He is a remarkable entrepreneur who has contributed significantly to the development of technology in Africa. His vision and leadership have enabled his fintech startup, InTouch SA, to become one of the leaders in the African mobile payment industry.
Omar Cissé (photo), the founder and CEO of fintech startup InTouch SA, is a Senegalese entrepreneur renowned in the African fintech ecosystem. A graduate of the Polytechnic Institute of Dakar where he earned a degree in computer science and design engineering, he also holds a master’s in business administration from the Higher Institute of Management (still in Senegal).
In 2014, he founded InTouch SA, a financial technology company that provides a mobile payment platform for financial transactions in Africa. The company provides innovative technology that allows it to manage all of its customers' transactional needs in a secure, efficient, and simple manner.
His financial technology company enables its customers to collect and settle payments in real-time across the continent through an application that offers features such as payment acceptance, customer retention, airtime top-up, billing and dunning, expense management, deferred payment, money transfer, and intercontinental settlement.
InTouch SA has become one of the leaders in the mobile payment industry in Africa with partners such as Total, Orange Money Senegal, and IFAD (International Fund for Agriculture Development). To date, it has a network of 2,000 corporate customers and 50,000 TouchPoints (distribution points) in 14 countries. Far from sitting on its laurels, it is taking action to reinforce that network. The company has also built and regularly updates a catalog of over 400 digital services. It plans to establish its subsidiaries in 25 African countries and have a network of partners in every country on the continent by 2025.
Its founder and CEO, Omar Cissé, is also the administrator and co-promoter of Teranga Capital, a Dakar-based investment firm that invests in SMEs. In 2001, he co-founded 2SI, an IT engineering services provider. He managed the company from 2005 to 2010 before launching CTIC Dakar, Dakar’s first incubator.
Melchior Koba
The fintech startup, founded in 2016, accessed venture financing in 2020. Since then, it has become somehow unstoppable despite the coronavirus pandemic and the small size of its domestic market.
Lupiya is a fintech solution developed by a Zambian startup. It allows easy access to microloans for individuals and businesses. The startup behind it was founded, in 2016, by Evelyn Chilomo Kaingu and Muchu Kaingu. Based in Lusaka, its goal is to expand access to credit and reduce the cost of borrowing for all Zambians.
“We aim to level the playing field for all Zambians by offering low-cost lending products and attainable options for security. We distance ourselves from traditional lenders by being accessible to marginalized and unbanked communities and offering lending practices that are transparent and fair,” the startup says on its web platform.
Currently, it has no mobile app so everything happens on its web platform. On the platform, a user can fill out a form stating the desired loan amount or loan type and the estimated repayment duration to check eligibility. Once the startup replies, the user can then proceed with account creation, upload the required documents and apply for the loan.
Once the loan is processed, users are always notified. The startup charges up to 59 percent interest on its loans.
According to its CEO, Evelyn Kaingu, it started with just $500. That amount was lent to “a small community”, from there on, things moved with the startup acquiring its first hundred clients, and then more.
Since its launch, It has raised over $2.5 million to accelerate its growth in Zambia. It has helped smallholder farmers boost yields, improve soil health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These efforts caught the attention of Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States of America, during her visit to Zambia in late March 2023.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
In recent months, South Africa’s digital sector has attracted several important investment pledges. Earlier, Amazon committed to investing in tech services in the country. It is now followed by pan-African digital solutions Cassava Technologies.
Last Friday, Pan-African tech company Cassava Technologies announced its commitment to investing ZAR4.5 billion ($250 million) in its South African operations over the next two years. The initiative was unveiled at the fifth South Africa Investment Conference (SAIC) held the previous day in Johannesburg.
The investment will be made through Cassava Technologies' business units, namely Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Africa Data Centres, and Distributed Power Africa. It is aimed at supporting the expansion of Liquid Intelligent Technologies' fiber network, the expansion of Africa Data Centre’s capacity and footprint, the enhancement of cloud and cybersecurity capacity, and the deployment of clean, renewable energy by Distributed Power Africa in South Africa.
“South Africa accounts for the largest proportion of Africa’s industrial GDP with a sophisticated and growing ICT sector. The country’s unique combination of highly developed first-world economic infrastructure and a stable macro-economic environment affords businesses like ours a conducive investment environment in which we can partner with government to drive economic development and create jobs,” said Hardy Pemhiwa, President & Group CEO of Cassava Technologies.
