Launched only one year ago, this startup has already established a large network of more than 10,000 grocers, to whom it offers discounts on major brand products. Its goal is to expand its network over the next few years.
WafR is a Moroccan startup that helps buyers and grocers get discounts on products from department stores and supermarkets. Currently, over 10,000 grocers are part of the startup’s customer network - a number it seeks to increase to 50,000 a few years from now.
To meet its ambitions, WafR recently raised 3.5 million dirhams ($374,000). While disclosing the news on February 16, 2022, the startup said the operation’s proceeds would mostly be used to expand its network of grocers, speeding up its growth as well in the process.
“After the 300,000 dirhams commitment we first secured, many other investors showed interest in WafR and joined the funding round. As a result, we raised 3.5 million dirhams and our valuation reached 30 million dirhams,” commented Ismail Bargach (photo), WafR's co-founder, after the fundraising.
According to WafR’s estimates, in Morocco, grocery stores capture 85% of sales while department stores and supermarkets get the remaining 15%. To balance these statistics is the startup’s main mission: encourage more grocers to turn to the products of department stores and supermarkets.
Chamberline Moko
Cameroonian Emmanuel Assom’s (pictured) desire to migrate to Europe, nearly eight years ago, is now only a memory. The entrepreneur gave up on this dream to launch a healthcare solution that is already well adopted in his country. The health tech solution OuiCare was launched nearly six years ago. The promoter claimed that by the end of 2021, his solution had registered 3,000 customers, out of more than 20,000 users.
He developed OuiCare, basically as an e-health booklet, to replace the paper booklet and allow patients to always have their medical records available on smartphones or computers. This way, patients can be received in a health facility regardless of the city or country they are visiting. This idea came to him after his father died at a health center where he had gone without his medical records. Emmanuel says the doctors could have acted more quickly if they had had access to the file.
Before OuiCare was born, the entrepreneur, who studied computer maintenance, was a cleaner at a local company and a computer troubleshooter. At that time, he gathered enough money and moved to Europe where he started a business with some friends. In 2016, they founded ASTA (Advanced and Suitable Technologies for Africa), a web and mobile app development company for businesses and individuals. He later on created OuiCare.
Today, after several improvements, OuiCare is now composed of two platforms. The first, for patients, allows them to access doctors, teleconsultation, and their medical data. The second, for doctors only, allows them to monitor patients and manage their treatment. The startup, based in Yaoundé and Douala, is working to integrate other features such as the geolocation of pharmacies.
In 2021, Emmanuel Assom won the Orange Prize for Social Entrepreneur in Africa and the Middle East (POESAM). The healthtech company received €25,000 and support from local incubator ActivSpaces and French Bond'innov. OuiCare has also joined the Cameroon digital innovation center (CDIC), the new incubator launched on February 8, 2022, by the government. With some thirty doctors already registered, the startup hopes to extend its services to all regions of Cameroon and then to other African countries, such as Senegal, where administrative procedures have already been initiated.
Ruben Tchounyabe
In 2019, Alexis Bafcop and Géraud Lacaze, two Orange engineers, launched a solution in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, to effectively meet the growing demand for online shopping delivery.
Named Mahali, the solution was presented during the 3rd edition of the Abidjan e-commerce Days in December 2019. It is a mobile geo-tracking app that allows a seller and a buyer to agree on a geolocated point of delivery, in a country where addressing is still weak. The tool integrates a database of locations fed in part by users themselves, who can fill in their address by indicating the city, the neighborhood, and landmarks with photos. The delivery man receives a code that, once registered on Mahali, allows him to access the necessary information and to propose a delivery time to the buyer. The solution enables buyers to pay via mobile.
"The team studied how people locate and describe a place in the region. We interviewed people in e-commerce warehouses, deliverymen, buyers, startup creators, etc., to understand the reality and the challenges they face," says Alexis Bafcop. The addresses created in Mahali can also be shared for other purposes, such as emergency services or to direct visitors.
The project benefited from the support and guidance of Orange's intrapreneurship body -Intrapreneurs Studio. Mahali also relies on the expertise of Orange entities such as Orange Labs Services, XDLAB (UX design), and receives great support from Orange Côte d'Ivoire teams: Orange Money, Enterprise Services, Customer Test Center and data scientists.
