During the US-Africa summit in December 2022, Cisco Systems declared a $200 million in-kind contribution to Africa. One year later, the positive impacts of this commitment are already evident.
Technology multinational Cisco recently inaugurated a sixth incubation center for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa, in partnership with Mafikeng Digital Innovation Hub (MDIHub), an innovative techno coworking center based in Mahikeng.
The new hub, baptized the EDGE Centre for Experience, Design, GTM (Go to Market), and Earn, aims to support the development of SMEs in the digital age, helping them access cutting-edge connectivity and networking technologies.
"Bringing the Cisco Edge experience to regions including the North West is essential to provide South Africans with a chance to participate in the global digital economy. At Cisco, we believe that technology plays a critical role in powering an inclusive future for all. By connecting people and businesses via the Cisco ecosystem and platforms, we create real impact and help prepare the country for a digital future," explained Clayton Naidoo, Senior Director for Country Digital Acceleration at Cisco Africa.
The new center launched by Cisco is part of its program called Country Digital Acceleration (CDA), introduced in South Africa in 2019. The global program aims to establish EDGE centers to contribute to the secure digital transformation of governments and enterprises.
The center will serve as a business knowledge-sharing space to drive business innovation. It will also offer digital skills training through the Cisco Networking Academy, an IT and cybersecurity training program that partners with educational institutions worldwide.
In South Africa, Cisco has trained almost 260,000 learners through this program, with a high female participation rate of 50%.
Samira Njoya
Following years of political instability, Somalia is gaining attention for the concerted efforts undertaken by authorities to foster the country's development. These efforts are notably evident in the technology sector.
On Tuesday, November 7, the Somali Ministry of Communications and Technology announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the International Telecommunication Union at the 2023 edition of the ITU Regional Development Forum for Arab States in Manama, Bahrain. The aim is to advance digital development, ICT policies, cybersecurity, capacity building, digital infrastructure strengthening, and connectivity in the country.
"The Government of Somalia is strengthening cooperation with the ITU. This agreement will be used to promote the Modernization and Transformation Process in Somalia, which aims to build and foster change that leads to sustainable development. Technology and Digital are the basis," said Jama Hassan Khalif, Somali Minister of Communications and Technology.
Despite a challenging political and security context, Somalia is doing everything necessary to get on board the digital revolution underway on the continent. The country intensified its efforts in recent years, in line with its 2019-2024 ICT Policy and Strategy, and various technical and financial partners are stepping in to support local authorities.
In October 2022, the European Union, Expertise France (EF), the German Agency for International Development Cooperation (GIZ), and the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP) launched the €11 million "Digital for Development - D4D" program to support the digital transformation of several countries in the Horn of Africa, including Somalia. Last September, it launched a consultation for the future deployment of fifth-generation Internet in the country and also launched its national identification system.
With less than 2 million Internet users and a penetration rate of 9.8%, this new agreement should help, among other things, to reduce the digital divide and promote technological progress in the country. The country is still one of the continent's poor performers in terms of e-government, according to the 2022 edition of the report "E-Government Survey 2022 The Future of Digital Government" by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The sixth session of the India-Ethiopia Joint Trade Committee was held earlier this week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During the summit, several decisions were taken.
To solve all the problems hindering bilateral trade with Ethiopia and facilitate commercial exchanges with the country, India “invited” Ethiopia’s collaboration for the creation of a payment interface between the two countries. The request was made at the India-Ethiopia Joint Trade Committee (JTC) held on Monday, November 6, and Tuesday, November 7 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
"The Indian side invited the Ethiopian side to collaborate on the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) of India with Ethswitch– a share company owned by all banks in Ethiopia– of Ethiopia. Further, the Indian side also urged Ethiopia to explore the possibility of settlement of trade transactions in local currency which will help boost bilateral trade and conserve foreign exchange," reads a statement published by the Indian Ministry of Commerce.
The two countries signed a trade agreement in 1997 to strengthen their economic and commercial cooperation. Trade between the two countries in 2022-2023 is estimated to be worth more than $642.5 million. Also, to date, Indian companies have invested more than $5 billion in Ethiopia.