The initiative is in line with the ambitions of South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, to stimulate the country's economy and attract ZAR2 trillion in investments over the next five years to achieve development objectives.
Cassava Technologies has eight subsidiaries, namely Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Liquid Dataport, Liquid C2, Africa Data Centres, Distributed Power Africa, Sasai Fintech, Telrad, and Vaya Technologies.
Samira Njoya
By reinforcing its cooperation with Estonia, which is the e-governance leader in Europe, Angola wants to become a digital government offering user-friendly and secure ICT solutions that make life easier for its citizens.
Last Friday, Angolan State Minister Adão de Almeida and Estonian IT Minister Kristjan Järvan signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen cooperation between the two countries. The MoU, signed in Tallinn, Estonia, covers cooperation in the areas of digital governance, modernization of the administration, and capacity building.
“Estonia is one of the most advanced and innovative digital societies in the world, but reaching it is the fruit of decades of work. We are happy to share the accumulated knowledge, skills, and experience because digital capabilities are key to the social and economic development of any country,” said Kristjan Järvan.
Indeed, for several years, Estonia has been a model in the use of digital technology to simplify the lives of citizens, improve political efficiency and boost the economy. The country has succeeded in going digital. In 2020, the country was ranked 3rd in the E-Government Development Index unveiled by the United Nations. Last year, it was the 8th country with one of the best e-government development indexes in the world.
This status of e-government champion has earned the country invitations from many African countries -including Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mauritius- for digital cooperation.
The Memorandum of Understanding it signed with Angola thus allows the latter to capitalize on its digitization experience. The agreement will also enable Estonian companies to enter the Angolan market and more African countries.
Samira Njoya
With its flexible rent payment solution, the proptech has revolutionized the sector in main Nigerian cities.
Rent Small Small is a proptech solution developed by a Nigerian startup founded in 2017. It gives landlords the possibility to delegate the management of their properties to real estate professionals. It also brings trust to the real estate industry by allowing renters to rent from reliable agencies only. Since its creation, it has raised over $3 million to accelerate its growth in Nigeria.
To access its services, a user needs to create an account on its web or mobile -Android and iOS- platforms. They can then browse the listed properties, including single-family houses, apartments, or even studios of different standings. After browsing the various listings, the user can schedule visits to choose one property over another. Visit scheduling is possible only for certified accounts, i.e accounts with a premium subscription.
Rent Small Small also saves legal, brokerage, and agency fees for users. It also offers flexible rent payment ways for users.
The proptech led by Tunde Balogun claims to have provided more than 25,000 monthly stays in 18 different locations and saved tenants more than NGN1.4 billion ($3 million) in legal fees. In 2021, the startup was selected to participate in the Techstars Toronto Accelerator program.
“We have stayed away from institutional investment for the past 3 years because we wanted to figure out a model that truly solves the rental problems and one that we can scale. Now that we have good traction and our solution is loved by both Landlords and Tenants, we need strong mentorship for our next growth phase. We believe that participating in the Techstars Toronto Accelerator at this time is right for us. Its network, skills, and resources are what we will be able to leverage as we expand,” Tunde Balogun said at the time.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
iHub provides a collaborative workspace, training programs, events, and networking opportunities to entrepreneurs. With its vibrant community and start-up support programs, it plays a key role in the development of technology innovation in Africa.
iHub is a technology innovation center based in Nairobi, Kenya. Founded in 2010 by Ushahidi founders Erik Hersman, Juliana Rotich, and David Kobia, it is a co-working space, startup community, and innovation platform that brings together entrepreneurs, software developers, innovators, and investors interested in developing tech solutions to address key issues in Africa.
With a global network spanning over 40 countries, it is one of the largest technology innovation communities in Africa. The center offers a collaborative work environment, training programs, events, and networking opportunities to its community members. Through its programs, start-ups can benefit from financial support, mentoring, and access to industry experts.
In February 2023, the Innovation Center partnered with the Mastercard Foundation to support education startups. The partnership led to the establishment of a three-year acceleration program targeting 36 edtech startups, of which 12 have already been selected for the first cohort.
