AI-generated illustration of shea processing. It does not depict Mali Shi’s staff or factory.
In Mali, Kancou Keita Cissé helped build Mali Shi, a business that processes locally collected shea nuts. Its factory opened in 2020, creating a way to add value to a local resource while supporting jobs and women’s cooperatives.
In an interview published by Investisseurs & Partenaires in July 2025, Kancou reported that Mali Shi employed 97 permanent staff and around 30 day workers. The company also worked with 12,000 women collecting shea nuts, organized into cooperatives across the Kayes, Koulikoro, Ségou and Sikasso regions.
According to the same interview, Mali Shi supported these cooperatives through formal purchasing contracts, training in collection and management, and equipment such as transport tricycles and storage facilities. These practical steps helped women organize their work and secure a more reliable buyer for their shea nuts.
The business also found uses for the material left after processing. Kancou explained that shea cake could be used in animal feed, organic fertilizer and fuel briquettes—creating useful products from what remained of the nuts.
Mali Shi’s story shows how processing local resources can create opportunities beyond the factory itself. By connecting industry with women’s cooperatives, the business offers an example of entrepreneurship that supports both jobs and rural livelihoods.
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Source: Investisseurs & Partenaires, interview with Kancou Keita Cissé, 7 July 2025. Figures reported in 2025.
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