A year ago, Alexis Bafcop explained that "users are the ones who create the value of the app. So it's free. The more the delivery landmarks are used, the more reliable they will be. In two years, when the database is sufficiently reliable and complete, merchants will be the most likely to pay for the service.” The app will soon be launched in other countries including Senegal and Cameroon, the founders said.
Ruben Tchounyabe
Achieving a digital economy is a priority in the New National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025, unveiled in December 2021 by President Muhammadu Buhari. Several international partners expressed intentions to support the project.
The European Union has announced an investment of €820 million to support Nigeria’s digital transformation over the next three years. The information was unveiled on Saturday, February 12 in Lagos by an adviser to the Executive Vice President of the European Commission, Alejandro Cainzos. This was during a roundtable discussion with Nigerian youth organized at the Tony Elumelu Foundation.
“The EU will support building the fiber optic cables and data centers needed to improve Nigerian’s access to high-speed connectivity. The European Investment Bank (EIB) will invest €100 million to expand secure 4G connectivity in Lagos and Ogun States and triple the national data capability,” said Alejandro Cainzos.
He said the EU will also support the digitization of the Nigerian administration to enable citizens to benefit from better and more easily accessible public services. €250 million will be invested to strengthen Nigeria's digital identity infrastructure with the highest data protection standards and support the creation and scaling of tech startups and stimulate innovative solutions for Nigeria's society and economy.
The EU will help develop regulatory frameworks with the highest standards of privacy, security, and cybersecurity, while promoting an open Internet and a digital market that respects citizens' rights, Alejandro Cainzos said.
The EU investment in Nigeria came two days after the organization announced an investment of more than €150 billion in Africa over the next five years. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was in Dakar on Thursday, February 10, just days before the European Union-African Union summit to be held on February 17-18 in Brussels, Belgium.
Last year, the Nigerian government unveiled a new National Development Plan 2021-2025 which places digital technology at the heart of many growth issues.
Muriel Edjo
Less than a year after it raised $170 million, Flutterwave announced the completion of a Series D financing round, making it the highest valued African startup.
Nigerian payment processor Flutterwave announced it has raised $250 million in a Series D round to implement its expansion strategy. The company says it wants to attract new customers in its operating markets in sub-Saharan and North Africa, and continue its growth through mergers and acquisitions, and partnerships.
Flutterwave also plans to develop new innovative products after the series of services launched in 2021, such as the online market Flutterwave Market and the money transfer platform Send.
“We are delighted that investors believe in us and our story and are committing their resources to this belief. This latest funding demonstrates the conviction of some of the world’s leading investors in both our business model, team, and the Africa technology market. It gives Flutterwave the much-needed support to deliver on our plans to provide the best experience for our merchants and customers around the world,” commented Olugbenga Agboola, CEO of Flutterwave, following the fundraising.
Before this recent investment, Flutterwave had raised $170 million in Series C funding in March 2021, becoming an African unicorn, the third in the financial sector. From 2016 to 2020, Flutterwave claims to have processed more than 200 million transactions worth over $16 billion in 34 African countries. The fintech also says it has tripled its customer base to 900,000 businesses worldwide. Its valuation has more than tripled since its last funding round in March 2021.
Fintech companies remain the most funded, and African tech continues to grow with over $5 billion in funds raised in 2021, according to Sherif Makhlouf, Managing Director of consulting firm Boost.
Chamberline Moko
Mobile phones represent a key asset for African countries to accelerate their digital economies. However, a barrier to this goal is the high cost of the devices. To improve mobile penetration rate across its territory, the Algerian government announced last Feb. 13 it has approved "the abolition of all taxes and duties on e-commerce, mobile phones, computer equipment for personal use and startups." The measure is provided for in the 2022 finance law approved in December 2021.
By removing the tax on e-commerce, the government facilitates online transactions, especially for individuals who have become accustomed to buying tech devices abroad. For innovators and startup promoters, this is an opportunity to easily acquire technical equipment. In the Finance Act 2022, a cumulative rate of duties and taxes of 133.05% was applied for the purchase of smartphones and tablets, 60.22% for hard drives. This makes the tax more expensive than the actual imported device.