The programs and events it organized include the Women in Business program that promotes women's entrepreneurship in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in Kenya by helping targetted individuals create sustainable businesses. The program also provides training, coaching, funding, and networking opportunities to help beneficiaries overcome entrepreneurial barriers and strengthen their role in Africa's technology innovation.
In addition to Women in Business, iHub also implemented the Maarifa Kona Innovation Labs program from 2017 to 2019. This program supported agritech entrepreneurs from six African countries (Kenya, Uganda, Madagascar, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Rwanda) in developing their innovative ideas and boosting their entrepreneurial capacities in agriculture.
iHub has a remarkable impact on the African innovation ecosystem and has inspired more than 450 start-ups over the years. It has several international partners such as Facebook, Google, Oracle, Safaricom, the World Bank, and Seacom.
Melchior Koba
With its training programs, workspace, and communities, ActivSpaces helps African innovators launch and grow their promising businesses.
ActivSpaces -African Center for Technology Innovation and Ventures- is an open collaboration space, technology innovation center, and startup incubator for entrepreneurs and innovators in Africa.
The Douala-based center was founded, in 2010, by Rebecca Enonchong, Valery Colong, Bill Zimmerman, and Tse Fua. Apart from that base, it also has offices in Buea and Bangangté.
It acts as a unique community that seeks to foster the growth of innovative tech startups in Cameroon. To achieve its goals, it initiated an incubation program that offers office space, Internet connection, personalized coaching, and expert support to entrepreneurs.
Its workspaces allow members access to a variety of equipment such as 3D printing, laser engraving, Arduino and Raspberry Pi systems, solar kits, etc. to bring their projects to fruition. By joining ActivSpaces' incubation program, startups benefit from the community's expertise and personalized coaching that helps them overcome the obstacles they may face while starting and growing their businesses.
The center is open to everyone. “We don’t want to be just for the elite and those that will succeed. Rather than [having] the best of the best coming to us, we wanted to reach out to the people who don’t even know they’re entrepreneurs,” said Rebecca Enonchong.
In 10 years of operation, the incubator has implemented more than 25 projects, supported more than 150 entrepreneurs, and created 10 communities. As a non-profit organization, it is supported by partners committed to entrepreneurship and innovation in Africa. These include AfriLabs, Afric'Innov, CIPMEN, Investment Partners, GIZ, Cusco International, Venture Capital for Africa, Orange, and Business France.
Melchior Koba
Despite being the continent that possibly contributes the least to carbon emissions, Africa is paying a heavy price. In that context, local entrepreneurs are devising solutions to help mitigate and address global warming.
Plstka is a digital solution developed by an Egyptian start-up. It allows users to exchange their solid waste and used oil with coupons entitling them to discounts on services.
The solution has a mobile app -available for Android and iOS devices. Through the app, users can register for Plstka services. Once they accumulate waste, users have to segregate them into the three available categories, namely plastic, aluminum, and electronic waste. Then they can notify the startup and get feedback on when the Plstka teams will collect the waste. After collection, users receive coupon codes that give them discounts in restaurants, bars, etc.
According to its CEO Ahmed Elnagar, the solution aims to collect some 1,500 tons of waste, helping more than 100,000 households monetize their waste while preserving the environment. In 2021, the startup behind the solution raised an undisclosed volume of funding to cover the whole of Egypt.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The coalition was founded in December 2022 to bridge the digital divide in Africa. To achieve this ambition, it focuses on universal acceptance.
The Coalition for Digital Africa announced, Thursday (April 13), the launch of a new initiative to strengthen Internet infrastructure across the continent. The initiative aims to prepare the websites, applications, and email systems of African higher education institutions to support all domain names and email addresses.
It is supported by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and conducted in collaboration with the Association of African Universities (AAU). In its framework, the Coalition for Digital Africa will educate African higher education institutions on Universal Acceptance (UA), one of the foundations of a multilingual Internet that allows users worldwide to access websites in local languages.
It will provide training to help the targeted institutions configure their websites, applications, and email systems to make them AU-compliant and integrate AU concepts into their curricula.
The project is part of a series of initiatives announced by the Coalition for Digital Africa when it was founded, in December 2022, to ensure the safe and stable growth of the Internet in Africa and close the gap between communities and economies.
