Solutions (443)
Following his IT training, tech entrepreneur Ousseynou Diop embarked on a mission to make IT training accessible to those seeking new opportunities. His startup has introduced training programs designed to meet the continent's needs amidst the rapid digital transformation.
Xarala Academy, an e-learning solution developed by a Senegalese startup, offers training in various information and communication technology areas through its web and mobile platforms. The startup, established in 2017 by Ousseynou Diop and based in Pikine, derives its name “xarala” from the Wolof language, meaning “technology”.
"We firmly believe that education has the power to transform - not just individuals, but entire communities and nations. Our vision is rooted in the belief that every African talent trained is one step closer to a better future, where technology is a lever for improving lives," says Ousseynou Diop.
The Xarala Academy mobile application, available on iOS and Android, allows users to access a variety of edtech courses after creating an account. These courses cover areas such as web and mobile development, cybersecurity, design, digital marketing, and project management, typically lasting twelve weeks.
The courses are designed for beginners, with the belief that the twelve-week period is sufficient to acquire the necessary skills in the chosen field. The startup does not require any specific level of education to access its courses, making them accessible to anyone who can read and write.
Xarala Academy, accessible 24/7, has over 6,000 learners on its web and mobile platforms. The Android version of its mobile application has been downloaded more than a thousand times, according to the Play Store.
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The solution was set up by young tech entrepreneurs to make it easier for people to buy medicines in local languages. It won first prize at the 2023 Orange Summer Challenge.
Seribox, an e-health solution developed by the Sily Group, leverages artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things to enable users to acquire medicines in local languages. The group, led by Youssouf Djafara Diallo, initially showcased its solution at the 2023 Orange Summer Challenge. This competition, organized by telecom operator Orange, assembled students from diverse universities across 15 countries in Africa and the Middle East.
Seribox operates as a medicine dispenser that can be procured via a smartphone functioning as an order terminal. Users simply press the microphone icon button, akin to creating a voice note on an instant messaging application, to place an order in their chosen local language. In a demonstration video, Diallo placed orders in Sousou and Peulh, two local languages prevalent in Guinea.
The system responds in the order’s language, ensuring to repeat the ordered medicine’s name and its price. It automatically shifts the order to the shopping basket, with the option to add more orders to the basket. Upon completion of this stage, users validate the order by pressing the corresponding green button. The terminal then displays a QR code, allowing the bill to be paid via the Orange Money application. Once payment is confirmed, the dispenser releases the ordered medicines for the user to collect without any issues.
It’s important to note that Seribox does not dispense medicines that require a doctor’s prescription. Doctors must log into a dedicated platform to prescribe drugs that can be utilized on Seribox. They can prescribe up to four drugs per prescription, and upon doing so, the system generates a QR code. Users can photograph the prescription or have it printed on paper to place their order with Seribox. An order can also be canceled by sending a voice message to the device.
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The solution aims to facilitate access to insurance policies for Africans. It was launched by a trained telecoms engineer who switched to the insurance sector after a fifteen-year career.
Assuraf, an insurtech solution developed by a Senegalese startup, allows users to purchase insurance policies online from their homes or offices. The Dakar-based start-up, founded in 2018 by Souleymane Gning (photo), has already secured approximately $200,000 since its inception to develop its technology and facilitate its growth.
The start-up’s innovation lab focuses on disruptive products, business models, and ultra-personalized coverage, serving as a digital advisor and software factory for the industry value chain, including insurers, reinsurers, brokers, end users, and the partner ecosystem, according to the company’s LinkedIn page.
Its mobile application, available on iOS and Android, enables users to access various insurance policies offered by the startup once they download the application and create an account. Assuraf provides car/motorcycle, home, travel, health, and life insurance. Users can even obtain a free quote within minutes by providing the necessary information.
Upon quote validation, Assuraf facilitates the completion of all procedures online. Its web and mobile platforms, accessible 24/7, allow for online payment and the submission of all documents required to finalize contracts. Additionally, it offers the capability to report a claim.
In the event of a road accident involving a car insured with Assuraf, users complete a form providing details such as the type of insurance, policy number, date and time of the accident, and the vehicle involved if they have insured multiple vehicles from their account. The startup then processes the information and ensures the completion of the procedure.
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Amid a scarcity of doctors in certain regions of the continent, e-health is surfacing as a reliable alternative. A growing number of startups in this sector are emerging across Africa, aiming to facilitate individuals in managing their health effectively.
