- South Africa–based entrepreneur Paulo Matos leads AI startup Ageiro, founded in 2025.
- Ageiro raised $3 million in December 2025 to scale its autonomous agent platform.
- The company targets faster execution and productivity gains for organizations of all sizes.
Execution remains a major friction point for many organizations between strategy and outcomes. Paulo Matos is betting on artificial intelligence to close that gap.
Paulo Matos is a South Africa–based technology entrepreneur and the co-founder and chief executive officer of Ageiro. He leads the company’s mission to help organizations transform ideas and operational needs into tangible results using artificial intelligence.
Founded in 2025, Ageiro develops a platform designed to allow companies to execute tasks rapidly on their computers. The platform aims to help teams work faster and more efficiently in order to deliver practical results without unnecessary delays.
The startup positions itself as a productivity and time-saving tool. Ageiro removes long and repetitive steps so teams can focus on core objectives, including turning vision and ideas into actionable outputs. The company targets organizations of all sizes, from small teams to large enterprises, that want to reach objectives without traditional development or digital tool constraints.
In December 2025, Ageiro raised $3 million to accelerate the development of its autonomous agent platform. The company plans to use the funding to strengthen decision-making models, compliance frameworks, and commercial expansion.
Before launching Ageiro, Paulo Matos co-founded Manex Systems in 1995. He served as chief executive officer of the South African technology company until 2001. He graduated from Nelson Mandela University and earned a master’s degree in business management and administration in 2016.
Alongside his entrepreneurial career, Matos held senior roles in several technology companies. In 2001, he joined UK software publisher McGuffie Brunton as product manager and pre-sales director. From 2005 to 2024, he worked at UK-based SYSPRO, where he successively served as business development manager and product director.
This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba
Adapted in English by Ange Jason de BERRY QUENUM
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South African entrepreneur André de Wet founded Flood to digitize local commerce through mobile-first platforms.
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Flood aims to become a “Shopify for physical stores” by turning existing audiences into local marketplaces.
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The platform targets telecoms, digital banks, and SMEs seeking monetization and proximity-based engagement.
André de Wet is a South Africa–based entrepreneur operating from Cape Town. He founded Flood, a platform designed to help neighborhood retailers remain visible and competitive in a mobile-driven economy without imposing complex technologies.
Founded in 2020, Flood positions itself as a commerce solution built for a smartphone-centric world. The company aims to create the equivalent of Shopify for physical stores that serve customers in person while extending relationships into digital channels.
The platform converts existing audiences, including telecom subscribers, digital bank customers, and radio listeners, into localized marketplaces. The audience owner becomes the central access point where consumers discover offers, select products, and complete payments.
Flood primarily targets organizations that control large user bases, including telecom operators and digital banks, but underutilize their commercial potential. The platform allows these organizations to become their customers’ main digital destination by combining offer discovery and payment within a single environment.
For small and medium-sized businesses, Flood simplifies engagement with geographically nearby customers and places merchants at the center of a local digital ecosystem. For consumers, the platform enables mobile wallet usage, contactless payments, instant rewards at purchase, and real-time interaction tracking.
Alongside Flood, André de Wet founded consulting firm 2ndBase in 2018 and serves as its chief executive officer. The firm supports corporate clients in understanding and adopting digital technologies. He launched his first entrepreneurial venture in 2005 with the creation of IT services company WebTec.
From an academic perspective, de Wet holds a bachelor’s degree in medicine earned in 1989 from the University of the Free State in South Africa. He later earned a master’s degree in international management from the University of Salford in 2020. He began his professional career in 1997 at Global Visual Media, where he served as senior marketing manager.
In 2010, de Wet joined fintech company PayU as head of business development. In 2011, he became chief executive officer of price-comparison platform PriceCheck. Between 2016 and 2017, he served as Africa head at on-demand entertainment platform iFix.
This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba
Adapted in English by Ange Jason de BERRY QUENUM
Algeria will host the African Digital Transformation Summit this March 28-30. Preparations are already in full swing following a meeting between the Secretary-General of the ATU and Algerian Minister Sid Ali Zerrouki at the 2026 Algeria Optical Summit. The summit aims to turn high-level discussions into measurable actions that drive the continent’s digital transition and attract sustainable investment.
