On Monday, May 15, 2023, Maurice Lévy, former head of French multinational communications company Publicis, inaugurated a new digital art platform called "YourArt" at the modern art museum Palais de Tokyo.
According to the former executive, YourArt wants to become the world's leading art and tech platform, allowing professional and amateur artists to showcase and sell their work.
Senegal held the first edition of “The Digital Week - Senegal Connect” last week, from May 16 to 20. The event, held in Dakar, gave startups the opportunity to showcase themselves before politicians, potential investors, and the general public as a whole. Some of the most promising were celebrated with awards.
Earlier last week, Caytu Robotics won the presidential award for digital innovation during the first edition of The Digital Week-Senegal Connect. The robotics startup, founded in 2020, is thus the second startup to ever receive that award. It seduced the jury with its technology that allows users to remotely control robots from anywhere in the world. With that award, Caytu Robotics went home with a CFAF30 million ($50,000) grant to support its growth.
“Today, remote outsourcing is primarily concerned with non-tangible digital skills such as software and digital content development. CAYTU closes the gap between remote digital outsourcing and onsite physical experience, enabling the distribution of skills and hands-on expertise to distant geographic locations where they are needed. [...] CAYTU’s Robotics Platform is the world’s first crowdsourced Robotics as a Service solution. Our software is robot-agnostic and therefore can integrate any robotics hardware/application through our API,” the awardee explains on its web platform.
Caytu has a mobile app from which users can issue commands. Currently, it is carrying out its pilot phase at Brigham Young University (BYU) in the United States. During that phase, previously selected students and staff can order food at the university restaurant. Once the order is received, in Dakar, the Caytu team remotely controls the robots to deliver the ordered food.
“We implement an AI-Human Collaborative Shared Control approach to put the human touch at the center of robotics and therefore unlock the full potential of robots and create new opportunities for individuals and businesses. We have made teleoperation as intuitive and easy as it can be; simply using our Android & iOS app, anyone with a mobile phone can become a CAYTU Pilot,” Caytu explains.
Brigham Young University (BYU), a private research institution, was chosen to host the pilot phase of Caytu because of robotics professor Benjamin Terry, a BYU professor involved in the project. He joined the project to collect data to better understand human-robot interactions. In the long run, Caytu wants to create a global network of autonomous delivery robots. Still, for now, after BYU, the Senegalese startup intends to expand to other universities around the world.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
He is shaping the global energy landscape by investing in sustainable solutions and creating strategic partnerships. His company actively promotes green energy in Africa.
Samuel Alemayehu (photo), an Ethiopian entrepreneur and investor, is at the forefront of the combat against climate change and the promotion of sustainable development in Africa. He leads a dedicated team that invests in innovative projects focused on renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Born in Ethiopia, he attended Stanford University where he earned a bachelor's in management science and engineering. In 2008, he co-founded and led -till 2013- 4Afri Technologies, a mobile service provider deployed in Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia, Cameroon, DR Congo, Gabon, Senegal, Ghana, and Liberia. In 2005, he co-founded Corner Media Global LLC, a distributed social network focused on expatriate communities.
He is also the co-founder and chairman of Cambridge Industries, an engineering, design, procurement, and construction company focused on renewable energy projects throughout Africa. As a subsidiary of Cambridge Group of Companies, the company -founded in 2013- manages various renewable energy projects on the continent and has completed projects worth hundreds of millions of euros.
Cambridge Industries was for instance the first company to design, develop and build a large-scale waste-to-energy project in Africa. The project, called Reppie Waste-to-Energy, is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It currently processes more than 1,400 tons of waste daily.
As an investor, Samuel Alemayehu has backed several companies and sits on the board of several of them. These include East Africa Electric, the innovative communication and storytelling platform Pitch and Flow, VC Include, and NextBillion.ai, a company focused on artificial intelligence. His passion and actions have earned him recognition as one of the World Economic Forum's Young Leaders in 2018.
Melchior Koba
The partnership aims to reinforce cooperation between the two countries, which aim to leverage digital technologies to drive economic growth.
Singapore and Kenya signed, Thursday (May 18), three agreements including a memorandum of understanding covering the digital economy. The agreements were signed during an official visit of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to Kenya.
On Twitter, Kenyan President Williams Ruto said the MoU on the digital economy will "facilitate cooperation on cybersecurity, digitization of government services and ICT capacity building.”