Esante Company, an e-health solution developed by a Burkinabe startup, allows patients to access healthcare online through its mobile application. The startup, based in Ouagadougou, was founded in 2021 by Yves Patrick Yanogo.
Its mobile application, currently available only on Android, requires users to create an account with their details. Once registered, users can access a range of healthtech services, including online appointment booking, teleconsultation, digital medical records, and access to medical advice on various topics.
To book an appointment, users search for the desired medical specialty, select a doctor from the platform, and choose a suitable date and time for the consultation. For online consultations, users need to connect to the waiting room ten minutes before the appointment time. They can then describe their symptoms to the doctor via videoconferencing from a computer or smartphone, who will then proceed with the necessary treatment steps.
For doctors operating on the platform, the process is streamlined. With a digital diary, they can plan their work schedule for days, weeks, and even months ahead. Patients’ appointments are displayed on their dashboard, providing them with full control over their time. The application also includes features for patient monitoring, prescription writing, and easy access to patients’ medical records from anywhere.
In December 2023, Yanogo said the startup was collaborating with certain hospitals in Ouagadougou, to expand coverage nationwide. He also highlighted the challenges faced by the startup, including the nascent digital culture and poor internet coverage in his country. As of early 2023, the internet penetration rate stood at 21.6%, according to DataReportal data.
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Launched by a tech entrepreneur whose mission is to facilitate online transactions, the solution was licensed by the Central Bank of Liberia, in October 2021.
Liberian startup eWallie, founded by Abdullah Kamara in 2021, has developed a fintech solution that allows users to send and receive money, pay bills, purchase goods and services, shop online, and pay salaries.
The mobile application, available on Android and iOS, enables users to access a range of fintech services once they download the application and complete the account creation process. Notably, eWallie features a digital wallet that facilitates these operations.
“This mobile fintech company will engage in hospital bills and school fees payment services across the country. However, we will also support resellers and distributors including SATCON utility bills to enable key services of financial transactions to have the opportunity of complete cash flow management,” Kamara said in 2021 when he secured a central bank approval for the fintech solution.
The startup has integrated its platform with several local banks and supports Visa and Mastercard, allowing customers to easily top up their wallets and conduct transactions without the need for an agent. This integration also simplifies the process of transferring cash directly to and from bank accounts.
For businesses, eWallie offers services such as salary payment, payment receipt, and stock management. Since its launch, its Android app has been downloaded over 10,000 times, according to data from the Play Store.
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Founded by a Guinean IT specialist, the solution was launched to enable easy access to a wide range of products. It now claims a presence in four West African countries.
Malian startup Sodishop, an e-commerce platform that allows users to purchase a variety of items online, was launched in 2019 by Guinea-born IT specialist Boubacar Biro Baldé. The platform, based in Bamako, offers Guineans the opportunity to order products from other countries in the sub-region, such as Mali, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire, with delivery in less than 72 hours.
“Our brand new Made in Africa marketplace now enables local Guinean brands to sell and deliver throughout Africa and anywhere else in the world,” Baldé explained.
The platform, whose Android app has been downloaded more than 10,000 times according to the Play Store, features a mobile application available on iOS and Android. While users can browse the platform without an account, one is required to place orders. The site offers a wide array of products, including food, computers, phones, gadgets, fashion items, hygiene products, and school kits.
Sodishop has integrated payment solutions such as Orange Money, Paypal, and bank cards like Visa and Mastercard. Speaking to Guineenews in August 2023, Baldé revealed that since its launch, the startup has processed over $4 million in orders and averages $500,000 in annual sales through its sellers.
“We are present in four countries in West Africa. Mali and Guinea since 2019 and 2020 respectively, Senegal since 2022, and we’ve been operational in Côte d’Ivoire since early 2023,” Baldé said.
Sodishop has received numerous awards, including the prize for the best online sales platform in Mali at the 2022 Africa Business Excellence Awards. That same year, it participated in the Top 35 MEST Africa Challenge Ghana. In 2023, it was selected as one of the Top 11 in the Afritech Startupbootcamp ASIP program, receiving technical support worth $750,000 and a three-month acceleration program in Dakar, Senegal.
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The digital solution was set up to facilitate the supply of goods to retailers.
Freshbag, a Cameroonian startup, has developed an agritech solution that serves as a bridge between producers or agricultural cooperatives and small retailers. The startup, founded by Brice Ludovic Bindzi Mvogo, received an undisclosed amount of funding in 2020 from GreenTec Capital, an investment fund launched in Germany in 2015 by Cameroonian-born Frenchman Eric Yong to support startups and SMEs.
