PPR UniverCité, created in 1997, aims to help the strategic positioning of the Group through training, coaching and development courses designed for the leaders of different branches of the PPR Group. As part of the programme designed for the Group’s talents, six managers dedicated their skills to the services of the association La Voûte Nubienne by carrying out an audit in Burkina Faso.

At the end of 18 months of training, which began in Paris, this new ‘Leadership Development Program’ took off for Boromo, in the heart of Burkina Faso, for a particularly enriching situation scenario. PPR UniverCité’s objective: to make its executive managers create a concrete project of solidarity, under the time constraints, which aims to develop their individual and collective leadership skills.

The association La Voûte Nubienne promotes an ancestral roof building technique which is both economical and ecological, without using wood. By training the Burkinabe builders, on a large scale, to adopt this technique, the association enables the people of Sub-Saharan Africa to improve their quality of life over the long term.

A project welcomed by the PPR Foundation: La Voûte Nubienne featured among the laureates of the first edition of the ‘Social Entrepreneurs’ award, in February 2008. By reconciling economic efficiency and social innovation, it found itself granted with financial support and, moreover, human and professional mentoring ensured by a manager of the PPR Group. The association, which is located in the region of Montpellier but makes interventions in Africa, is sponsored by Alain Viry, Chairman and CEO of CFAO.

In Burkina Faso, at the invitation of La Voûte Nubienne, the 6 executive managers of PPR, who are normally used to managing people and examining files, saw their training path take a new turn as they lent their expertise to the local builders, trained by the association in its building technique.

Invited to the annual meeting of Burkinabe builders in June 2009, the 6 participants were welcomed with open arms. On site, the group continued the audit of the association and shot a film recounting their experience, before bringing the annual conference to a close with a message of encouragement and mobilisation for the teams.

However, beyond the enrichment of savoir-faire, it is above all the personal ‘human’ adventure that made a particularly strong impact.