MIPS

MIPS (Industrial Maintenance and Services) specialises in technical maintenance, installation and spare parts for the cashew processing industry in West Africa. The company was founded in 2020 and is based in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast. From there, MIPS supports processing companies in countries including Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin and Ghana.

West Africa produces the majority of the world’s cashew nuts, but local processing is still very much in its infancy. MIPS is contributing to this industrialisation by making technical expertise, maintenance services, training and spare parts available locally. This reduces processors’ reliance on foreign expertise and enables production stoppages to be resolved more quickly.

Behind MIPS is an entrepreneur Christian Ouédraogo. As a boy from a disadvantaged background in Burkina Faso, he was given the opportunity to undertake technical training thanks to Woord en Daad. This enabled him to develop into a specialist in industrial maintenance within the cashew sector. After many years’ experience in the sector, he set up his own company. Under his leadership, MIPS grew to become a leading technical partner for cashew processors in the region.

With the investment from the Fair Factory Fund, MIPS is building its own production facility for commonly used spare parts. This will enable the company to serve customers more quickly, reduce costs and generate greater local added value. At the same time, this creates jobs for technical staff and strengthens industrial expertise and production capacity in the region.

By building up local technical expertise and facilitating the further processing of agricultural products, MIPS is helping to create a stronger and more sustainable agro-industry in West Africa