Last August, Addis Ababa was one of six countries to join the BRICS, a group of developing nations advocating a new economic world order. India is one of the founding members of this alliance, along with Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa.
Let’s note that the new gateway is expected to boost Indian investment in Ethiopia.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
A software engineer by training, he creates AI and robotics solutions to automate farm management. His innovations have won him several awards.
Akhlad Alabhar (photo) is the founder and CEO of Egrobots, a startup developing smart agricultural solutions. The Egyptian-born tech entrepreneur studied at Alexandria University's Faculty of Engineering, graduating in 2010 with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering.
In 2021, he founded Egrobots to help farmers grow crops more efficiently with minimum resources. His company enables farmers to cover more hectares by making strategic use of products, improving not only plant health and yield but also management and sustainability.
Egrobots uses cutting-edge imaging and artificial intelligence, robotics, and machine learning technologies to give suppliers and planters information to enable them to make informed decisions.
Through Egrobots, Akhlad Alabhar offers several products. Among them, Roboscoot uses AI to gather information about farmers' fields. Shagarah detects crop diseases, analyzes vegetation, humidity, and weather conditions, and makes recommendations to farmers.
The company recently took second place on the international stage in the Orange Social Venture Prize in Africa and the Middle East (POESAM) 2023. It also won first prize of 30,000 euros in the INTECMED ENI CBC Med transformation project.
Before becoming an entrepreneur, Akhlad Alabhar worked at Alinma Bank in Saudi Arabia. Hired in 2013 as an IT consultant, he successively held the positions of data analysis consultant and AI team leader before leaving in June 2023. He was also a project manager at Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Finance from 2018 to 2019.
Melchior Koba
Nigerian fintech startup Chipper Cash announced on Thursday, November 2 a new partnership with the American company Visa. The new agreement will enable the two entities to continue collaborating on card issuance, and the Nigerian unicorn will be able to leverage Visa's licenses and capabilities.
“Today’s announcement means we can deliver on our priorities at a faster pace than we could do alone; harnessing Visa’s global reach to enable us to continue to bring the very best products and services to customers,” said Brett Magrath, Chief Product Officer at Chipper Cash.
Over the past few years, numerous African countries have embarked on a digital transformation journey, making strategic decisions and introducing digital tools to facilitate this transition.
Bola Tinubu (photo), President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, launched the electronic civil registration and vital statistics system (e-CRVS) in Abuja on Monday, November 6. The system is the result of a collaboration between the National Population Commission (NPC), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and Barnksforte Technologies Limited, a company specializing in the provision of technological solutions in Africa and worldwide.
This new technological tool should contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 16.9.2 on legal identity for all. In addition to e-CRVS, the national geospatial data repository and the national coordination committee of CRVS were also launched at the same event.
"Digitizing civil registration in Nigeria transcends technology; it's a pledge to future generations. Now, every child's existence will be acknowledged, marking a new era where every significant life event informs our nation's development," said Cristian Munduate, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria.
In October 2022, African ministers responsible for civil registration met in Addis Ababa to reflect on progress and accelerate efforts towards 2030 through reformed systems. The conference aimed to provide a dynamic platform for education, awareness-raising, knowledge, and experience sharing on CRVS, legal identity processes, and products. Nigerian authorities took the lead by setting up their e-CRVS, which will enable, among other things, the collection of information such as birth registration, stillbirth registration, birth certificate, adoption, marriage notification, divorce notification, migration, or death certificates.
"The aim [...] is to accelerate the improved civil registration and vital statistics systems in Nigeria over ten years, from 2023 to 2030 in a bid to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG):16.9.2 - legal identity for all, including birth registration," explains Nasir Isa Kwarra, Chairman of the National Population Commission.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
A HEC Paris graduate and advocate of the Process Communication Model, he offers software and web services for Big Data applications through Ryax Technologies, his company.
