September 30, 2025
Norfund is investing EUR 20 million in Société Ivoirienne de Productions Animales (SIPRA), one of the largest locally owned and integrated poultry companies in West Africa.
Headquartered in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), SIPRA is a market leader in the poultry sector. The company operates across the entire value chain – from feed production; breeding to processing and distribution with a strong regional presence (+150 outlets) both Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso.
“At the time of continuous focus on providing needed long-term capital in transformative sectors of the real economy on the continent, we are pleased to lead this new round of investment to support SIPRA in this important growth phase. This project is anchored in strong belief in local partnership which is at the core of our mandate and will contribute to increase food security in Côte d’Ivoire and the region, create sustainable jobs as well as enabling capacity for thousands of smallholder farmers across the poultry value chain,”
Fabrice Mpollo, Senior Investment Manager at Norfund
Norfund’s strategic investment will enable SIPRA to significantly scale up its production capacity in the three segments in which it operates, continue to lead innovation in animal feed and continue to optimize overall operational efficiency. The Company provides long term employment to over 1200 people representing brands such as IVOGRAIN, IVOIRE POUSSIN and COQIVOIRE.
A strong partnership
“For the past 50 years, SIPRA’s teams have helped establish the company as a leading player in the agri-food sector across the sub-region. Norfund’s entry into SIPRA’s shareholding reflects a strategic intent to partner with a committed institution to strengthen the company’s organizational structure, support its ongoing development, and enhance operational efficiency and governance. The company’s growth initiatives and its ambition to produce more sustainably—contributing to better nutrition across Africa—will be pursued alongside this international institutional partner, with whom we share common values and a shared vision,”
Jean-Marie Ackah, CEO and Chairman of Groupe Avos
Poultry is the fastest-growing, most affordable source of animal protein in Côte d’Ivoire. In addition, Poultry has a lower GHG footprint than beef, aligning with sustainable climate engagement by both Norfund and the Government of Cote d’Ivoire. This investment by Norfund is therefore timely in that context as Côte d’Ivoire is expected to outpace most West African peers in poultry market growth by 2027. This will be mostly driven by urbanization, rising domestic demand and continued investments by the sector supported by public policy reforms. By 2031, the country could emerge as a net exporter of poultry products within ECOWAS.
Naana Winful Fynn, Regional Director for West Africa at Norfund, adds “By investing in SIPRA, we are partnering with an important company in Cote d’Ivoire’s economy. This investment aligns strongly with Norfund’s mandate to create jobs and improve lives. We will support the company to continue with its critical contribution to food security in Cote d’Ivoire, to realize its growth ambitions and to continue the work it is doing on the institutionalization front. These initiatives will strengthen the company’s long-term competitiveness and help to build an institution that will outlive this generation”.
Norfund will be an active shareholder, supporting the company through a generational leadership transition, and contributing to institutional development and improvements in governance and operational performance.
About Groupe Avos og SIPRA
AVOS is a leading industrial agri-food group in West Africa, whose mission is to “Contribute to better feeding Africa.” Building on its leadership in poultry farming, the AVOS Group, founded by its Chairman and CEO, Mr. Jean-Marie ACKAH, has been operating for several decades in the vertical integration of agri-food value chains, making it a major player in the region’s industrial sector.
With the acquisition in 2000 of SIPRA, a subsidiary of the French group EVIALIS, which he had already managed as CEO for 10 years, Mr. Jean-Marie ACKAH began building his group. The fully integrated and successful vertical model he developed enabled SIPRA to become the leader in the poultry sector in Côte d’Ivoire and the sub-region. SIPRA’s steady growth led to its expansion into Burkina Faso with the creation of the Société Burkinabé de Productions Animales (SOBUPRA); the opening of a second production site in Côte d’Ivoire, in the city of Yamoussoukro, with the establishment of the Société d’Aliments du Bétail du Bélier (SABB); and the upstream extension of its integration chain through an ambitious maize production program in the north of Côte d’Ivoire.
