How a cashew processing company is growing opportunity in Côte d’Ivoire
This piece is part of a series, #WinrockResilienceStories, aimed at amplifying community voices and spotlighting innovative partnerships and approaches that strengthen resilience, expand economic opportunity and support both people and the systems they rely on to thrive. This month, we feature work that is helping entrepreneurs, workers and local communities capture more value from West Africa’s growing cashew sector — demonstrating how support for stronger enterprises, market connections and investment helps build lasting economic opportunity.
A few years ago, Frédérique Gueï faced the daunting challenge of rebuilding her cashew processing enterprise in Côte d’Ivoire.
A disrupted business relationship had shaken the foundation of her company, SOST CI. The Abidjan-based firm founded in 2022 processes locally grown cashew – a major agricultural commodity across West Africa – into premium snacks, gluten-free biscuits, pastries and other specialty products sold through retail, hospitality and other local channels.
But after the disruption, the company’s supply lines needed to be reestablished. Production needed to restart and facilities identified. Financing needed to be secured. A trained team needed reasons to stay.
For Frédérique, an entrepreneur and process engineer, the moment was difficult, but her vision remained focused on revival.
“I never lost faith in my project or in the quality of what we were capable of delivering,” she said. “The demand for our products was there; what we needed was the financing required to truly unlock our potential.”
Across Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Guinea-Bissau, the Women Economic Empowerment through Cashew Processing project — known as WEECAP — is helping cashew-sector businesses like SOST CI access the financing, technical assistance and markets needed to grow. Led by Winrock International in partnership with CARE, GIZ and Open Capital Advisors, WEECAP combines business advisory services, workforce development, market linkages, access to finance and policy engagement to help local enterprises grow and create jobs.
Why cashew?
Côte d’Ivoire has been the world’s largest producer of raw cashew nuts since 2015, producing roughly 1.2 million tons of raw cashew in 2023, or about 40% of global supply, according to recent data. The crop has huge potential to add value to the country’s economy through processing and retail sales, but for many years, only a small share of the harvest was processed domestically. Côte d’Ivoire’s government and industry are investing in expanded local processing capacity, attempting to move the country from primarily a producer to a major processor and exporter of higher-value cashew products.
For SOST CI, rebuilding began with establishment of a stronger operating foundation.
That included nailing down reliable supply lines at competitive prices, finding an affordable processing environment, and charting a path to food-safety certifications that could lead to larger buyers and potentially lucrative export opportunities. Without its own production facility, SOST CI could not work on obtaining the certifications needed to compete in those markets.
A temporary solution emerged through CITA, the Cashew Innovation and Technology Center in Yamoussoukro, a nationally recognized training and processing hub equipped with industrial-scale facilities that allowed SOST CI to jumpstart production while rebuilding its own operation. The arrangement helped to get business going as Frédérique worked toward a permanent solution.
Catalytic funding; expanded opportunity
WEECAP support helped SOST CI in that transition. Through the Catalytic Fund, the company secured 25 million FCFA (approximately $43,900) in financing to support production-site upgrades, equipment purchases, packaging and working capital needed to restart and expand operations.
“It wasn’t just receiving financing,” Frédérique said. “It was receiving financing while also being genuinely supported and accompanied on the journey toward success.”
Through the program, SOST CI established a strategic partnership with Diaoune, an Ivorian cashew supplier, which has since become one of the company’s principal sources of raw material. The relationship helped strengthen SOST’s supply chain at a critical moment in its recovery.
At its heart, WEECAP is about expanding opportunity. Millions of people in West Africa depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, yet too often the greatest economic benefits flow elsewhere. By helping women- and youth-led businesses process, market and sell higher-value products, WEECAP promotes a different model — one in which local entrepreneurs create jobs, retain more value in their own economies and build businesses capable of adapting to change.
The approach reflects Winrock’s broader focus on strengthening the systems that support livelihoods and economic opportunity. In WEECAP’s case, those systems include local enterprises, supply chains, workforce development, financial institutions and commercial relationships.
“A factory of experts”
Things are moving in the right direction now, but Frédérique does not describe SOST CI as a finished story. The business is growing, pursuing new customers, and navigating the pressures that come with growth.
SOST CI is currently working toward internationally recognized food-safety certifications such as HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), and has begun introducing its products to new global markets through events such as Gulfood in Dubai and SIAL Paris. It’s pursuing an ambitious goal of reaching 100 million FCFA (approximately $176,000) in annual revenue by 2027.
“You must never lose sight of hope or the vision you have for your project. If your belief remains unshakable, you have to keep going because opportunities will eventually come. Allow yourself moments of sadness. Allow yourself not to be okay. Then the next day, start again — stronger. Above all, never give up.”
For Frédérique, the biggest payoff lies in the people her business supports. The women she recruited and trained are now helping to manage production processes, prepare plans and contribute ideas for innovation and new products.
Building that capability has become one of the defining goals of the business.
“What mattered most to me was creating, in my own way, a factory of experts — people who are curious, research-oriented, and capable of going further with what they have,” she said.
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