SOS Energie

What SOS Energie does

SOS Energie Burkina Faso is a hybrid non-profit association and individual enterprise (entreprise individuelle) headquartered in Sector 27 of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Founded on July 31, 2008 by 255 members to combat deforestation and rural energy poverty, the organization develops a community-based green-energy sector built around three product pillars: (1) green charcoal (charbon vert) and eco-stoves produced from agricultural biomass waste as an alternative to wood fuel, which the organization cites as the cause of 90% of Burkina Faso's deforestation; (2) biofertilizers and biopesticides manufactured using agroecological techniques including bokashi composting; and (3) solar energy kits (lighting, television, pumping, refrigeration, and hairdressing-salon configurations) distributed under technology partnerships with Amped Innovation (Solego) and SolarWorx.

The business model combines hardware sales of green charcoal, eco-stoves, biofertilizers, and solar kits with a training-led community production model. The association runs awareness and training programs in rural communes — notably Kossoghin, Yélou, Vipalogo, GOGHIN village (Tanghin-Dassouri), Kayao, and Boussé — converting trainees into local producers and resellers. Distribution runs through a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront at entreprise.sosenergieburkina.com and through field distribution via trained women's groups. Revenue streams are hardware sales across all three pillars, supplemented by grants from development partners including Fondation France s'engage, ASW Allemagne, and Initiative climat Maroc.

Customer segments are horizontally diversified: rural and urban/semi-urban households (primary), artisans and merchants, social/community centers, women producer groups, and smallholder farmers. The organization disclosed a project-cycle revenue target of 71,405,000 F CFA (~USD 116,000), operates with a core team of 3 permanent employees and 255 association members, received the SEED Award 2010, and has stated a 10-year vision to scale production across all 13 regions of Burkina Faso while capturing 10% market share of domestic fuels.

Name

SOS Energie

Legal name

Association SOS ENERGIE Burkina Faso

Website

https://sosenergieburkina.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SOS Energie Burkina Faso is a non-profit association and enterprise that converts agricultural biomass waste into green charcoal, biofertilizers, and biopesticides, and distributes solar kits to households, artisans, and rural women's groups across Burkina Faso.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clean Energy & Sustainable Agriculture

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Biomass Pellets, Briquettes & Solid Bioenergy Products (industrial/residential) (IMAMALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biochar Carbon Projects (Biomass to Biochar & Soil Application) (EUABABAH), Regenerative Agriculture & Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) (EUABABAE)

Keywords

• Renewable energy solutions
• Clean cooking fuel
• Solar energy kits
• Organic fertilizers
• Biomass briquettes

Headquarters

HQ city

Ouagadougou

HQ country

Burkina Faso

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Solar kit sales: Sale of solar energy kits including lighting, television, pumping, and refrigeration solutions for households, artisans, merchants, and social centers. Products are sold directly to customers through the enterprise platform.
2. Green charcoal and eco-stoves: Production and distribution of green charcoal and eco-stoves (eco-fourneaux) at reduced prices to households, contributing to reducing deforestation while providing affordable cooking solutions.
3. Biofertilizers and biopesticides: Production and sale of biological fertilizers and pesticides derived from biomass processing. Products target agricultural users seeking cost-effective and environmentally friendly farming inputs.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SOS Energie Burkina Faso produces and distributes green charcoal (charbon vert) from biomass waste as an alternative to wood fuel, along with energy-efficient eco-stoves, biofertilizers, and bio-pesticides. The organization also distributes a range of solar energy kits (lighting, television, pumping, refrigeration, and hair salon applications) sourced from partner brands Solego and Solarworx, and conducts training programs in agroecological techniques for rural women in Burkina Faso.

Product overview

SOS Energie Burkina Faso operates as both a non-profit association (founded 2008) and a formal enterprise (registered 2019) offering a diverse portfolio of renewable energy products and sustainable agriculture solutions. The product portfolio includes green charcoal and eco-stoves for clean cooking, bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides for sustainable agriculture, and a range of solar kits (lighting, television, refrigeration, water pumping, and hair salon applications) from partner brands Solego and Solarworx. The company also provides training services in agroecological techniques and operates demonstration projects including solar bakeries and market gardens. Products target households, artisans, merchants, and social centers across urban, semi-urban, and rural areas of Burkina Faso.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Green Coal (Charbon Vert)
• Eco-Stoves (Éco-Fourneaux)
• Bio-Fertilizers (Biofertilisants)
• Bio-Pesticides (Bioprotecteurs)
• Solego Solar Lighting Kit
• Solar Television Kit (Kit télévision Solego)
• Solarworx Hair Salon Kit
• Solego Solar Pumping Kit
• Solego Solar Refrigerator Kit

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Amped InnovationcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2019Technology partner providing solar energy solutions. Amped Innovation manufactures the Solego solar kit product line that SOS Energie distributes in Burkina Faso, enabling access to quality solar technology for households and small businesses.
• SolarWorxcoreTechnology or IntegrationSolar technology partner supplying solar kits for various applications including the hairdressing salon kit. SolarWorx provides the technology platform that SOS Energie adapts for local market needs.
• FRES-YEELEN Burkina FasominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal strategic partner in Burkina Faso working in the renewable energy and sustainable development sector, providing local market knowledge and potential collaboration on energy access initiatives.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• EcoAct: EcoAct is a carbon project developer and climate consultancy that helps organizations originate nature-based and biochar carbon projects, relevant to SOS Energie if it formalizes its biomass operations into a carbon-credit project.
• Amped Innovation: Amped Innovation is SOS Energie's core technology partner for the Solego solar kit line; it is a peer in the sense that it shapes the product SOS Energie distributes, and a comparable mission-aligned off-grid solar hardware provider.

Direct peers

• BURN Manufacturing: BURN is a direct competitor in the clean cooking and biomass charcoal/briquette space across East Africa, producing factory-made cookstoves and charcoal that directly substitutes for traditional wood fuel — the same problem SOS Energie addresses in Burkina Faso.
• BioLite: BioLite designs and distributes clean cookstoves and off-grid energy products in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, overlapping with SOS Energie's solar kit and clean cooking portfolios.
• KOKO Networks: KOKO Networks distributes clean cooking fuel and cookstoves through a tech-enabled agent network in Kenya, addressing the same wood-to-clean-cooking transition that SOS Energie tackles via green charcoal in Burkina Faso.
• GreenChar Kenya: GreenChar produces charcoal briquettes from agricultural and forestry waste in Kenya — a near-identical biomass-to-briquette business model to SOS Energie's charbon vert production.

Broad incumbents

• M-KOPA: M-KOPA is the leading PAYG solar provider in East and West Africa with embedded consumer finance, representing the scaled commercial model that competes with SOS Energie's solar kit distribution.
• d.light: d.light is a major pay-as-you-go solar home system provider across Africa, competing with SOS Energie's distributed solar lighting, TV, and refrigeration kits from a much larger commercial base.
• Sun King (Greenlight Planet): Sun King distributes affordable solar lighting and home energy products across emerging markets, competing with SOS Energie's household solar lighting kit offering.

Emerging players

• Sistema.bio: Sistema.bio sells biogas digesters and biofertilizer systems to smallholder farmers, addressing the same agricultural input and clean energy overlap that SOS Energie targets with biofertilizers and clean cooking.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCKy42ETODs9aFIIkRnrRfQA
• Facebookfacebook.com/SOS-Energie-Burkina-Faso-61575829512570
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sos-energie-burkina

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 SOS Energie