Pascal Kafando who was interested in crafts in his childhood , has made from his passion a solid professional activity. Focus on the young general manager of the New ELECtric Technologies Company (NET-ELEC).

By Ibrahima SANOU

To well-born souls, value does not wait for a number of years. An affirmation befitting Pascal Kafando. Passionate about crafts from an early age, little Pascal leaves his parents to live with his uncle known for his manual work of domestic troubleshooting. A favorable environment for Pascal Kafando who will nurture and mature this hobby until the end of his cycle in Civil Engineering (Electrical Engineering). His degree in hand in 2000, he joined a growing company where there was much to do. “It was my goal, because when there is a lot to do, we also learn a lot,” he says. Thus from 2000 to 2007, he will touch many things, sharpen his weapons before settling on his own in 2008.

“This company has been a training center for me”

“This company was a training center for me,” he admits. Indeed, after having rubbed and trained with professionals, Pascal Kafando created in July 2008, NET-ELEC with the firm determination to quickly position it as one of the leading companies in its field of intervention. For this, he will give himself the means to achieve this through entrepreneurship training. He got his first job as a subcontractor in the construction of a mining company in the area. “There was this fear of not being up to the task …” says the young entrepreneur. Who however meets the challenge. NET-ELEC will provide a quality service and will become a safe address for applicants of any size. The success of this first project brings another. The networking of the Saponé power line (municipality located about 50 km south of the capital, in the Center region). To date, several public and private achievements bear the imprints of NET-ELEC. And for the general manager, every job is a challenge. That’s why he says he can afford to do all kinds of work related to his field of intervention. However, despite the successes, the difficulties are not lacking. One of the difficulties that NET-ELEC encounters, according to its general director, is access to certain markets. “When we say for example, that we must have a turnover of 500 million or a billion, it excludes us medium-sized companies despite our competence because we do not have the solid financial backbone”. And yet, he says, they pay taxes and many other taxes and their agents are reported to the National Social Security Fund (CNSS). He advocates that the state think at this level, to facilitate things.

Split tenders to take into account SMEs

Pascal Kafando makes proposals to take into account small and medium-sized companies in tenders. For example, according to him, instead of taking the electrification of 50 villages to form a single lot and entrusting it to a single large company, the state can split them into five or ten lots in order to take a lot of companies that have the technical abilities to do the job. Meanwhile, in 9 years of existence, NET-ELEC, has acquired experience and know-how. From an individual company to its creation, NET-ELEC is today a Limited Liability Company (S.A.R.L) with around ten employees declared to the CNSS and several dozen temporary employees. On the eve of its tenth anniversary, NET-ELEC has placed its high slider, with, in addition, national and international partners. Today, NET-ELEC, takes into account everything that is electrical, tertiary (offices, air conditioning, lighting, wavy networks, telephone networks, etc.), industry and primary (agricultural system for example). Pascal Kafando urges the youth of Burkina Faso to feed on courage, determination and, above all, patience to learn. “The market is there and it’s indisputable, work seriously, and not see money at first. The entrepreneur is the one who often accepts to work at a loss to satisfy his client, “advocated the CEO of NET-ELEC.

 By Ibrahima SANOU

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