Andry Razafinjatovo (photo) is a Malagasy entrepreneur, CEO, and co-founder of Ryax Technologies, a startup specializing in data engineering. He holds a master's degree in business administration and management from HEC Paris and a Process Communication Model trainer certificate from Kahler Communication France in 2022.
Ryax Technologies, which he launched in 2017 with David Glesser, and Yiannis Georgiou, offers software and web services leveraging hybrid distributed infrastructures for big data applications. The vision of Ryax Technologies is to offer an open-source platform for swift and efficient backend development.
The Ryax software developed by the company offers customizable encrypted communication and data confidentiality management. It facilitates secure supervision of data transfer, ensuring complete security. Moreover, it enables real-time flow processing thereby streamlining the application development process.
"Data engineering is key to getting value from your data science projects. We cannot wait until the end of the development phase to be sure of their ROI. We aim to allow our customers to reduce their time to market dealing with up to 100% of data engineering tasks from the execution to the maintenance of their data workflows," said Andry Razafinjatovo, explaining the importance of the Ryax platform.
A Process Communication Model trainer at Matana Conseil, the Malagasy spent a decade, from 2004 to 2014, working for Bull, a technology hub affiliated with the digital transformation enterprise Atos. Within this span, he undertook roles ranging from research and development engineer to high-performance computing (HPC) architecture engineer. Subsequently, from 2015 to 2017, he assumed the role of head of the performance and scalability department in the research and development division at Atos.
Melchior Koba
The Internet has revolutionized various fields, including job hunting. Tech entrepreneurs are introducing innovative solutions that enable people to apply for jobs from their own homes conveniently.
Jobjack is a digital solution set up by a South African startup. It enables job seekers to find interesting job opportunities and employers to find talent for their companies. The Cape Town-based startup was founded in 2018 by Christiaan van den Berg and Heine Bellingan. On Tuesday, November 7, 2023, it announced the successful completion of a 45 million rand (approx. $2.4 million) funding round to accelerate its growth.
"These funds allow us to continue our momentum of onboarding employers and not only streamlining their entry-level recruitment but driving accessibility and affordability for the job-seekers that need it most," said Christiaan van den Berg.
Currently, the digital solution has no mobile application. It is only accessible through its web platform which allows users to register for their accounts using their email addresses and then complete their profiles with all the required information. The startup builds users’ resumes based on that information and allows them access to job opportunities on its homepage.
When they apply for jobs and are invited for an interview, users are notified by the platform. "If you have been invited for an interview, you will receive a notification SMS and an interview request on the platform. You can simply sign in to your JOBJACK profile and you should see a pop-up notification that will take you to your interview. In your interview section, you will be able to view all of the details and select your time slot," the platform reads.
When the interview is successful, all the follow-up information is sent to the user’s account. The platform is free for jobseekers but employers need to subscribe to a fee-based talent sourcing scheme. Thanks to Jobjack's algorithms, job offers reach the most relevant candidates.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
RLabs offers training, empowerment, and incubation programs for young people and women. It has already reached tens of millions of people and graduated 2 million individuals.
Reconstructed Living Lab (RLabs) is a South African social organization founded in 2009 by Marlon Parker, an entrepreneur and innovator with a passion for technology. The current head of RLabs is Christine Taphel, a psychologist and linguist by training.
RLabs is dedicated to establishing environments and systems that foster transformative experiences, driven by hope, innovation, technology, training, and economic opportunities. Through a diverse range of activities and programs, RLabs actively pursues the realization of its mission.
Via the RLabs Academy, the organization introduces free specialized skills programs designed for community members, enabling them to enhance personal growth, grasp economic opportunities (jobs, businesses, etc.), or further their education. The academy also provides internships and employment prospects, alongside curriculum development through its RLabs Course Lab.
RLabs offers the RLabs Innovation Lab to its community, actively engaging in collaborations with a range of international organizations, private enterprises, and public sector partners to craft solutions for social change. Furthermore, RLabs established Venture Studio, a one-year incubation program geared towards cultivating impactful businesses that drive job creation.
