SAILD

What SAILD does

SAILD (Service d'Appui aux Initiatives Locales de Développement) is a Cameroonian non-governmental organization founded in 1988 and headquartered in Yaoundé, with regional antennas in Maroua (Far North) and Bertoua (East). The organization delivers rural development services through three integrated programs: Communication (including the La Voix Du Paysan rural information service and the CDDR documentation center), Food Security and Nutrition, and Natural Resources Management. Its work centers on agroecology, food security, sustainable land management, community forestry, and climate information dissemination, delivered through farmer field schools, producer cooperatives, and direct field implementation across at least seven regions of Cameroon.

The underlying "technology" is a methodology stack rather than software: agroforestry, crop-livestock integration, organic fertilizer production, biological pest control, A-level surveying for soil conservation, and agrometeorological information services delivered in partnership with the Ministry of Transport. Notable proprietary components include the CDDR documentation repository, the Champs Ecoles Paysans (Farmer Field School) participatory training model, and community-managed village tree nurseries. The organization has also entered health-policy advocacy via a vaccine sovereignty project, marking a vertical extension beyond agriculture.

SAILD operates a non-commercial revenue model funded entirely by institutional grants from international development partners including GIZ, the World Food Programme, IUCN/Biopama, Bread for the World (Pain pour le Monde), FAO/EU FLEGT, and various UN agencies. Services are provided free of charge to beneficiary communities, and donor diversification — spanning German, EU, UN, and French-speaking multilateral channels — is moderate. The organization holds Special Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC, is accredited with UNCCD, holds IUCN membership, and serves as the technical secretariat for NEPAC under the African Union's EOA-I Initiative.

Name

SAILD

Legal name

Service d'Appui aux Initiatives Locales de Développement

Website

https://saild.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

SAILD is a Cameroonian non-profit NGO founded in 1988 that delivers agroecology, food security, natural resource management, and rural communication programs to smallholder farmers, forest-adjacent communities, refugees, and rural schools across Cameroon, funded by institutional development grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Yaoundé

HQ country

Cameroon

HQ region

Africa

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Institutional Grants and Donor Funding: SAILD operates primarily as a non-profit NGO funded through grants and project financing from international development partners, foreign governments, UN agencies, and foundations. Revenue is not generated from commercial product/service sales.
2. Agricultural Technical Assistance Services: SAILD provides technical expertise and facilitation services to government ministries (MINADER, MINFOF, Ministry of Transport) and development projects, sometimes through formal conventions and agreements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SAILD is a Cameroonian NGO that delivers integrated rural development services to smallholder farmers and vulnerable communities through three programs: Communication rurale, Sécurité alimentaire et nutrition, and Gestion des ressources naturelles. It supports agroecological transitions via farmer field schools (Champs Écoles Paysans), distributes tree seedlings and agricultural inputs through community-managed nurseries, and disseminates agrometeorological information in partnership with the Ministry of Transport, all underpinned by its CDDR documentation centre. Field implementation is delivered free of charge through regional antennas in Yaoundé, Maroua, and Bertoua, funded by institutional grants and government conventions.

Product overview

SAILD (Service d'Appui aux Initiatives Locales de Développement) is a Cameroonian NGO founded in 1988 with three core programs: Communication, Food Security and Nutrition, and Natural Resources Management. The organization operates through its documentation center (CDDR) and implements various projects including AgroEcology+, PNDD Forest Landscape Restoration, and vaccine sovereignty initiatives. SAILD's offerings consist of programs and services rather than a traditional software product platform. The Communication Program includes La Voix Du Paysan for rural information dissemination; the Food Security Program focuses on agricultural productivity and nutrition; and the Natural Resources Management Program addresses community forestry and environmental conservation. SAILD also produces publications, annual reports, briefing notes, and bulletins on agroecology and climate change.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Communication rurale (Rural Communication Program) / La Voix Du Paysan Program that vulgarizes and democratizes agricultural, meteorological, and rural development information for vulnerable rural populations in Cameroon, including dissemination via the La Voix Du Paysan community-radio service.
• Sécurité alimentaire et nutrition (Food Security and Nutrition Program) Program focused on food sovereignty, agricultural productivity improvement, and nutritional diversification for rural populations in Cameroon, delivered through farmer field schools, seed and input distribution, and nutrition education.
• Gestion des ressources naturelles (Natural Resources Management Program) Program addressing natural resource governance, community forestry, forest landscape restoration, and environmental conservation in Cameroon, including work around Deng Deng National Park.
• Centre de Documentation pour le Développement Rural (CDDR) Documentation centre providing agricultural and rural development publications, knowledge materials, and the "One Classroom, One Library" school library program distributing books to rural schools across Centre, Extreme-North, East, West, and South Cameroon.
• AgroEcology+ Project Project focused on scaling up agroecology to strengthen food and nutritional security in four departments of the East and Far North regions of Cameroon, funded by Pain pour le Monde.
• PNDD Participatory Forest Landscape Restoration Project for participatory restoration of degraded forest areas in the Deng Deng National Park landscape, implemented in villages adjacent to the park with community-managed tree nurseries and agroforestry training.
• Vaccine Sovereignty Project (Agir pour la souveraineté vaccinale au Cameroun) Project advocating for vaccine sovereignty in Cameroon through parliamentary dialogue and sustainable financing mechanisms, including a high-level parliamentary dialogue organized with REPAPSSAV at the National Assembly.
• Cultiver pour apprendre, produire pour nourrir (Grow to Learn) Educational agricultural project combining learning and food production for rural communities, integrating school-based agricultural demonstration with household food security outcomes.