The tax removal measure came after weeks of protests by Algerians, who kicked off an online campaign using the hashtag #khelini_nechri (let me buy). During the 6th edition of the Forum "Rakmana," held on January 19 in Algiers, the Algerian Group of Digital Actors (GAAN) had also denounced these taxes that "go against the general interest."
According to the Alliance for Affordable Internet and the Global System Operators' Association (GSMA), the high cost of smartphones is one of the main barriers to mobile Internet penetration in Africa, where the rate was only 28% in 2020.
Muriel Edjo
South African Stitch announced it has obtained additional financing worth $21 million to support its expansion strategy. The startup, which develops digital financial solutions primarily for fintech companies, says it will invest the money in developing new services, growing its human resources, and strengthening its footprint in South Africa and Nigeria, where it operates. Stitch also plans to enter new markets including Ghana, Kenya, and Egypt with its low-cost, less fraud-prone solutions.
"We are super excited for the challenge ahead and grateful to be supported by some of the leading fintech investors, founders, and builders in the world,” the beneficiary startup said on LinkedIn. The resources are provided by a consortium of mostly foreign investors, some of whom had invested in Stitch in the past. These include The Spruce House Investment, PayPal Ventures, CRE Venture Capital, and Village Global, all of which are based in the United States.
As a reminder, in February 2021, the company secured $4 million to improve its offers and expand its team. Stitch launched in Nigeria in October 2021 to tap into the opportunities in the country. According to Kiaan Pillay (pictured), CEO of Stitch, Nigeria is not only one of the most populous countries in the world, but also one of the densest and most dynamic fintech ecosystems. “It is fast becoming a hub for engineering and product talent and a go-to-market for fintechs," he said when his company started operations in Nigeria.
In an article published in October 2021, Stitch noted that underinvestment in developer training and infrastructure has hampered the rapid growth of a fintech ecosystem in Africa. Yet, the continent has advantages (rising smartphone ownership and digital literacy) that could unlock the potential of this market.
Chamberline Moko
Malawi has embarked since 2010 on the development of its financial ecosystem. Since then, the country has developed three strategies to achieve its goal, with the digital at the heart of the 2022-26 strategy.
The Malawian government reached a $14.2 million deal with the African Development Fund (ADF) -the concessional window of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group- to make its digital payment system more efficient. The agreement was inked last February 10.
The project includes the extension of the Internet network, the digitization of more payment channels, the development of payment system interoperability, the introduction of digital payment solutions in various sectors such as agriculture. The ultimate goal is to improve financial inclusion in the country, especially for women, youth, and rural people. This will subsequently make business transactions more efficient, allowing small businesses to access new domestic and international markets.
The ADF’s investment aligns with Malawi’s Digitization, Financial Inclusion, and Competitiveness (DFIC) Support Project approved in December 2021 by the AfDB. Sosten Alfred Gwengwe, Malawi's Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs explained that “the DFIC project is aligned with the Malawi Digital Economy Strategy (2021-2026) and the Third National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (2022-2026); both contribute to achieving Malawi’s long-term objective of inclusive wealth creation supported by an inclusive financial system and digital economy.”
AfDB seeks, through the DFIC project, to help increase financial inclusion in Malawi from 58% in 2019 to 65% in 2025 (with 42% women and 37% rural populations); contribute to the improvement of the country's ranking in the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) from 5.7% in 2019 to 7% in 2025.
The Bank also aims to contribute to increasing the export penetration rate (number of markets) from 79% (2018) to 100% (2025); increasing the volume of exports from 31% of GDP in 2019 to 35% in 2025, and improving the contribution of ICT to GDP from 5.7% in 2019 to 7% in 2025.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Seven months after an initial investment, the Sawiris family office made a follow on investment in Egyptian propTech company Nawy. In a February 13 statement, the beneficiary reported it has raised $5 million in seed capital.
The resources will be used to support its expansion strategy in North Africa and improve investment in new technologies and the digital (artificial intelligence, machine learning, etc.).
The startup, which facilitates and simplifies the process of buying and selling real estate online, claims to have helped more than 60,000 people find a home to date. Nawy also says it has sold over $200 million worth of real estate through its platform.
