reportages and impact assessments to illustrate

the key role played by African SMEs in favoring growth.

The project obviously focuses on the entrepreneurs, office life, but

goes beyond this by questioning their stakeholders and assessing the

impact that these companies have on the lives of these people (job

creation, infrastructure, improvement of living conditions etc.)

Five SMEs from throughout the African continent and working in very

different sectors (access to water and energy, poultry farming, in-

dustrial aquaculture, Health, Recycling) have worked with us and are

the subject of a study. Each SME has been founded and managed

by an African man or woman. Before each reportage, there is exten-

sive preparatory work with the SMEs, filling in an impact assessment

matrix specifically drawn up by the project teams and based on EU

recommendations in the domain.

The contents of the matrix constitute a check-list which then guides

the visual production (photo and video) during a 10-day reportage

on-site.

The analysis and production phase of these reportages was carried

out in 2014. It enabled us to produce, for each SME, a photographic

series, a 10-minute film, an impact assessment and graphics to re-

present the principal impacts.

The contents will then be distributed in a multimodal way to reach the

greatest number of people: a web documentary offering an interac-

tive narration within African entrepreneurship, a dedicated website, a

large-format travelling exhibition, an editorial object, a series of lec-

ture events in 6 French universities, multimedia content adapted to

web distribution.

Small is Powerful is designed to be a tool to raise public awareness,

but also among decision-makers (political, media, economic), inves-

tors, entrepreneurs, a diaspora on the importance of companies as a

vector and enhancer of growth on the continent.

In order to achieve this, the project, (also available in a French version,

Les Grands Moyens) will benefit from a multinational distribution in

the media (LeMonde.fr & RFI in France ; Internazionale & Marie Claire

in Italy ; El Pais in Spain ; Stern in Germany etc.) and will, we hope,

also extend widely over the African continent.

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cdS / energy & WaTer / mauriTania

CDS proposes access to water and electricity services for rural

populations in Mauritania, and particularly to the poorest and

most isolated in the country. The company is a national leader in

renewable energies.

agriSaTch / agribuSineSS / benin

Agrisatch in a Beninese SME which locally produces quality eggs in

large quantities, lowering prices and helping give poorer populations

access to protein. The company has gradually become the largest

poultry producer in the country.

cLienTS

empLoyeeS

LocaLpopuLaTion

oTherSTakehoLderS

environmenT

QuaLiTy oF LiFe SociaL inFraSTrucTure environmenTeconomykey impacToF Smes are

SuppLierS& compeTiTorS

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Africa

ioT / aQuacuLTure / madagaScar

IOT is an SME specialised in the industrial aquaculture of sea cucu-

mbers. It works with isolated fishing villages allowing them to earn

extra income and avoid overfishing. It helps fight the extinction of

marine fauna.

neST / heaLTh / SenegaL

NEST is a Senegalese SME which offers complete medical cover for

women and young children. NEST’s long-term strategy is to set up a

national network of health structures, and currently offers an interim

solution for the Middle Classes, midway between costly clinics, and

under-staffed public structures.

WecycLerS / environmenT / nigeria

Wecyclers is a Nigerian SME that combines high tech with low-cost

means of transport to offer an innovating recycling service adapted

to the needs of inhabitants in informal settlements. It contributes in

this way to a better management of urban waste and teaches local

populations recycling techniques.

1 3

2 4

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5

1 / mauriTania / cdS / A water tower in the desert of

Mauritania. 50% of the population of the country has no access to

drinkable water.

2 / benin / agriSaTch / There are about 25,000 hens per

henhouse and 4 hens per cage. The eggs are laid on a treadmill and

then collected manually by 6 employees over 5 hours every morning.

Each hen is carefully vaccinated.

3 / madagaScar / ioT / Sea farmers gather around a table

where cucumbers are weighted. Only animals above 400 grams are

kept the other ones are thrown back to the sea. The watchtower

was set up to avoid theft : each cucumber are worth about $3, the

equivalent of the income generated by one day of traditional fishing.

4 / SÉnÉgaL / neST / A young woman is having an ultrasound

and for the first time hears her baby’s heartbeat. NEST is a Sene-

galese company offering high-quality services for woman and child-

ren at a reasonable price, making it accessible to middle-classes.

5 / nigÉria / WecycLerS / A Wecycler sorter in one of

the company’s hub in Lagos where it gathers, sorts and recycles

over 525 tons of wastes in poor neighborhoods since its creation

two years ago.

6 / LeS grandS moyenS / The project exists also in french

language (films, photo essays, exhibit, web-documentary etc) under

the tittle Les Grands Moyens.

6

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The projecT’S iniTiaTorS & parTnerS

joan bardeLeTTi Joan Bardeletti is a photographer/video maker who has produced

commissioned reportages for the media, as well as long-term projects.

They usually combine a visual approach with analytical work, and

are produced in partnership with both public and private institutions.

He has particularly worked on modern, urban Africa for the past

10 years : the Middle Classes, diet, SMEs, immigration etc. He won

a World Press Photo award in 2010, a Getty Grant in 2011 and the

Nikon Bourse du Talent in 2012.

inveSTiSSeurS & parTenaireSInvestisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) is an impact investment group

created in 2002. Its goal is to promote growth in small and medium

African companies by bringing financial, technical and strategic

support. Investisseurs & Partenaires has gained extensive expe-

rience of African entrepreneurship by accompanying close to 60

companies since 2002.

WiTh The SupporT oF

proparco : is a subsidiary of AFD whose aim is to foster the emer-

gence of a strong, dynamic and innovating private sector in favour

of sustainable development in developing countries.

L’agence FrançaiSe de dÉveLoppemenT : The French Development Agency

(AFD) fights again poverty and fosters growth in developing countries

and the French Overseas Provinces. Through grants, loans, guarantee

funds and debt reduction-development contracts, it helps its Southern

partners in capacity-building.

cFao : CFAO is a front-ranking specialized distributor and preferred

partner of major international brands, serving the high-potential

equipment and services, healthcare and consumer goods markets

in Africa and the French overseas territories. The Group is active in

39 countries, including 34 African countries.

monacan cooperaTion : Monaco government has made the fight

against poverty a priority for intervention and supports over a hun-

dred projects each year in 12 countries, mainly among the Least

Developed Countries.

european union : Within 2015, European Year for Development, the UE

support the Small is Powerful project.

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conTacT / joan bardeLeTTi

cel : +33 6 82 25 28 99 (France) | email : lgmafrique@gmail.com

www.lesgrandsmoyens.fr | web-docu : www.lesgrandsmoyens.org