Ben Ahmed Zoungrana, Managing Director of 213 Nourrhayat International. Our company, a central purchasing agency set up in 2016, is dedicated to meeting customers’ international sourcing needs. In this interview, he informs that his company 213 Nourrhayat International is a privileged partner of several brands. It represents some of them in West Africa.
Mines Actu Burkina: Could you introduce yourself to our readers?
Ben Ahmed Zoungrana: I’m delighted to take this opportunity to introduce myself and our company. I am Ben Ahmed Zoungrana, Managing Director of 213 Nourrhayat International. Our company, a central purchasing agency set up in 2016, is dedicated to meeting customers’ international procurement needs. Our customers include international groups such as IAMGOLD with its subsidiary IAMGOLD Essakane SA, Ciments de l’Afrique (CIMAF) with its subsidiary CIMAF Burkina Faso in particular, and SMEs and SMIs with operations in Burkina Faso.
My passion for international purchasing and my desire to add value to businesses were the driving forces behind the creation of 213 Nourrhayat International. Having acquired solid experience in the sector, I decided to found a company that would stand out for its commitment to excellence, quality and customer satisfaction.
As Managing Director, I am fully committed to the vision of our company. I am driven by the desire to develop 213 Nourrhayat International as the benchmark in the international procurement sector. Our aim is to continue to expand our geographical reach, explore new opportunities and stay at the forefront of the latest market trends.
I am extremely grateful to our talented and dedicated team, who are the backbone of our success. Their expertise, professionalism and passion are the driving force behind every step of our journey.
Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to our customers and partners. Their trust and continued support are the foundations of our growth. We remain committed to providing them with exceptional service, honouring our commitments and exceeding their expectations.
Burkina Faso has adopted legislation on local content. How do you assess these texts?
First and foremost, I would like to congratulate and warmly thank all the intelligent people who fought and worked for the adoption of these texts.
They will enable Burkina Faso’s entrepreneurs to gain more market share in the supply of goods and services to mining companies and their subcontractors.
It should be emphasised that this is a market worth many billion FCFA which, if properly exploited, will enable the people of Burkina Faso to feel the impact of mining activity in the country more keenly in their daily shopping baskets.
It’s a fact that the companies operating in this sector do a lot, but they can’t employ everyone. On the other hand, by making greater use of Burkinabè companies for their daily needs in goods and services, they would be able to create national Burkinabè expertise in this sector, numerous indirect jobs, more widely shared wealth and, as a result, the social peace of mind needed to operate. In short, it’s a win-win situation.
I also believe that this is a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso to change their paradigm, to discover this sector and its realities, to learn from it, and to take advantage of all the potential it offers.
Are you satisfied with the way things have gone?
Any new measure takes time to have a perceptible effect. In fact, we are only in the second year of applying these texts. All stakeholders need time to adjust.
On the other hand, it cannot be denied that these laws have given rise to a new dynamic and a paradigm shift in the sourcing strategy and habits of mining companies and their subcontractors. Increasingly, they have taken the initiative to call on Burkinabè companies to supply them with parts and materials that they used to receive exclusively from foreign companies.
For 213 Nourrhayat International, this new situation has enabled us to prove ourselves, to increase our turnover and, above all, to learn more about mining processes and the parts and equipment needed to run them smoothly. We’ve also expanded our list of partners by reaching out to new sources of supply to meet our customers’ needs.
We hope that things will continue to improve and that very soon at least 95% of the needs of mining companies and their subcontractors will be met exclusively by Burkina Faso companies.
For example, the construction of the KIAKA SA project by the mining company West African Resources is a great opportunity that companies in Burkina Faso should take advantage of. We hope that the subcontractor appointed to carry out this project, Lycopodium, will mainly call on us, Burkinabè companies, for their needs in goods and services of all kinds.
As a brand representative, could you tell us about your product ranges?
In fact, we supply different ranges of products to our customers. Our main asset is the fact that we have partners on every continent capable of providing us with everything our customers need.