Chipper Cash is officially operating in the black. The African payments specialist reported that it covered all operating expenses in Q4 2025, successfully halting its cash burn after two years of restructuring. By doubling down on key markets like Nigeria and Uganda and leveraging the success of its dollar-denominated cards, Chipper Cash is now signaling that its business model is built to last.
eYouth, the Egyptian edtech company, has entered the Iraqi market through a partnership with Al-Majal Group. Together, they are launching Iraq’s first Arabic digital learning platform, designed to boost employability through career-focused training and international-standard certifications for young professionals and graduates.
- Congolese engineer Elie Yossa founded Findapp to centralize access to local products, services, and events.
- Launched in 2023, the mobile application targets residents and visitors by aggregating fragmented local information.
- The platform offers local businesses a low-complexity visibility tool to reach nearby consumers.
Elie Yossa is a Congolese engineer specializing in electronics and software engineering. He founded Findapp and serves as the application’s product lead. The mobile platform promotes local life by making a city’s products, services, events, and initiatives visible to residents and visitors.
Launched in 2023, Findapp positions itself as a clear and accessible showcase of local activity. The application allows users to quickly identify what they can do, buy, or experience nearby by centralizing information that often remains scattered across multiple channels or social networks.
Through the application, users access featured products, available services, ongoing events, and local initiatives in their city. The platform aims to deliver readable and useful information about nearby offerings within seconds.
For local shops and organizations, Findapp serves as a visibility tool targeting city residents. The platform enables businesses to promote products, services, or events without managing complex or multi-channel communication strategies.
As a result, local actors can increase brand awareness at the city level and reach audiences that traditional channels may not capture. The application creates a shared digital space where each contribution supports local activity while generating tangible benefits for users.
Alongside Findapp, Elie Yossa serves as chief technology officer at Jambo-Lab, a platform specializing in climate technologies. In 2023, he co-founded Agri Pannel Connect, an agri-tech solution designed to improve yields, strengthen climate resilience, and support sustainable agriculture. In the same year, he also founded Kivu Guard, an initiative aimed at protecting vulnerable communities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo from armed violence and insecurity.
Elie Yossa graduated from the Higher Institute of Computer Science and Management of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He also won the 2025 Global Youth Action Fund award, which organizers launched during the International Baccalaureate Festival of Hope.
This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba
Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum
- La Poste Burkina Faso launched Fasoranana in 2019 as part of its digital transformation strategy.
- The platform integrates e-commerce, payment, and nationwide delivery through the postal network.
- Fasoranana supports local merchants while expanding access to online retail in Burkina Faso.
La Poste Burkina Faso developed Fasoranana as an online commerce platform. The postal operator designed the solution to allow users to buy and sell goods easily. The platform, launched in 2019, forms part of the operator’s broader strategy to embed digital services into its core postal activities.
Fasoranana operates through a mobile application available on Android. The application has already recorded more than one hundred downloads, according to the Play Store.
On the platform, customers browse hundreds of products through smartphones or web browsers. Users select items, manage orders, and complete secure payments via mobile money, bank cards, or cash on delivery. Meanwhile, La Poste Burkina Faso ensures delivery through its national postal network, which leverages its logistics and distribution expertise.
Fasoranana aims to recreate the physical market experience in a digital environment. The platform reduces travel constraints and improves purchasing convenience for Burkinabe consumers. At the same time, the initiative allows local merchants to expand online operations, reach new customers, and increase visibility without facing traditional barriers linked to physical retail.
By broadening access to e-commerce, Fasoranana contributes to the modernization of Burkina Faso’s retail sector. In addition, the platform capitalizes on existing postal infrastructure to deliver an integrated solution covering sales, payments, and last-mile delivery.
This article was initially published in French by Adoni Conrad Quenum
Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum
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Stéphane Lavri co-founded Madata in 2024 to centralize data and operations for African SMEs.
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Madata provides web and mobile tools to manage sales, clients, invoices, projects, and payments in one platform.
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The solution targets freelancers and SMEs and supports real-time collaboration and financial monitoring.
Amid persistent management challenges facing small and medium-sized enterprises, Stéphane Lavri chose to develop a tool adapted to on-the-ground realities. His innovation aims to turn company data into actionable insights.
Stéphane Lavri, an Ivorian entrepreneur and consultant, co-founded Madata, a digital solution dedicated to supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in managing information systems, data, and digital transformation.
