Burkina Faso/Nestlé Campus Challenge: "Wifash" project wins first edition

Begun on November 13, 2024, the first edition of the Nestlé Campus Challenge came to a close on March 22, 2025. For four months, some 5,000 students from the public and private universities of Koudougou, Bobo-Dioulasso and Ouagadougou submitted 319 projects to the jury. Ten projects were selected for the grand final, and their promoters benefited from a three-week pre-incubation period. At the end of the finalists' pitches, it was the "Wifash" project by students from Joseph-Ki-Zerbo University that won over the jury. The team took home a cheque for 1,500,000 FCFA and will benefit from an immersion internship at Nestlé Burkina.

The Nestlé Campus Challenge, supported by the Nescafé brand, is part of the company's commitment to supporting 10 million young people worldwide. It was initiated to stimulate young people's entrepreneurial spirit and enable them to explore career prospects once their academic career is over. Sidiki Diawara, Managing Director of Nestlé Burkina, pointed out that the problem of employment after university studies is a major concern. This prompted the Nestlé Group to initiate this inter-university competition to boost the potential of young people.

At the start of the competition, some 5,000 students from 30 public and private universities in Ouagadougou, Bobo-Dioulasso and Koudougou submitted their projects to the jury.
After training sessions and major conferences designed to equip participants to better structure their business ideas, ten projects in various fields were judged to be innovative and high-impact. They were therefore selected for the final phase, which took place on March 22, 2025.

Each team had five minutes to convince the jury of the relevance and feasibility of their project. In the end, the "Wifash" project came out on top. The "Mindev-Faso" project took second place, and the "Track Honrizon" project came third. They won FCFA 1,000,000 and FCFA 600,000 respectively. The "Trans-mougou" project came in 4th and won 400,000 FCFA, while the "Faso Stand" project came in 5th with a prize of 200,000 FCFA. All finalists received certificates of participation and gift baskets.

Formalizing the business and acquiring equipment

Led by students at Joseph-Ki-Zerbo University, the "Wifash" project focuses on the manufacture of fashion accessories (shoes, handbags) in loincloth, leather and recycled plastic. According to team leader Wendlassida Dominique Ouédraogo, the check for one and a half million FCFA should enable them to formalize their business and acquire cutting-edge equipment.acquire cutting-edge equipment, to achieve finishes that meet international standards and improve the quality and quantity of accessories produced.

Encouraging young people to unleash their entrepreneurial spirit

The jury urged all project holders to persevere in perfecting their entrepreneurial ideas, in order to bring them to maturity. Representing the Minister of Higher Education, Annick Pikbougoum, in charge of the project, congratulated Nestlé Burkina on this initiative, which presents an opportunity for professional integration. "We congratulate all initiatives like this one that are taken to train students. We all know that the civil service can't absorb all the young people looking for work. And competitions like this enable young people to better prepare themselves to conquer the job market, to self-employ and also to employ others. This will help to reduce unemployment in our country," she said.

Nestlé Burkina General Manager Sidiki Diawara said that, in view of the mobilization generated by this first edition of the Campus Challenge, all eyes are already on the second edition.The aim, he said, was to encourage young people to unleash their entrepreneurial spirit and play an active part in the country's development.

Source: lefaso.net/