Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire mango and gender

Women make up most of the workforce in the dried mango sector in Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso. They often work long hours without formal contracts. Many are seasonal workers for only three months a year and earn less than €2.50 per day.

At the same time, the demand for dried tropical fruit in Europe is growing. Dried mango is becoming more popular as a snack, which creates a good business opportunity for dried mango companies to join the project.

This project aims for dried mango companies to to increase their productivity and to improve labour conditions for the women in the sector. A crucial part of the project is coaching companies on both human resources and technical processes at the same time.

We partner with Dutch and European buyers to give feedback on product quality and what is needed to supply the European market. This includes labour conditions, hygiene in the factories, and options to dry other products like ginger and pineapple. Diversifying products can help companies offer longer employment than just 3 months a year. The companies share their best practices among each other and across the wider sector.

Project purpose 

Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire are important suppliers of dried mango for the European market. The sector provides seasonal jobs for thousands of women, but working conditions remain poor. Wages have stalled for 15 years, contracts are informal, and workers get no chance to ask for better terms.

National companies recognise these challenges, but struggle to solve them. With rising production costs and flat prices for dried mango, companies often reduce labour costs to stay competitive.

To break this cycle, companies need a new approach. For example inking productivity with decent work. When companies invest in their workers and improve conditions, motivation and productivity increase. This creates a strong business case for sustainable growth.

CBI plans to partner with 20 companies in Burkina Faso and 10 in Côte d’Ivoire. Together, these companies employ over 60% of the sector’s women seasonal workforce. By taking the lead in improving working conditions, these companies will create a tipping point. To attract and keep staff, other factories across the sector will have to follow their example. Partner selection is ongoing throughout 2026 and will end soon.

For wider sector dissemination, we work with the main associations: PTRAMAB, APROMAB, and Inter‑Mangue.

CBI addresses 3 areas:

1. Improving production efficiency: Tracking output, checking moisture levels, reducing waste, and improving machinery maintenance.
2. Improving staff management: Supporting middle management, introducing formal contracts, improving wages, and creating more respectful working conditions.
3. Supporting product diversification: Helping companies dry other products, such as ginger and pineapple, so workers can be employed for more than three months a year.

The project aims to:

• Partner with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the dried mango sector to improve productivity and reduce production costs.
• Collaborate with SMEs in adopting better human resources (HR) practices, and offering more decent working conditions to female workers.
• Promote product diversification to extend the employment season for women employees.
• Facilitate best practices sharing across the sector, so that change goes beyond the companies we work with directly.

Through this project, companies can develop their skills via multi‑year coaching and training programmes on technical monitoring, factory layout, hiring middle management, quality systems, financial management, marketing, and matchmaking with importers and equipment suppliers.

Partners

CBI intends to work with 20 companies in Burkina Faso and 10 in Côte d'Ivoire. Our goal is to onboard the dried mango factories which together employ more than 60% of the female seasonal workers. By reaching a tipping point in the sector, the other factories need to follow with the higher working conditions if they want to maintain a basis of quality workers. During 2026, the final partner selection is ongoing.

To share this with the wider sector, the planned partners include:

•  APROMAB (Association Interprofessionnelle Mangue du Burkina
• Inter-Mangue (Mango Association Côte d'Ivoire)
• PTRAMAB (Professional Association for Mango Processors).

Become a partner

We are particularly interested in connecting with European importers. Their feedback on product quality, working conditions, and professionalism plays a crucial role in raising standards across the sector. We are now expanding our network, building on successful previous partnerships with Dutch importers such as Berrico, Nutland, and Afrifruta.

We also welcome organisations that can contribute to the gender, HR, or technical dimensions of the project.

Reach out now

What kind of partners do we seek? 

We are looking for partners who care about decent work and sustainable sourcing. We are specifically interested in:

• European and Dutch importers of dried mango or other dried fruits who want to give feedback on quality and working conditions, and who are open to long-term sourcing collaborations with West African SMEs
• Knowledge partners with expertise in HR management, gender inclusion, or food processing in West Africa
• Organisations active in Burkina Faso or Côte d’Ivoire, and working on women's economic empowerment or labour rights in the agri-processing sector
• Service providers who can offer maintenance solutions for drying equipment, or who can support composting or product diversification

We work with both national and international partners. National experts based near Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso) or Korhogo (Côte d’Ivoire) are especially well positioned for day-to-day company coaching.

What does a partnership with CBI look like? 

CBI does not provide funding. We invest in practical support and local solutions.

If you are a European importer, we offer you a direct connection to a group of vetted, coached SMEs who are actively improving their product quality and working conditions. We can organise buyer feedback sessions and connect you to frontrunner companies.

If you are a knowledge or sector partner, we offer co-creation of best practices and the chance to contribute to a sector-wide change process. Our sector association partners, Professionnels de la Transformation de la Mangue (PTRAMAB), and APROMAB (Association Interprofessionnelle Mangue du Burkina) in Burkina Faso and InterMangue in Côte d’Ivoire, are central to how we scale what we learn.

There is no fee to become a project partner.

Collaborate with us

Partner with CBI in building a sustainable dried mango sector where women thrive.

We would appreciate hearing from you. Click the button below to express your interest. For questions, please contact Lisanne van de Kerkhof at lkerkhof@cbi.eu.

Reach out now

About CBI

CBI promotes sustainable production and trade between low-and middle-income countries and the Netherlands and Europe. We partner with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their ecosystem to strengthen their social and environmental sustainability. 

CBI is part of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency and commissioned by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.