Bindzi Mvogo expressed his gratitude for GreenTec Capital’s support, stating, “Thanks to Greentec, we now have a real opportunity to move into growth mode, scale our operations, and ultimately create a greater impact for the millions of street vendors across Africa. A dream now closer to becoming a reality.”
The solution does not require a mobile application. Interested parties can directly register on the startup’s web platform as sellers to join Freshbag’s network of distributors, or as producers to supply fresh produce. Following registration, the startup conducts site visits for the usual checks and to sign a partnership agreement with the user.
In September 2020, Bindzi Mvogo acknowledged the daily challenges faced by the startup stating, “The main risks are linked to the people we serve. Informal street vendors - because they live in constant uncertainty - are often unreliable and reluctant to commit to formal contracts. Our loyalty and reward programs are gradually helping to solve this problem, but we still have a long way to go to change attitudes and behavior.”
Freshbag currently boasts around 1,600 producers and 700 sellers but it plans to expand beyond Cameroon to other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
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TalabaStore, one of the first startups accredited by the Algerian Ministry of Startups, has been experiencing consistent growth since its inception. The company is steadily gaining ground in the Algerian e-commerce sector.
Algerian startup TalabaStore, founded by Sami Aliouche in 2017, facilitates online purchases and home deliveries, with a particular focus on student discounts.
Its platform, accessible via an Android-only mobile application, allows users to create personal accounts and browse a variety of items for sale, including clothing, bags, IT products, cosmetics, and sports goods. Account creation is not mandatory for browsing the platform.
TalabaStore aims to cater specifically to students, offering a range of discounts and benefits to facilitate their purchases. “Our goal is to meet the needs of students in Algeria,” the startup states.
Despite being based in the capital, Algiers, TalabaStore extends its delivery services to 48 wilayas, enabling students across a large part of the country to access their services and benefits. The startup received financing from the Algerian Startup Fund and participated in the incubation program of the Agence Nationale de promotion et de développement des parcs technologiques (ANPT), a government initiative promoting technological advancement in the country. It was also part of the Algeria Venture acceleration program in partnership with Google for Startups.
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According to its co-founder, Ruddy Mukwamu, MaxiCash was inspired by the Apple ecosystem.
MaxiCash, a fintech solution developed by a Congolese startup, is enabling Africans in the diaspora to make payments, transfer money internationally, and pay for various goods and services. The startup, launched in 2016 by Ruddy Mukwamu, is based in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Johannesburg, South Africa.
“We combined our experience in tech and digital to help communities use technology to foster financial inclusion,” Mukwamu said.
The MaxiCash mobile application, available on iOS and Android, allows users to create an account and access various fintech services. Users can send money internationally, make payments, and shop online in partnership with MaxiCash. The application includes a digital wallet, which can be topped up using various digital payment methods, including bank cards.
MaxiCash also offers Visa bank cards for online payments and receiving international payments. The start-up provides a payment gateway for businesses, enabling those involved in online commerce to integrate MaxiCash’s payment solution to facilitate their financial transactions. According to the Play Store, the application has been downloaded more than 10,000 times.
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The e-health solution was established by a former banker, who ventured into entrepreneurship driven by her desire to transform telemedicine in Central Africa.
AfriWell Health, a Congolese healthtech startup, offers a platform for patients to connect with healthcare professionals for treatment. Founded in 2022 by Joelle Itoua Owona and based in Pointe-Noire, the startup secured an undisclosed funding from Google for Startups in March 2023 to bolster its growth.
The company’s solution, an Android-exclusive mobile application, allows users to register with their personal details and access a variety of healthtech services, including online appointments with general practitioners and specialists.
Since AfriWell Health has doctors worldwide, consultations are mainly carried out online. Owona’s goal with her healthtech solution is to address the doctor shortage in Africa, particularly in Congo. The platform maintains a digital medical record for each patient, providing doctors with a comprehensive view of their medical history.
The startup also facilitates healthcare provision for the Congolese diaspora to their relatives back home. Additionally, AfriWell Health provides a weekly updated list of on-duty pharmacies in Pointe-Noire, streamlining the medicine purchasing process for patients.
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The solution was developed to help people get the best prices in online shops.
ComparoShop, a digital solution developed by a startup based in Douala, Cameroon, allows users to compare prices of a wide array of items online before making purchases from online stores. The startup, founded by Didier Tagne in 2022, employs artificial intelligence to enhance search results.