In Singapore, the digital sector is a key component of economic plans, and the sector has grown significantly in recent years. The Singaporean IT market was valued at $41.76 billion in 2021. It is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.9% to reach $61.06 billion by 2026, according to a recent report by Global Data.
Meanwhile, last year, Kenya launched a 10-year digital master plan -covering the 2022-2032 period- to align with global technological advances and strengthen its digital economy. The digital master plan identifies four key pillars: digital infrastructure, digital services, and data management as well as digital skills and stimulating digital innovation for entrepreneurship.
According to the Singaporean Prime Minister, the MoU will further the bilateral relationship between the two countries by targeting economic opportunities that will bolster shared prosperity.
Samira Njoya
In a statement released on Thursday, May 18, California-based OpenAI announced the launch of the iOS app of its artificial intelligence-based conversational agent, ChatGPT.
"The ChatGPT app is free to use and syncs your history across devices. It also integrates Whisper, our open-source speech-recognition system, enabling voice input. ChatGPT Plus subscribers get exclusive access to GPT-4’s capabilities, early access to features, and faster response times, all on iOS," the release reads.
Currently, the app is available for US users only but it will expand to additional countries “in the coming weeks.” The Android version is also coming "soon".
The incubator encourages technological entrepreneurship and provides young talents with the resources they need to turn ideas into businesses. Its programs and events position it as a major player in the Mauritanian digital transformation ecosystem.
In Mauritania, Hadina RIMTIC is one of the key players that promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the tech ecosystem. The incubator, based in Nouakchott, was founded, in 2014, by IT engineer Mariem Kane, IT expert and entrepreneur Dahaba Diagana, and senior consultant Zeinebou Abdeldjelil, who is currently its president.
It aims to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, boost digital adoption and improve the contribution of the digital economy to GDP. It also wants to facilitate the digital transformation of growth sectors and strengthen women’s entrepreneurship. It as well aims to contribute to the digitalization of growth sectors and to strengthen the participation of women in entrepreneurship.
To achieve its goals, Hadina RIMTIC offers coworking spaces to allow entrepreneurs to work in an environment that stimulates creativity and collaboration. It also offers mentoring and coaching programs, business development, and financing opportunities.
The incubator also develops innovative solutions for its partners, executes corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs and strategies, and offers smart sourcing services.
It regularly organizes events, workshops, and conferences to trigger interest in IT disciplines, share good practices, and create networking opportunities. In 2014, it launched the MauriAppChallenge, the first app development contest in Mauritania. In 2022, it also launched the Agri-entrepreneurship Program in partnership with the FAO to support businesses and start-ups operating in the agricultural sector.
Hadina RIMTIC also established an agricultural innovation center in Rosso and organized a STEM Summer Camp to train Mauritanians in robotics, electronics, and programming. The best students from this camp will represent Mauritania at the FIRST Global Robotics competition.
To date, it has incubated 5 start-ups, pre-incubated 26 start-ups, supported 40 projects, and organized 4 competitions as well as 35 conferences and training. Among the start-ups supported are DoctoRIM, Neotic, Habidem, and Taci Secure. It is supported by several partners including USAID, the World Bank, the French Embassy in Mauritania, Total Energies, and the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Mauritania, among others.
Melchior Koba
The entrepreneurs behind the solution first developed a price comparison app before deciding to set up a solution to connect users to good deals and special offers.
Fomo is a digital solution developed by a South African startup, founded in 2020. It allows users access to special offers in restaurants and various leisure places. It uses geolocation features to determine the best deals, restaurants, and leisure spots closest to users.
Users can access its services via its Android and iOS apps. Once they register, they have to grant access to their geographical locations, which is needed to determine the nearest places. Some of the leisure places presented are museums, spas, paragliding, and horse riding destinations.
“We created this app because we were sick of laying in bed on a Saturday or having a lazy Wednesday where we don’t want to cook dinner, asking the age-old question… where should we go for dinner? What exciting activity can we do today?” the founders say.
Apart from allowing its users to find good deals and visit leisure places, it allows the owners of the listed spots to reach a broader audience. Fomo, therefore, advertises businesses that craft special offers, instead of spending on sponsored ads and similar marketing strategies.
The platform is seemingly a great success because, according to Playstore’s data, its Android app has been downloaded more than a hundred thousand times.