The initiative highlights an important step to building more useful and empowering websites and digital apps in Africa: expanding the choice of languages and scripts.
“This work truly lays the foundation for a more inclusive Internet. [...] By enabling the use of local languages and scripts, users here in Africa and around the world will be able to more readily access important content online – from within the continent and beyond – for academic purposes,” said Professor Olusola Bandele Oyewole, Secretary General of the AAU.
Let’s note that in Africa, some 1,000 to 2,500 languages are spoken, according to the Education for All Global Monitoring 2005 report published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Digitalization has proven to have positive impacts on socioeconomic development. In that regard, most African countries, Congo included, have placed digitization on the list of their key priorities.
This year, Congo will invest CFAF13.995 billion ($23.3 million) to strengthen residents’ access to the Internet and digital services. During the first meeting of the steering committee of the Digital Acceleration Project (PATN), several projects were discussed.
At the meeting, Minister of Digital Economy Leon Juste Ibombo explained that the activities to be carried out this year will help, among other things, create "a secure government intranet, a single portal for e-government services to citizens and many information systems to better manage the services offered to citizens.”
Of the CFAF13.995 billion budget set for 2023, CFAF5.720 billion will be used, among other things, to develop broadband connectivity, particularly in the universities Marien Ngouabi and Denis Sassou Nguesso in addition to some administrative buildings and isolated areas such as the department of Likouala. CFAF3.737 billion will fund the improvement of digital services offered to the population, civil registration services notably.
This session of the PATN steering committee marks the effective start of the 5-year project, backed to the tune of $100 million by the World Bank, €25 million ($27.5 million) by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and a €15 million ($16.5 million) loan from the European Union.
By trying to make the Internet and digital services accessible to everyone, Congo bets on the digital economy as a driver of socioeconomic growth, productivity, and good governance.
Samira Njoya
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Small-scale farmers, for various reasons, are sometimes unable to sell their crops. To improve their conditions while supplying fresh products to those who need them, a tech entrepreneur has set up a tailor-made solution in Senegal.
Bayseddo is an agritech solution developed by a Senegalese startup. It is a business-to-business e-commerce platform that connects farmers who need financing with individuals who want to invest in their farms. By investing in farming projects, investors take shares valid for 12 to 24 months.
"When you leave one city for another on the African continent - from Dakar to Saint-Louis in Senegal for example- we [always] see roadsides littered with thousands of hectares of undeveloped farmland while news about famine, unemployment, or food imports abound. Whereas in Europe, when you leave a city for another (Paris - Havre), roadsides are littered with thousands of hectares of exploited, eye-catching green land. The alternative agriculture financing initiative Bayseddo 2.0 was born from that observation," said Mamadou Sall, founder of Bayseddo.
The solution has an Android app, which is not on PlayStore. Through the app and the web platform, users can register to access the services Bayseddo offers. Farmers can access financing through the startup's partner banks. Merchants can get fresh products at competitive prices, have them delivered timely, and pay via mobile money or cash on delivery.
The solution is always looking for ways to deliver more impacts in Senegal, the sub-region, and the African diaspora as a whole. Thanks to that approach, it has distributed more than 4,500 products and has over 275 resellers and partners with some 530 farmers.
Its assumed mission is to set an inclusive partnership framework allowing Africa to feed itself. In November 2018, It was selected among forty Senegalese startups for government funding via a funding vehicle designed to develop the local tech ecosystem. With $2 million earmarked for the entire cohort, Bayseddo was awarded $100,000 to support its growth.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
iLab Liberia promotes technology and innovation in West Africa. It helps build the technical capabilities of the Liberian youth and promotes ICT for the country’s development.
iLab Liberia is a tech training center and collaborative workspace based in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. Founded in 2011 by digital champion Kate Cummings, iLab Liberia aims to build the technical capacity of Liberians and promote the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for social and economic development in the country.
Since its inception, the center has offered over 300 training courses and events to more than 3,500 students in areas such as web and mobile development, open data and visualization, data collection and analysis, geospatial and participatory mapping, physical computing and networking, coding, and other skills focused on open source technologies and relevant solutions.
