From food waste to new products

In 2019, Honorine Essengue Epse Ngale and her team created BIKOAN, a brand of vanilla-flavored plantain chips. Honorine is also a member of the cooperative RELESS Batchenga. As part of the cooperative’s range of commercial activities, it sells plantains in their raw state without any processing. Unfortunately, the mode of transport and suboptimal storage conditions cause a high rate of product loss. The BIKOAN business aims at reducing these loss rate by transforming the plantain into chips.

During a SIYB awareness-raising campaign in March 2023, Honorine decided to take part of the SIYB programme, including the ToT. As a former instructor in a number of fields, the amount of work involved in the training, methodology, and teaching approach pleasantly surprised her. Honorine left the training determined to make changes in her business management, including the calculation of costs, reducing her selling price from 1000 FCFA to 925 FCFA per unit. On top of that, she had the idea to reduce losses from potato chips waste which gave rise to a new brand, the KROK SESAHO. Sesame caramel made from plantain chip waste is the most popular product of the four flavors of KROK SESAHO on the market.

The SIYB training enabled Honorine to record keep as per the rules of trade, estimate production costs to set appropriate selling prices for her products, and improve the marketing of the products she sells. A loyal SIYB ambassador in Cameroon, Honorine has also provided business development trainings using the SIYB methodology to her company’s employees, members of the RELESS Batchninga cooperative, and other members of her network.