Senegalese football icon Sadio Mané has broken ground on SM10 Agro, a self-funded $20.4 million (approx. 11.7 billion CFA francs) agro-industrial mango processing venture in his hometown of Bambali. Moving beyond his remarkable exploits on the football pitch, where the Al-Nassr forward has previously funded schools and hospitals in his community, Mané’s latest initiative is designed to tackle structural agricultural challenges in the southern Casamance region.
Up to 40% of local mango harvests in the Sédhiou region are traditionally lost due to a lack of proper storage and processing facilities. The new plant aims to minimize waste by converting surplus fruit, including those failing strict European Union export standards, into valuable products like mango pulp, purée, dried mango, and mango butter.
Mané officially launched the project alongside key national figures, including National Assembly President Ousmane Sonko, before traveling to Dakar to present the vision to President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Operations for the facility are slated to begin following an 18-month construction timeline, reinforcing Mané’s lasting legacy of community development off the pitch