The platform, which does not offer a mobile application, can be accessed via a browser. Users are not required to create an account to access the platform’s information. By entering the product name in the search bar, users can view various suggestions. Based on their geographical location, they can find online stores selling the desired item, its prices, and customer reviews of the respective store. This enables users to compare prices, analyze reviews, and make informed decisions.
Purchases are made through the online stores linked to ComparoShop. Users select their preferred offer on ComparoShop and are redirected to an external site to complete the purchase by clicking on the “See offer” button. If the online store only has a social media page instead of a website, ComparoShop notifies the store to contact the user for delivery. Currently, the startup operates only in Cameroon and Algeria.
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Available in several countries on the continent, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Côte d'Ivoire, Seychelles, Kenya, Nigeria, and Benin, the startup wants to conquer the continent with its solutions and educational kit.
Congolese startup Labes Key has developed Schoolap, a digital solution that allows school administrators to centralize their management, students, and teachers to access textbooks and educational materials online, and parents to stay informed about their children’s progress.
Founded in 2017 by Pascal Kanik and Guy-José Leta, the Dubai-based startup raised $500,000 in 2019 to accelerate its growth.
The solution, accessible via an Android-only mobile app, requires users to fill out an account creation form to access the platform’s content. Depending on the learner’s level of study, they can access online courses available in video and text formats, designed for primary and secondary school students and teachers.
Schoolap also offers sign language content for deaf-mute learners and cartoons for younger learners. Notably, the content can be accessed offline. The startup provides a comprehensive kit to enable users to access educational content anywhere, anytime.
According to Schoolap’s data, over 23,361 pieces of educational content are available on their web and mobile platforms, which have recorded over 7,612,109 visits since their launch. The mobile application has been downloaded over a thousand times on the Play Store. In April 2019, Schoolap won the prize for the best online education platform at Seedstars, a competition focused on emerging market startups.
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After a trip to Guinea, a tech entrepreneur and his friend set up a digital solution to help Africans in the diaspora send gifts to loved ones on the continent. Hence Senditoo was born.
Senditoo is a digital solution that allows users - in this case, Africans in the diaspora - to send money and airtime to about 117 countries around the world, 36 of these countries are in Africa. It was founded in 2016 by Ibrahima Soumano and Takwana Tyaranini as Ozaremit. To develop its technology and accelerate its growth, among other things, it has already raised $10.7 million.
"The idea first came from a personal experience. It started with my trip to Guinea. I'd been there several times before, but this time was special because I was visiting our village with my father. In our tradition, it's customary to bring gifts to your brothers and sisters when you visit the village, especially when you come from the capital, Conakry," says Soumano.
He continues: "So we decided to buy 2 million Guinean francs in mobile phone top-ups, which I distributed to all our family and neighbours. I felt the impact that a small gift of a few minutes of communication could have on these people. I was deeply touched and said to myself that there must be millions of people living abroad who would like to make such gestures to their loved ones."
The solution comes as a mobile application available on iOS and Android. Once downloaded, users create an account to access the various services offered by the start-up. To facilitate the sending of airtime and money via mobile money in many countries, in this case in Africa, Asia and Latin America, Senditoo has established partnerships with more than 500 telecom operators worldwide.
In addition to these two services, the start-up has also turned its attention to e-commerce. Users can shop on marketplaces around the world and have goods delivered to their loved ones in the countries where it operates. In terms of payment, the start-up integrates various solutions such as bank cards including Visa, Mastercard or American Express and PayPal. After each transaction, Senditoo sends a message to the user confirming that the transaction went smoothly.
According to Play Store statistics, the Android version of the mobile application has already been downloaded more than 50,000 times.
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The Malagasy startup offers educational video courses for middle and high school students. Its app includes free and paid tiers.
Isikaray, an edtech solution developed by a Malagasy startup, offers middle and high school students access to training courses and video lessons. The startup, based in Antananarivo, was launched in 2022 by Louis Venceslas Tsira.
The solution, available exclusively as an Android mobile application, enables users to create an account and access various services including a library of courses and training available for streaming and offline viewing.
Isikaray operates in both free and paid modes. Switching to the paid mode unlocks the full range of features offered by the edtech solution, including a social network where users can interact.
Exclusive packages are available for purchase to access the platform’s content, particularly with the Orange operator. Once a package is activated, its expiry date is displayed at the top of the screen. Before its expiration, users can download their chosen course and training videos, and interact with other high school students via the network.
While Isikaray's training courses are currently uncertified and do not confer diplomas, the startup aims to achieve certification in the future as part of its objectives.
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