What La Fabrique does

La Fabrique is a social enterprise accelerator and incubator headquartered in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, operating since 2014 under a hybrid legal structure comprising La Fabrique SARL (registered 2015) and L'Association La Fabrique (registered 2018). It serves social entrepreneurs, NGOs, cultural organizations, and corporate or institutional clients across Burkina Faso and Francophone West Africa (Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Togo, Niger), delivering seven integrated service lines: incubation and acceleration, strategic studies, training, recruitment and team management, event organization, financing tools, and an experimentation laboratory. The organization's core technology is service-based rather than product-software: it operates on cloud infrastructure (OVHcloud) with digital coordination tools (Google Forms, Brevo, WhatsApp Business, Facebook Ads), and its proprietary assets are methodological — including a prototyping fund, interest-free refundable advances (175M FCFA deployed), an equipment fund with revenue-based repayment (240M FCFA deployed), a co-financed internship program (100 interns placed), and exclusively licensed formats such as Fresque Climat in Burkina Faso.

Revenue is generated primarily through professional services contracts with international development donors — including the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGGF, 2023-2027), the European Union (AcceSS, 2021-2026), Belgian DGD via Africalia (2025-2026), ADA Luxembourg and Palladium (CFYE, 2023-2025), ENABEL, and TotalEnergies (Startupper Challenge, 2024-2025). La Fabrique also earns through customized training, strategic advisory, and event design for enterprises and institutions. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is hybrid: sales-led for institutional contracts, event-driven for visibility and lead generation (PROPULS' talk-show attracts 600+ attendees per edition, Journ\u00e9es de l'Entrepreneuriat Social gathers 1,500+ participants), and community-led via weekly Friday open-door sessions and a coworking space. Operations span Ouagadougou, Bobo-Dioulasso, and Banfora, with strategic consulting missions extended across Senegal, Togo, and Côte d'Ivoire. The organization describes itself as the first social enterprise incubator in West Africa, with 95% of incubated enterprises remaining active post-incubation.

Name

La Fabrique

Legal name

La Fabrique SARL

Website

https://lafabrique-bf.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

La Fabrique is a Burkina Faso–based social enterprise accelerator and consulting firm providing incubation, training, strategic studies, financing tools, and event management for social entrepreneurs, NGOs, and institutions across Francophone West Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Enterprise Incubation and Acceleration

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC)

Keywords

• Social enterprise incubation
• Impact entrepreneurship support
• Business accelerator services
• Social innovation consulting
• Entrepreneur training programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Ouagadougou

HQ country

Burkina Faso

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donor/Institutional Funding: La Fabrique operates as a hybrid structure (SARL + Association) primarily funded by international development donors including the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGGF programme), Belgian DGD, European Union, ENABEL, and TotalEnergies. Programs are designed and implemented on behalf of these institutions.
2. Incubation and Acceleration Services: Direct incubation and acceleration services for social entrepreneurs, often funded through donor programs but also potentially self-funded by enterprises.
3. Training Programs: Customized training programs for cultural organizations, enterprises, and institutions. Programs include strategic communication, team building, financial management, and sector-specific skills training.
4. Strategic Studies and Consulting: Strategic advisory missions for public and private actors including institutional structuring, impact measurement, organizational diagnostics, and feasibility studies.
5. Event Organization: Design, organization, and animation of impact events including forums, professional meetings, public events, and participatory workshops for clients and partners.
6. Financial Tools (Internal): Internal financing tools including prototyping funds, refundable advances, and equipment funds deployed to support incubated enterprises. These generate no direct revenue but support portfolio companies.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

La Fabrique is a social enterprise accelerator and incubator in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, providing incubation and acceleration programs, mentoring, strategic studies, training, recruitment support, events, and financing instruments (prototyping fund, repayable advances, equipment fund) for social entrepreneurs and impact-driven organizations. The organization also runs an experimentation lab and branded programs such as Fab'Académie, PROPULS', Fab'Meet & Collab, JES, and Fresques Climat.

Product overview

La Fabrique operates as a comprehensive impact accelerator offering an integrated ecosystem of services for social entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso and West Africa. The core portfolio consists of seven main service lines: Incubation & Acceleration, Strategic Studies, Training, Recruitment & Team Management, Events, Financing Tools, and an Experimentation Laboratory. Key products include the Fab'Académie online training program (covering social entrepreneurship), signature events like PROPULS' talk-show and the 5-year Journées de l'Entrepreneuriat Social, and specialized networking formats such as Fab'Meet & Collab. Financial products include a prototyping fund, reimbursable advances, and equipment credit facilities. The organization also operates a coworking space in Ouagadougou and conducts climate workshops (Fresques Climat). All offerings are designed to work together as a comprehensive support system for building and scaling impact-driven enterprises.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PROPULS': Annual talk-show event featuring 5 speakers sharing inspiring stories of engagement and concrete actions for social change.
• Fab'Meet & Collab
• Journées de l'Entrepreneuriat Social (JES)
• Fresques Climat
• Fab'Académie