Founded in 2024, Madata operates as an online application designed to help African entrepreneurs and SMEs structure and monitor daily operations from a computer or mobile phone. The platform centralizes sales, customers, invoices, projects, and payments in a single environment and provides simple and secure access to company data at any time.
Available on both web and mobile versions, Madata primarily targets freelancers and SMEs. The application groups essential management functions within one interface, including customer tracking, quotations, contracts, invoices, purchase orders, projects, payments, and daily activities. In addition, the platform allows users to manage financial flows, analyze cash inflows and outflows, and obtain a clear view of business health to support fast and informed decision-making.
The solution also improves collaborative work. Users can share professional documents directly through WhatsApp. Companies can organize teams, plan assignments, and allocate tasks, which strengthens internal coordination and supports the fulfillment of client commitments. The platform updates data in real time, allowing all collaborators to work on the same information regardless of location.
Before launching Madata, Stéphane Lavri co-founded DIGIT-A.L., a digital consulting firm, where he served as co-managing director until 2024. He holds a master’s degree in international trade obtained in 2006 from Jean Moulin University Lyon 3 in France.
Lavri began his professional career in 2007 at international IT company Umanis, where he worked as a business engineer. In 2008, he joined Belgian technology firm Adneom in the same role before securing a promotion in 2011 as head of the commercial unit. In 2014, he took charge of the commercial unit at IT consulting and services company AUSY.
This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba
Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum
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South Sudan created a national committee to supervise gateway services and data center operations.
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Internet penetration reached 15.7%, with about 1.9 million users in early 2025.
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The regulator partnered with Switzerland’s mgi communications ag to modernize governance and revenue flows.
At the beginning of 2025, South Sudan counted about 1.9 million internet subscribers, representing a penetration rate of 15.7%, according to DataReportal. The figures highlighted both rising connectivity and the structural limits of the country’s digital ecosystem.
Against this backdrop, South Sudanese authorities last week officially established a Supervisory Committee for Gateway Services and the National Data Center. The government assigned the committee a mandate to strengthen governance, accountability, and institutional control over these critical infrastructures.
The National Communications Authority (NCA) created the committee with technical support from Swiss firm mgi communications ag (MGI). The regulator tasked the body with digitizing revenue flows from South Sudan’s International Gateway (SSIGW) to improve transparency and efficiency.
At the same time, the committee aims to modernize digital infrastructure to accelerate national digital transformation. Authorities also instructed the committee to ensure that all operations strictly protect national sovereignty and security interests.
Officials view the initiative as a structural step to secure strategic digital infrastructure while laying the foundation for stronger regulatory oversight and long-term sector growth.
This article was initially published in French by Isaac K. Kassouwi
Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum
The Aurora Tech Award has announced the 30 finalists for its 2026 edition, highlighting an all-female cohort of startup founders. Selected from 3,400 applicants across 127 countries, these entrepreneurs represent the surge of female-led innovation in technology. Spanning sectors from AI and fintech to healthtech and edtech, the finalists will receive strategic and financial support ahead of the global awards ceremony later this year.
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Israeli IT services firm Commit has acquired Savannah, a startup that recruits senior developers across Africa. Founded in 2022, Savannah has placed more than 100 engineers at global companies. The deal, worth several million dollars, marks Commit’s entry into Africa’s fast-growing tech talent market, as traditional outsourcing costs rise.
Kenyan digital lender MyCredit has raised $3 million in debt funding from an international microfinance institution. The round brings the company’s total funding raised to $13.6 million. The funds will be used to scale lending for SMEs, private schools, and individual entrepreneurs. Noblestride Capital advised on the deal. MyCredit said it aims to expand access to credit for underbanked borrowers in Kenya.
The 2026 RegTech Africa Conference, scheduled for May 20–22, will host a regional qualifying round of the Startup World Cup in Abuja. The event will give African startups a platform to pitch their solutions to investors and policymakers. The winner will advance to the global final for a chance to secure a $1 million investment and boost its international visibility.
The 2026 Albert Schweitzer International Prize, with a total prize fund of €50,000, supports healthcare projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. Three winners will receive €25,000, €15,000 and €10,000, respectively, to implement practical solutions to improve healthcare access and quality within 12 months. Applications are open until February 6, 2026, through the Dutch fund’s online portal.