As an entrepreneur, he aims to ensure that sensitive products such as vaccines are transported under the right conditions, from the pharmacy to the patient.

Christian Cédric Toe (photo), an engineer and entrepreneur from Burkina Faso, is the founder of Laafi Concepts. His company provides an all-encompassing solution for tracking the critical conditions of sensitive items such as vaccines and other pharmaceuticals throughout their supply and distribution chain.

Established in 2020, the startup aims to enhance the availability of health products, including vaccines, and bolster food safety across the continent. Central to its services is the Laafi Monitor, a device that enables customers to track the temperature, humidity, and light exposure of their products in real-time. With its customizable alert features, this tool offers reassurance by alerting users to any critical changes.

In addition to this, the startup has created Laafi Mobile, an app designed to monitor and manage the transport and storage conditions of sensitive products, thereby providing a comprehensive solution to its clients.

Laafi Concepts has benefited greatly from the strategic support of Orange. Christian Cédric Toe acknowledges, “Orange has been instrumental in helping us identify new markets, providing mentorship, and granting us access to its network of experts. This support has been pivotal in the development and marketing of our product.”

Laafi Concepts has set ambitious development goals. The entrepreneur shared with We Are Tech Africa, “We aim to standardize all our processes, enhance the accessibility of our products, increase our institutional customer base to 100 by 2025, develop new features for our solution, and expand our presence in new markets in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Toe was invited to the World Electronics Forum in Morocco, which ran from Monday, April 15, to Thursday, April 18. This event provided him with the opportunity to network and collaborate with other business leaders.

Toe is an alumnus of the Polytechnic University of Bobo-Dioulasso, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and maintenance in 2013. Prior to founding Laafi Concepts, he introduced Laafi Bag, a refrigerating bag that can keep vaccines at the correct temperature for 90 hours. This innovative product, developed by his company Genuine Concept (2015-2020), won him the innovation award at the Rebranding Africa Awards in 2016.

Melchior Koba