The list below is not exhaustive.
In addition to being a central purchasing agency, our strategy has evolved to make the company a local and sub-regional distributor of many brands. We are now the preferred partner of MARECHAL ELECTRIC, ALBIN, ARO and ABB in Burkina Faso, and the West African representative of the American supplier GRAINGER, which distributes many brands and also owns other brands such as SPEEDAIRE. We are continuing to work towards more preferred partnerships.
These privileged relationships enable us to respond more quickly to our customers, to offer them the best prices and to reduce delivery times by stocking parts and equipment locally.
What are the advantages of your products and why should a mine do business with you?
Since we started, we have worked tirelessly to build strong partnerships with leading international suppliers. This close collaboration enables us to offer our customers a wide range of top-quality products that meet their specific requirements.
Customer satisfaction is very important to us. Our dedicated and experienced team strives to understand their needs and offer tailor-made solutions. We believe in building long-term, trusting relationships with our customers, working hand-in-hand to achieve their goals.
At 213 Nourrhayat International, we also place a strong emphasis on quality. We understand the importance of providing products that meet the highest standards. That’s why we have rigorous quality control processes in place at every stage of our supply chain.
A number of mining companies are talking about the lack of capacity among nationals to supply quality goods? Do you agree?
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Today, there are many central purchasing agencies and distributors of all kinds of equipment from a wide range of reliable sources in Burkina Faso, and they are capable of meeting this challenge. 213 Nourrhayat International is one of the most perfect examples. It is safe to say that, from now on, there is no longer any need to call on foreign central purchasing agencies and distributors. From now on, this should be the exception rather than the rule.
All mining companies and subcontractors have to do is communicate the exact technical specifications of what they need so that Burkina Faso suppliers can meet their requirements. There are and always will be disreputable suppliers, whether national or foreign. It is up to mining companies and subcontractors to enter into agreements with the best local suppliers, who have a proven track record and offer them the best quality guarantees through competition.
Once again 213 Nourrhayat International is proof of this. In the beginning, to prove our good faith, we took the initiative of always providing certificates of conformity and origin with our deliveries. Customer companies have the right to demand these documents to reassure themselves and make an initial selection. Over time, we have proved our worth and a relationship of trust has developed.
Many customers have placed their trust in us by entrusting us with the delivery of critical parts, and have been satisfied to receive these parts on time and with indisputable quality! However, we have to point out that these customers have been true partners and have supported us by willingly answering our precision questions and sometimes by relieving us of some of the technical work.
This reminds me of the first times we were asked to deliver instrumentation equipment such as probes or components for crushers, excavators, dumpers, graders, trucks, generators, etc.
Something we didn’t even know existed. Of course, we would never have been able to deliver it, but now we can even discuss the gold room, the conveyor belt, the leaching process and so on. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank these customer-partners.
I would ask these mining companies to overcome their apprehensions and sometimes prejudices and they will see that they are wrong and that using local suppliers confers many advantages, such as the possibility of reducing the book value of their stock of parts and materials. If a local supplier obtains a 2 to 3 year contract to supply a particular category of parts, he will stock up locally to ensure rapid delivery to his customer, which will reduce the customer’s need to stock up. Companies such as DIACFA, GROUPE HAGE, 213 NOURRHAYAT INTERNATIONAL, etc. are proof of this.
Do you have any recommendations for improving the implementation of Local Content?
Our recommendations are addressed above all to our authorities. The supply of goods and services to mining companies and subcontractors is a non-negligible lever for development in our country. As indicated earlier in this interview, the benefits are cross-cutting and, above all, critical these days.
They are not a panacea, nor are they exhaustive, but I certainly believe that they can make a big positive difference to the lives of Burkinabe entrepreneurs.
A review of certain existing provisions will enable local suppliers to increase their share of the market for the supply of goods and services to mining companies and their subcontractors.
Read the recommendations on the chart.
Interview conducted by Elie KABORE
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