TIKOS
Changing Lives Forever
04 Entreprise Esse
Esse runs a cereal retail business at the Dadjidogomé Assiyeye market in Lomé, buying beans, maize, soy, and manioc flour from widows and local farmers north of Kpalimé and selling them at her booth.
Progress: Entreprise Esse, our first female borrower, suffered a 60% revenue drop due to political instability and poor harvests but remains committed to supporting her rural suppliers.
06 SeedStar Specialty Coffee Ltd.
SeedStar Specialty Coffee empowers Ugandan smallholder farmers in the Mbale highlands by transforming their Arabica beans into premium, traceable specialty coffee for local markets.
Progress: SeedStar will use the loan to expand production capacity and improve product quality in the local coffee market.
Progress:
01 Enterprise Justin
During its first year of operation, Entreprise Justin developed well and met all milestones agreed in the loan agreement, including making the first partial repayment of the loan to TIKOS.
Due to political instability and frequent protests and violence in the center of Lomé, Justin had to relocate his sales booth to the outskirts of the city. This resulted in a slight decrease in revenues. Nevertheless, he remains confident about the future and is planning to expand by employing two additional team members, further strengthening the business model. He has already repaid € 2,000 of the € 5,500 loan, which has truly changed his life.
Progress:
02 Pressing Macha Allah
Initially, thanks to good service and proper cleaning, orders increased steadily, and many clients brought large loads of duvets. This created the need for an additional 15 kg washing machine. After eight months, Djawad finally obtained his trade license, which now allows him to also serve commercial customers.
Despite this positive step, he continues to face challenges in developing his cleaning shop successfully. While he offers two unique selling points – a tricycle with enclosed cargo compartment and, since February, two dry microfine hygienic steamers donated by the founder of Swiss market leader Laurastar – local women compete by offering similar services at much lower prices. To counter this, he plans to intensify advertising, including radio spots, and to target national and international tourists visiting Kpalimé. He has switched to monthly repayments and has already made some, though sometimes with delay.
Progress:
03 Estec BTP
In the first five months, Estec BTP received more than 30 orders for concrete slabs it could not have built before. Thanks to efficiency improvements achieved during this period, the company now has the capacity to complete five orders per week.
In February 2025, Mounirou, the contractor leading Estec BTP, had a serious motorcycle accident and was absent for two months. During this time, his staff continued working on two construction sites, even though clients delayed their payments. After his return, he was able to collect all or part of the agreed fees and, with this income, made his first contractual loan reimbursement of € 1,600 from the € 8,000 loan. Based on this experience, he has changed his policy and now requires partial payments in advance. The popular uprisings in Lomé have so far had little impact on his business in Kpalimé. Since the beginning of TIKOS’ engagement, he has doubled his staff and now also employs two young women part-time for painting and logistics work on construction sites.
Progress:
04 Entreprise Esse
Entreprise Esse, our first female borrower, has been hit hardest by the current political instability. She lost some customers who fled Lomé for the countryside, and harvests over the past year have been poor. She reports that, due to the riots, money is hardly circulating in the country, leading to a revenue drop of just over 60% compared with the previous two quarters.
Despite these difficulties, she remains loyal to her rural cereal farmers, most of whom are widows or single mothers. She requested a deferral of the first of three instalments for her € 1,000 loan.
Progress:
06 SeedStar Speciality Coffee Ltd.
SeedStar will use the loan to purchase an additional coffee pulper, its first roaster and grinder, and to invest in packaging and branding materials. A portion of the funds will also serve as working capital to expand local sales and strengthen its supply network.