"We were one of the first investors in Nawy because we saw the potential of the company and shared its ambition. We immediately increased our investment when we realized how fast they were expanding and the trajectory of the company coming to fruition. We are very excited about the future, especially as Nawy expands its services and continues its momentum in the real estate market," commented Onsi Naguib Sawiris, head of Sawiris family office who led the investment in Nawy.
As a reminder, the Sawiris family office led an undisclosed seed funding in Nawy in July 2021. The money was used to strengthen the company's technology, increase services and increase staff. In its July 2021 forecast, Nawy planned to end the year with 300% revenue growth.
Chamberline Moko
Led by the AfCFTA Secretariat, in collaboration with African regional economic communities and governments, the solution addresses the challenges related to the cumbersome process of implementing a single market.
On January 1, 2021, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) came into effect. Supported by 54 countries, its objective is to create a single continental market that promotes the free flow of goods and services. Given the size of the measures that must be undertaken by every member country, and to ensure the successful implementation of the market, the AfCFTA secretariat has developed the digital tool tradebarriers.africa. The latter is a kind of customer service that will allow African entrepreneurs to report cases of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) within the market. NTBs include excessive border fees, cumbersome documentation requirements, or restrictive product regulations.
NTBs are classified into seven categories: government participation in trade and restrictive practices tolerated by governments, customs, and administrative entry procedures, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, specific limitations, charges on imports, others (transport, clearing, and forwarding, etc.).
To report an NTB, the user must first register on the platform by filling out a form. Next, they activate their registration on tradebarriers.africa via a link sent to the email address provided during registration for confirmation. Once this step is completed, the account is active, the reporting of an NTB is done with the "Report an NTB" button. A reporting form is then proposed to the user with information to be filled in.
According to the AfCFTA secretariat, once a non-tariff barrier is reported, the governments concerned will follow up to resolve the problem. The NTB coordination units of the secretariat, those of the regional economic communities, and the national focal points will support the process. The complainant can find out about his or her complaint - whether it is still being processed or resolved - directly on the platform, which is available in English, French, Arabic, and Portuguese.
For greater efficiency in reporting non-tariff barriers, the AfCFTA Secretariat is currently working on a service that will be accessible on mobile phones.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
More...
Africa has the lowest per capita car ownership in the world, due to limited access to finance for vehicle purchases. This is a problem that Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi hope to solve with their start-up Moove Africa.
Ladi Delano (photo, right) and Jide Odunsi (photo, left), are two UK-based Nigerian entrepreneurs who want to democratize mobility in Africa through new technologies. They founded Moove Africa, a start-up offering a digital platform where users and entrepreneurs in the transport sector have access to loan options for the purchase of vehicles. From the London School of Economics to Oxford University to MIT, the entrepreneurial duo has a remarkable academic background.
Ladi Delano, a serial entrepreneur, and Jide Odunsi, a former investment banker at Goldman Sachs and a former management consultant at McKinsey, have a combined 8 years of entrepreneurial experience, with three start-ups launched including Moove Africa. Sharing a passion for African development, they decided to dedicate their experience to this goal.
They officially launched Moove Africa in July 2020 after realizing that the demand for vehicles in Africa far exceeds local production, leaving millions of individuals and businesses to depend on imports of used cars, cars that are mostly not in a good condition. Also, some countries, like Nigeria, have put in place measures that limit car imports to boost local manufacturing. These measures make it even more difficult for Africans to get cars.
Moove Africa was therefore born to help people get access to quality vehicles. The start-up has an app where users can secure loans to buy a car. The loans can be repaid over 30, 36, or 48 months, in weekly installments. To date, Moove-financed cars have made over 2.6 million trips and traveled over 30 million kilometers in six markets, namely Lagos, Accra, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Nairobi, and Ibadan.
In less than two years since they launched the start-up, Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi have successfully raised $78 million from investors, including $10 million in their latest round. The funds were secured on February 1, from NBK Capital Partners.
"The investment…will fuel our continued growth trajectory as we expand our regional operations to empower more mobility entrepreneurs," said Ladi Delano, co-founder, and CEO of Moove Africa.
