Kachile:Leveraging ICT to increase opportunities in BoP markets in West Africa

Kachile is a social venture dedicated to alleviating poverty and increasing environmental consciousness in West Africa by creating opportunities in the digital economy using ICT. Kachile started in January 2009 and operates in Côte d‘Ivoire. The venture is a hub for entrepreneurs and change agents who drive social innovation and transformation in fields such as education, health, ecology, and enterprise development. Kachile focuses on

(1) Setting up of IT infrastructure, technological support, and necessary ICT instruction;
(2) Business coaching and incubation for local SMEs, focusing on female entrepreneurs; and (3) Introduction and application of advanced mobile phone technologies.

Thereby, Kachile leverages ICT dissemination for fostering entrepreneurship, bring endogenous growth, reduce poverty, and ensure that these changes last. Moreover, Kachile reduces information asymmetry to bring more insights and knowledge required to assess risks and recognize opportunities in West Africa.