Products and services

• Fab'Académie Training program (Fab'Académie) offered by La Fabrique to social entrepreneurs and impact-driven organizations for capacity building and skill development.
• PROPULS' Acceleration program (PROPULS') for growth-stage social enterprises, providing structured support to scale impact-driven ventures.
• Fab'Meet & Collab Networking and collaboration event series (Fab'Meet & Collab) connecting social entrepreneurs, partners, and ecosystem stakeholders.
• JES JES is a program offered by La Fabrique as part of its service portfolio targeting social entrepreneurs and impact-driven organizations.
• Fresques Climat Climate Fresk (Fresques Climat) workshop facilitation by La Fabrique to raise climate awareness and support environmental engagement among entrepreneurs and partners.
• Fonds de prototypage Prototyping fund (Fonds de prototypage) offered by La Fabrique to provide early-stage financing for social enterprises to develop prototypes.
• Avances remboursables Repayable advances (Avances remboursables) financing instrument offered by La Fabrique to social enterprises.
• Fonds d'équipement Equipment fund (Fonds d'équipement) offered by La Fabrique to support social enterprises with equipment-related financing needs.
• Programme de stages Internship program (Programme de stages) offered by La Fabrique for students and young professionals seeking practical experience in the social enterprise and impact sector.
• Incubation and Acceleration Services End-to-end incubation and acceleration services for social entrepreneurs and impact-driven ventures, including mentoring, coaching, and investor readiness support.
• Strategic Studies and Consulting Strategic studies and consulting services offered by La Fabrique to NGOs, international organizations, and enterprises seeking impact-focused strategic guidance.
• Recruitment Services Recruitment support services offered by La Fabrique to help social enterprises and partner organizations identify and hire talent.
• Experimentation Lab Experimentation lab offering within La Fabrique's services for prototyping and testing social innovations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% of incubated enterprises remain active after incubation
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers41 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• AfricaliacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Joint program supporting 10 cultural spaces in Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso through comprehensive journey including coaching, training, collective workshops, networking, and financial support for cultural innovation.
• Positive Planet InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Lead organization for AGreenLab regional green innovation program deployed in Burkina Faso and Senegal, supporting 100 enterprises in sustainable agriculture and renewable energy sectors.
• MakeSense AfricamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPan-African innovation ecosystem player contributing to AGreenLab program design and implementation across West Africa.
• Impact Hub DakarmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovation hub partner in Senegal for AGreenLab regional program coordination and implementation.
• Yeesal AgrihubmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgricultural innovation hub in Senegal participating in AGreenLab program as technical and ecosystem partner.
• ENERGY4IMPACTmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnergy access specialist providing technical expertise and financing mechanisms for AGreenLab clean energy enterprises.
• Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique (CNRST)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBurkinabè national research center providing scientific support for AcceSS program enterprises in agroecological sectors.
• CIRADmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench agricultural research institute supporting AcceSS program with scientific expertise for sustainable agriculture innovation.
• Expert Synergy ConsultingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsulting firm contributing expertise to AcceSS program implementation.
• CEDRESminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch center providing academic and technical support to AcceSS program.
• MEBF (Maison des Entreprises du Burkina Faso)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal partner for Total Startupper Challenge program providing ecosystem connections and local support.
• BF1minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMedia partner for Total Startupper Challenge promoting program and entrepreneurs.
• Digital MagazineminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDigital media partner for program coverage and entrepreneur visibility.
• lefaso.netminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBurkinabè news portal providing media coverage for Total Startupper Challenge.
• Agence Burkinabè des Investissements (ABI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment investment promotion agency facilitating connections between La Fabrique entrepreneurs and public institutions for business development support.

Scale indicators25 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Seedstars: Swiss-headquartered but emerging-markets-focused accelerator and venture fund with active programs across Africa. Comparable as an emerging-market accelerator targeting early-stage impact and tech entrepreneurs, with similar signature-event and training-program components.
• MEST Africa: Pan-African entrepreneur training, incubation, and seed-funding program headquartered in Accra with a directly comparable model of structured incubation, capacity building, and follow-on support for African tech and impact ventures.
• Impact Hub: Global network of impact-focused innovation hubs and incubators present in multiple African cities (Accra, Lagos, Kampala, Harare). Operates a very similar incubation, acceleration, coworking, and community-event model targeting social entrepreneurs, making it a directly comparable peer.
• MakeSense Africa: Pan-African innovation ecosystem player active across multiple Francophone African countries. Direct comparable in mission and programming, and an existing collaborator with La Fabrique on the AGreenLab program.
• Positive Planet International: International development organization running enterprise-support and impact-acceleration programs in Africa. Operates a similar donor-funded, multi-country entrepreneurship support model and is an existing La Fabrique partner on AGreenLab.

Regional players

• EtriLabs: Togo-based innovation hub serving Francophone West African entrepreneurs with incubation, training, and digital skills programs. Closest geographic and linguistic peer to La Fabrique in the Togolese ecosystem with overlapping social-entrepreneurship focus.
• Jokkolabs: Senegal-based network of innovation hubs serving Francophone West African entrepreneurs. Strong geographic and linguistic overlap with La Fabrique and offers similar coworking, incubation, and community-event infrastructure for impact-driven entrepreneurs.
• BongoHive: Zambia-based innovation hub providing incubation, training, and community programming for African entrepreneurs. Comparable in its hub-based, community-led approach to supporting impact ventures, though focused on Southern Africa.
• Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB): Nigeria's leading innovation hub and social enterprise incubator with broad programming across West Africa. Comparable in scale and breadth of services (incubation, acceleration, events, consulting) to La Fabrique, though primarily Anglophone-focused and headquartered in Lagos.

Others

• AfriLabs: Network organization of 400+ African innovation hubs and incubators. La Fabrique is a potential member/peer within this network, which functions more as an ecosystem convener and capacity builder than a direct competitor but is a natural adjacent point of comparison for sector positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@lafabrique226/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/lafabriquebf
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/la-fabrique-bf
• Instagraminstagram.com/lafabrique_bf?igsh=c2hhZGdqb3oxZ2ho

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about La Fabrique