It also offers entrepreneurship programs to help young Liberians start their technology businesses, as well as shared workspaces for technology professionals and innovators. In addition, it provides technology customization services for projects across West Africa, including mobile platforms for data collection and analysis, online reporting platforms for citizen engagement and good governance initiatives, geospatial mapping, and web and mobile solutions.
The center has overseen the customization and implementation of surveys with more than 30,000 respondents in urban and rural settings. It trained dozens of enumerators and helped data analysts working for governments and nonprofit organizations make the best use of the results.
For its previous activities, iLab Liberia worked closely with institutions such as USAID, World Bank, GIZ, Humanity United, Natembea, mySociety, and National Democratic Institute, among others.
In collaboration with Accountability Lab Liberia, it co-manages iCampus Liberia, a shared innovation, co-working, and community space dedicated to tech entrepreneurs and organizations. The campus it manages is both a physical and virtual space providing ICT and entrepreneurship training to the youth as well as a hub for networking and innovation. It also serves as a focal point for working with women, minorities, and digital changemakers, encouraging inclusion and promoting equitable access to digital opportunities.
Melchior Koba
According to UNESCO, investing in science, technology, and innovation (STI) is essential for economic development and social progress. But, it is all the same important to ensure access to the right information about the sector to enable effective and appropriate usage.
The Federal Government of Nigeria, on Tuesday, April 11, officially inaugurated the Nigerian Science, Technology and Innovation Television called "NSTI TV".
According to Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Dr. Adeleke Olorunnimbe Mamora (photo, center), NSTI TV is a multilingual science channel that will broadcast content in English, Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa and will be accessible on any internet-enabled device.
“As part of our plans for ease of access to information, we have developed an indelible and robust Television that is Terrestrial, Satellite, and Internet-Based Science Over-The-Top (OTT) TV channel dedicated to Science and Technology knowledge dissemination, with a strong commitment to spreading scientific awareness, especially with Nigerian perspectives, ethos, and cultural milieu,” the government official said.
Over the past few years, Nigeria has implemented several actions to advance STIs and integrate them into Nigerians’ daily habits. According to Adeleke Mamora, if effectively exploited, they can propel Nigeria into the list of the top 20 economies in the world by 2030.
This television station was thus introduced as part of the Implementation of Executive Order No. 5 For the Development Of Local Content In Science, Engineering, And Technology. To this end, it will focus on Nigeria's contributions to STI by publishing the latest results and products of all research institutions and the latest developments in STI in Nigeria and the world.
According to the Director General of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Dr. Halilu Shabba, NSTI TV is a milestone for the agency as 25% local content was used in the creation of the channel.
Samira Njoya
By providing workspaces, training, mentoring, and funding opportunities, CIPMEN has enabled many startups to turn their innovative ideas into successful businesses.
CIPMEN, Niger’s SMEs Incubator Center, is an ambitious and innovative business incubator that aims to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship in Niger. The incubator, founded in 2014, has become one of the key players in the African startup ecosystem.
Led by Maman Rouffahi Koabo, an experienced IT consultant and agritech entrepreneur, it offers an extensive range of services to entrepreneurs, including workspaces, training, and mentoring. It also connects them to investors, partners, and potential customers. Startups selected to participate in its incubation program can receive personalized support to grow their businesses.
The incubator organizes events such as Café Numérique -an event initiated to discuss issues faced by local fintech startups, Hack the Goals Niger -the Niger chapter of hackathons launched by Belgian development agency Enabel to help identify innovative solutions for the achievement of sustainable development goals, and eTakara.ne -a national digital competition that aims to identify and support digital talent.
It recently issued a call for applications for a program aimed at supporting innovative projects in renewable energy, agribusiness, environment, and information and communication technologies. It also implemented several projects like CODELOCCOL, a coding academy, and CIPMEN EXPORT, a project aimed at funding agribusiness and manufacturing businesses with high export potential and good financial health.
It carries out its activities in partnership with institutions, governments, and organizations. Its partners include the Nigerien government, the World Bank, the French Development Agency (AFD), TOTAL, and GAMA Informatique.
CIPMEN has incubated 222 companies, trained over 7,901 people, and organized over 30 events. Companies such as AgriPart, Tout Azimut, City Links, and Niger Digital have all benefited from its expertise and resources to develop their businesses.
Melchior Koba