On February 10, Moove Africa's founders announced a partnership with CFAO Motors, a division of CFAO Automotive, which operates in 36 countries. "We’re especially proud to be working alongside the largest automotive distribution network in Africa and as a result of this, we’re now in an even stronger position to empower a new generation of successful and productive mobility entrepreneurs,” said Ladi Delano.
Aïsha Moyouzame
The Ghanaian national ID card is officially accepted as an e-passport in 197 countries worldwide. The country received a certificate attesting to the fact last February 9 from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The ceremony took place at ICAO’s headquarters in Montreal, Canada.
Ransford Sowah, Ghana’s ambassador to Canada, who represented the country during the ceremony, explained that “with the Key Ceremony, all holders of the Ghana Card have an ICAO-compliant e-passport that can be read and verified at all ICAO-compliant airports/border posts across the world. It can be used for international travel - a subject of course to visa restrictions and bilateral agreements. Indeed, the Ghana Card is already valid for travel in all ECOWAS countries.” The Ghanaian ID contains all the biometric information which can be used to authenticate the identity of the holder with a cryptographic digital signature stored on the chip, similar to that of the passport. This transition was already announced last November by Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia during a conference at Ashesi University on the role of digitalization in the transformation of the Ghanaian economy.
As a reminder, Ghana officially became the 79th member of the ICAO Public Key Directory (PKD) community on October 13, 2021. The ICAO PKD is a central repository for exchanging information required to authenticate e-passports.
“For Ghanaians living or born in the diaspora, holders of the Ghana Card can be allowed to board any flight to Ghana without any visa requirement as we seek to give an inclusive Akwaaba [meaning welcome in Twi, a local language in Ghana, ed] experience to all children and descendants of our motherland,” Ransford Sowah concluded.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Togo wants to leverage digital technology to achieve inclusive and sustainable economic growth. To this end, it has established the Togo Digital Agency, which will help the government implement digital projects.
Last Monday, Feb 7, Togo's Council of Ministers adopted a draft bill aimed at accelerating the digitization of visa and resident permit applications and issuance. The meeting was held in Kara (412 km north, from Lomé).
"The main purpose of this draft bill is to update the general rules applicable to the entry, stay, movement, and settlement of foreigners on Togolese territory. In particular, it provides for the digitization of the process of applying for and issuing visas and residence permits," said the Council's statement.
The adoption aligns with the third axis of the government's roadmap, which aims at "modernizing the country and strengthening its structures."
Pending the bill's implementation, foreigners can still get their visas (tourist, diplomatic, business) at Togolese consulates and embassies (which can also issue immigrant visas for Togo).
On the territory, visas on arrival are issued by immigration services at the borders and the Gnassingbé Eyadéma International Airport. They are valid for a maximum period of 7 days, according to available information, but can be extended to a month at the Foreigners and Passports Office. For other types of visas, it is the Direction générale de la Documentation Nationale (DGDN) that handles related procedures.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
With digital transformation accelerating worldwide, the competition among solution providers is getting tougher. To enable their investors to leverage opportunities brought up by this transformation, some governments have started taking strong measures.
This year, Russia will deploy digital attachés in 16 countries. This was disclosed last Monday, Feb 7, by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko (pictured). South Africa - the largest digital market in Africa and a privileged partner of Russia on the continent through the BRICS (economic grouping formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) - is one of the countries to welcome one of these attachés.
The deployment of digital attachés in some Russian embassies is the result of a collaborative agreement between the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Media, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Russian Fund for the Development of Information Technology (RFRIT), and is part of the government's efforts to support the domestic IT industry.
Recruited attachés will “promote domestic software products abroad, provide consulting, information and analytical, legal and organizational support to Russian IT companies. Their main task is to develop the export of Russian digital solutions," said Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. By 2024, the number of countries where Russian digital attachés will be stationed should grow to 28.
Russia’s digital attaché will be joining the US digital attaché in South Africa. The American representative came into the country in December 2016, to promote US tech companies and help SA navigate through foreign digital and trade policies. The US, let’s recall, launched its digital attaché program in 2014.
In Russia, it is the Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Media that handles the ongoing recruitment of digital attachés.
Muriel Edjo