Hibiscus drink startups are empowering Senegalese entrepreneurs

By Fama Ndiaye

One would struggle to find someone in Senegal who doesn’t like bissap. Extracted from white or red hibiscus flowers, the cooled infusion is sweetened with several spoonfuls of sugar and pineapple juice, rounded out with orange blossoms, and flavoured with vanilla extract and fresh mint.

In the bustling Dakar suburb of Keur Mbaye Fall, social entrepreneur Astou Sakho, a proud Senegalese woman, has taken bissap to the next level, transforming the simple drink into a resource for the socioeconomic empowerment of women across Senegal.

Sakho sits at the helm of an economic interest group called _And Takhouwou Sougnou Gokh_ (which in Wolof, working together for the development of our locality), which has standardized the artisanal processing of bissap.

The organization, managed by Ngoné Ndoye, is entirely run by women and does more than just produce and market a product. It operates as a vital technical training ground. Members acquire crucial skills in management, standardized food production, and commercialization, effectively bridging the formal training gap.

This upskilling guarantees the quality of the final product while fostering sustainable job creation, significantly strengthening the financial independence of the women involved.

The innovative nature of this initiative lies in its pan-African, interregional dimension. _And Takhouwou Sougnou Gokh_ has established a structured partnership with the Network of Engaged Women of Kédougou, also coordinated by Astou Sakho. This alliance has created a mutual aid ecosystem founded on the fair trade of local plants and herbs.

The product exchange is pragmatic and strategic. Women from the Kédougou region, in the east of the country, transport their local products, such as palm oil, soap, and bleach, to Dakar. In return, the entrepreneurs in Dakar supply their Kédougou counterparts with processed bissap and lemon, a commodity often more accessible near the capital.

This modernized bartering system allows each network to diversify its commercial offerings without depleting its own regional resources, thereby maximizing margins and supply security for all members.

Beyond the purely economic logic, this partnership cements essential social cohesion. It creates a crucial safety net for women from different socio-economic backgrounds, forging bonds of solidarity that are paramount, given that African women are often the first victims of economic shocks.

From regional to national
The scale of this initiative testifies to its success. The Network of Engaged Women of Kédougou has structured itself into a national force, currently boasting over 1,800 active members. Its territorial reach is impressive.

It operates 26 branches in the rural departments of Kédougou, Saraya, and Salemata, and has established 10 branches in Dakar’s urban areas, ensuring coordination that extends across all 14 regions of Senegal.

According to Senegal’s National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD), although women represent nearly 60% of the non-agricultural informal sector workforce, they only access about 30% of formal bank credit.

Solid structures like Astou Sakho’s are essential for navigating these barriers. By providing easy access to resources, technical training, and, crucially, a reliable distribution network, the network serves as a powerful lever for formalizing economic activity and enhancing the financial inclusion of women.

These initiatives are not mere acts of subsistence; they are models of investment in the future. By transforming local products—like bissap, lemon, or palm oil—into structured economic opportunities, these women are redefining their central role in the national socio-economic fabric. They successfully blend traditional knowledge with the demands of modern entrepreneurship.

The model demonstrated by _And Takhouwou Sougnou Gokh_ and its interregional network proves that inclusive and sustainable development in Senegal inevitably depends on investment in structured female entrepreneurship.

These collective efforts inspire other communities to replicate this synergy, paving a path where solidarity and social innovation become the standard for Senegal’s new generation of female entrepreneurs.