Equally concerned with women's empowerment, RLabs offers several training programs and initiatives. One such initiative is the JUNK.Fund, which raises funds to invest in and support a new female entrepreneur every month.
RLabs has had a considerable impact in Africa and worldwide. To date, it has impacted 50 million people and graduated 2 million. It has also supported 5,500 businesses. In 2017, it received the SA Blog Awards for best educational blog. The following year, it won the Google Impact Awards and, in 2022, it received the Social Innovator of the Year award issued by the Schwab Foundation and the World Economic Forum.
Melchior Koba
With the acquisition, Gozem enters another segment of the tech ecosystem while accelerating its growth on the continent.
Beninese fintech startup Moneex announced earlier today its acquisition by Togolese mobility solution Gozem. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed but the acquisition aims to launch a financial services arm, Gozem Money, in French-speaking African countries.
“Expanding our financial services through the Gozem Money solution represents the next frontier in our ongoing commitment to delivering essential digital services to our users across Africa. With the addition of the Moneex Team to our ranks, we are poised to accelerate the introduction of our innovative fintech offerings to the market,” said Martial Konvi (photo, left), Global Head of Product at Gozem.
Since its creation, Gozem has raised $11.7 million to accelerate its growth on the continent. The e-mobility startup, launched in 2018 and based in Togo and Singapore, is present in several French-speaking African markets such as Benin, Togo, and Cameroon. It has managed to add various services, such as parcel delivery, food ordering, and e-commerce, to its mobile app, becoming a super app.
Meanwhile, Moneex, the fintech created by Florent Ogoutchoro and Henry Ukoha, offers its customers multi-currency accounts, enabling them to convert funds at the best rates, receive international payments, and pay for goods and services worldwide.
The financial technology sector is the most attractive in Africa. Between July 2021 and June 2023, African fintechs raised $2.7 billion, according to the report "Finnovating for Africa: Reimagining the African financial services landscape 2023" published by Disrupt Africa.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
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In recent years, data center providers have stepped up investments in the African market. With this new investment, MainOne wants to attract additional clients and gain more market share.
Nigerien data center provider MainOne announced on Monday, November 6, the commissioning of a new data center in VITIB (Village des Technologies de l'Information et de la Biotechnologie) located in the town of Grand-Bassam in Côte d'Ivoire. The aim is, among other things, to meet the growing demand for digital services, connectivity, and data storage in Côte d'Ivoire and French-speaking West Africa.
"With this launch of our new data center in Cote d’Ivoire, we are entering an exciting phase of transformation for businesses as it delivers a great opportunity to welcome more customers into our rich digital ecosystem, interconnected to the major digital players in the region and delivering 100% uptime connectivity to the internet. We expect this state-of-the-art facility to become a catalyst for digital innovation, providing a robust infrastructure for enterprises to thrive, and further reinforcing Cote d’Ivoire as the digital hub for the Francophone West African region," said Etienne Kouadio Doh, MainOne’s Country Manager in Cote D’Ivoire.
Like many cloud service providers, MainOne is capitalizing on the growing potential of the African market. The Nigerien provider, which set up its first data center on the continent in 2019, wants to conquer new markets. Hence the strategic choice of Côte d’Ivoire, which has become the favorite destination of many multinational companies eying the West African region, to host its data center. In October 2021, the French group Orange and the American Oracle signed a partnership agreement to build several African cloud regions. Côte d’Ivoire was unsurprisingly on the list of countries chosen for the project. In November 2022, neutral data center provider Raxio Group announced the construction of its first infrastructure in Grand-Bassam in the framework of a project that aims to build more than a dozen similar infrastructure in Africa by 2025.
Let’s note that MainOne is a subsidiary of Equinix, a global provider of digital infrastructure with more than 240 data centers in 32 countries on five continents.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
In 2018, Senegal launched a program to rehabilitate its airports. The aim is to improve the passenger experience and position itself as a leading air hub.
Cheikh Bakhoum, director general of Senegal Numerique (SENUM SA), the national agency overseeing public digital infrastructure, and Abdoulaye Dieye, CEO of Blaise Diagne International Airport (AIBD SA), signed a partnership agreement in Dakar on Monday, November 6.