Quantifiable outcome

• ~40,890 books distributed to 450 school libraries across 75 rural schools
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• MINADER (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 December 2023MINADER signed a convention with SAILD on December 29, 2023 in Yaoundé for the promotion of agroecology in Cameroon. The partnership focuses on supporting smallholder farmers in adopting sustainable agricultural practices.
• Ministry of TransportcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Ministry of Transport and SAILD signed a framework agreement for the promotion, exchange of data, and dissemination of agrometeorological information to farmers.
• MINFOF (Ministry of Forests and Wildlife)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAILD collaborates with MINFOF on forest landscape restoration, community forestry, and conservation of the Deng Deng National Park. Working sessions held from July 8-9, 2026 reviewed SAILD's 10 years of forestry sector activities.
• REPAPSSAV (Network of Parliamentarians for the Promotion of the Health System and Support to Vaccination)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAILD collaborated with REPAPSSAV to organize a high-level parliamentary dialogue on sustainable vaccination financing in Cameroon on May 22, 2026 at the National Assembly in Yaoundé.
• IRAD (Institute of Agricultural Research for Development)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAILD partnered with IRAD to conduct agroecology mapping studies in Cameroon and conducts joint experimentation of agroecological practices with smallholder farmers. A relaunch meeting was held on July 22, 2025 in Yaoundé.
• FAO UE FLEGT ProgrammemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAILD and GDA jointly implement an FAO UE FLEGT-funded project to support civil society and community forest participation in the revision of legality grids for the Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Governance and Trade in Cameroon.
• CIFOR-ICRAFmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAILD is part of a consortium with CIFOR-ICRAF and APEM for evaluating the process and impacts of community forestry in Cameroon through 15 case studies. Jointly recruiting a post-doctoral researcher on community forestry.
• KCOA (Knowledge Centre for Organic Agriculture in Africa)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAILD is a partner organization in the KCOA project, implementing activities through 5 partner organizations including a communicator capacity-building workshop held in August 2024.
• EOA-I (Ecological Organic Agriculture Initiative for Africa)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAILD participates in the African Union's EOA-I initiative, hosting the Central Africa platform steering committee meeting in Yaoundé in July 2025. SAILD provides the technical secretariat for NEPAC, the national Cameroon platform.
• NEPAC (Network for the Promotion of Agroecology in Cameroon)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAILD serves as the technical secretariat for NEPAC, the national network for agroecology promotion in Cameroon, established in November 2023.
• UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAILD holds accreditation with UNCCD, enabling participation in global processes related to land degradation and desertification.
• UN ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAILD holds Special Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC, providing formal standing to participate in UN processes and debates on sustainable development.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• SNV Netherlands Development Organisation: Dutch development NGO with significant Cameroon and wider Africa operations in food security, agriculture, and natural resource management. Comparable mission focus, donor base, and field implementation model, though materially larger in scale.
• Self Help Africa: International NGO working on food security, agroforestry, and rural enterprise across sub-Saharan Africa including West/Central Africa. Comparable integrated approach to agriculture, livelihoods, and natural resource management.
• Farm Africa: UK-based NGO focused on sustainable agriculture, forest management, and market development for smallholder farmers in East and Central Africa. Highly comparable mission (poverty reduction via agriculture and natural resource management) and similar donor-supported operating model.
• Heifer International: Global NGO with active Cameroon operations focused on smallholder agriculture, agroecology, and rural livelihoods. Directly comparable in program design (farmer training, sustainable practices, agroecology) and beneficiary segments.
• CIFOR-ICRAF: Global research organization on forestry and agroforestry. SAILD is an active consortium partner with CIFOR-ICRAF on community forestry research in Cameroon. Highly comparable in agroforestry and forest landscape restoration focus.

Broad incumbents

• World Vision: Large international humanitarian and development NGO with active Cameroon programming in food security, livelihoods, and community development. Operates at a much larger scale but addresses overlapping beneficiary populations and thematic areas.
• IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature): Global conservation organization that funds SAILD's OC Deng Deng project via BIOPAMA and counts SAILD as a member organization. Comparable in forest conservation and community-based natural resource management work, though far larger and more international.
• CARE International: Global humanitarian organization with food security and livelihoods programs in Cameroon. Comparable focus on smallholder agriculture, women's empowerment, and rural community resilience, though operating at much greater scale.
• GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit): German development agency that is simultaneously a major funder of SAILD projects (PNDD, IKI, AgSys) and a peer in implementing agricultural and natural resource management programs across Cameroon. Far larger scale and broader mandate.

Regional players

• AFOR (Association pour la Foresterie et la Restauration des écosystèmes): Regional African NGO specialized in forest landscape restoration and agroecology. Comparable thematic focus on forest-adjacent community livelihoods and restoration, though more geographically focused in different African regions.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/saild
• Facebookfacebook.com/ONG.SAILD
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/saild

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about SAILD