The partnership aims to implement infrastructure solutions to improve connectivity and facilitate the digital transformation of 13 airports in Senegal.
Under the 3-year cooperation agreement, SENUM SA will provide AIBD with fiber optic connectivity, state-of-the-art data centers, and other services. SENUM SA will also contribute its expertise in auditing the information system, supporting AIBD's human resources in supervising installations, and guaranteeing system security in the event of attacks.
The signing of this partnership agreement is part of the program to rehabilitate Senegal's regional airports (PRAS) launched in 2018 by President Macky Sall. The program aims to make Senegal a leading air hub in Africa.
"I am pleased to welcome the director general of Senegal Numerique today, as state institutions must operate in seamless harmony. We are confident that this agreement is timely and will effectively address the imperative of upgrading our airports to meet industry standards, while simultaneously implementing robust IT systems, security protocols, and data backup measures," said Abdoulaye Dieye.
Samira Njoya
KivuHub describes itself as a hub for tech entrepreneurs. It provides virtual spaces for ambitious startups and entrepreneurs aiming to make a global impact through technology, thereby uplifting the eastern DR Congo region.
Established in 2017 by Eliud Aganze and a team of co-founders comprising Patrick Nahayo, Julien Ntibonera, and Marius Mathondo, KivuHub is a tech accelerator and virtual coworking space based in the Democratic Republic of Congo. With a core focus on fostering the growth of startups, and small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as innovative tech projects, its mission is to provide support and promote these ventures.
The center offers mentoring and training, investor connection, web project management, graphic design, web/mobile/software development, and cybersecurity services. It also has a hybrid cloud platform that enables entrepreneurs to host their web and mobile applications.
In addition to its core activities, KivuHub has launched specific programs to support women, girls, and young entrepreneurs. The program aims to help beneficiaries innovate in technology by improving their digital skills, solving community problems, protecting the environment, and strengthening business networking and IT skills.
Through its platform Girls in Tech, the center aims to contribute to gender equality, improve the quality of education, and promote women’s digital inclusion in eastern DR Congo between 2022 and 2025.
KivuHub works with various investor networks and other hubs in the region to address the complex challenges facing the world. It is an active member of AfriLabs and other startup groups.
Melchior Koba
She uses tech tools to help businesses reach their full potential. Through her startup Telliscope, she offers an AI-powered business intelligence platform to companies.
Mellena Haile (photo) is the founder and managing director of Telliscope, a technology company that provides data and analysis on fast-growing emerging economies.
Born in Ethiopia, Mellena Haile moved to the United States with her family before completing her higher education. She obtained a Bachelor's degree in Architecture at the University of Virginia and continued her studies at the Darden Graduate School of Business, where she earned a Master of Business Administration.
In 2016, she founded E-Pulse, which later became Telliscope. It is a digital platform that uses artificial intelligence to collect, analyze, and visualize data on markets, consumers, and competitors in emerging countries. It enables entrepreneurs to market their businesses, access resources, and securely connect with investors. With offices in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and Addis Ababa, it has a diverse team of technologists, economists, and designers.
On October 5, 2023, Telliscope was selected to join the Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First program. Along with the other 10 beneficiaries of the program, it will be mentored for 10 weeks to scale its AI solution globally and for Africa. The company will also receive up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits and access to Google's AI expertise and support.
Mellena Haile's professional career began in 2007 at Project Capital +, a project development company, where she was a summer associate in charge of emerging markets in Africa. In 2010, she joined the Kauffman Foundation, one of the world's leading organizations on entrepreneurship and education, as a lead researcher on Africa.
She has received numerous national and international awards for her entrepreneurial and innovative works. In 2016, she was on the African Next Generation Leaders list. Then, three years later, she was invited to the Africa Fintech Summit. In 2023, she also joined NVIDIA Inception, a program that supports high-growth early-stage companies revolutionizing industries with cutting-edge capabilities and technological advances.
Melchior Koba