In September 2022, the startup signed a partnership with Google to allow users to book or make orders directly from Google Search, Map, or Assistant. "This is a big step for FOMO as we look to increase accessibility for South Africans to make and manage their reservations at their favorite restaurants both on the app, as well as through Google Search or Maps, quickly and efficiently, further stimulating an ailing industry affected by COVID-19," co-founder Jax Marx said when the partnership was signed with Google.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Impact Lab plays a key role in promoting entrepreneurship and innovation in Africa. With a presence in 17 countries, it is among the largest technology hubs on the continent.
Founded in 2014 by Salma Kabbaj and Leyth Zniber, Impact Lab is a Morocco-based social innovation lab committed to accelerating the deployment of innovative solutions to address the continent's challenges.
It provides a dynamic platform for social entrepreneurs to develop innovative ideas and high-impact projects. It also assists in the operationalization of innovation governance and the framing of innovation strategy. The lab develops specific training programs adapted to the objectives of each company it supports and strengthens the digital skills of employees.
As an innovation hub, it also supports the framing and deployment of transformation projects following design thinking and lean principles. In addition, it connects companies, start-ups, and institutions to experiment collaborative approaches.
The lab has organized several acceleration programs including the Agritech Launchpad dedicated to Moroccan start-ups that have developed innovative solutions to address challenges in the agro-industrial value chain. It is also an implementing partner of the Investing in Innovation (I3) program in Francophone Africa.
From 2016 to date, Impact Lab has supported more than 250 startups, such as Kriterion, a company that uses artificial intelligence to provide actionable intelligence to digital companies in the heavy industry. It helped organize several events, such as the Fintech Challenge and the Mining Challenge. It has also deployed 25 innovation programs across the 17 countries it covers thanks to partners like Alvarium and Blackbelt in Morocco.
Melchior Koba
The solution is the result of a partnership between unicorn startup Fawry and Softec Technologies. It connects merchants with a network of self-employed delivery personnel.
Roaderz, an innovative digital solution created by the Egyptian unicorn Fawry, enables merchants to facilitate deliveries to their customers through a network of independent delivery drivers. The venture was established in 2022 as a collaborative effort between Fawry, Samer Gharaibeh (founder of the delivery startup Mylerz), Ammar Zawaideh (a corporate finance expert), and Softec Technologies.
“Our goal with Roaderz is to create a solution that can also have a broader social impact, by putting smaller businesses on a level playing field with larger competitors, providing couriers with flexible work and income opportunities, and reducing carbon emissions by decreasing the average kilometers traveled by a shipment before it reaches the end-user,” said Fawry’s CEO, Ashraf Sabry, in 2022.
The solution has a mobile app accessible on Android and iOS. Merchants can sign up to access the services offered after downloading the app. To order a delivery, they have to post a request and one of the available self-employed delivery agents will undertake the task.
When the package is picked up, the merchant can see from the application an estimate of the delivery time and follow the package in real time until it reaches its destination. Payments are handled by Fawry.
Since its launch, Roaderz’s Android app has been downloaded more than a thousand times. The solution intends to cover all of the governorates in Egypt but, there is no international expansion plan for the time being.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The Arab Administrative Development Organization (ARADO) will hold a forum on governance in the digital age from June 19-21 in Casablanca, Morocco.
The forum aims, among other things, to provide participants with the knowledge and skills needed for effective digital transformation and recent technical developments in this area. It will also help identify what institutions need to do and the challenges they must prepare for when the digital transformation process is completed.
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He is a finance graduate with a passion for using technology to develop practical solutions. With FeexPay, he enables merchants to collect payments online.
Jean Hugues Houinsou (photo) is the founder and CEO of JH Trading Group, a UK-registered group. Through that group, in May 2023, he launched FeexPay, a mobile payment aggregator that allows merchants to collect mobile money and card payments online.
FeexPay has four notable features. The first, FeexLink, allows merchants to generate secure payment links and send them to buyers via mail or any other communication channel. FeexCorporate, the second feature, allows users to send multiple payments simultaneously and pay staff, suppliers, etc…
The third feature is FeexMarket, a checkout solution. It allows users to create their e-shops and automatize payments. The last feature is FeexPage, a feature that personalizes checkout pages to improve customer experience.
FeexPay is an intuitive platform that is easy to learn. The commissions it collects on transactions processed are also the lowest in the Beninese market. They range from 1.5-1.7% of mobile money payments to 4.5% for card payments.
The fintech startup also gives users the possibility to make customized integrations. When interviewed by We Are Tech Africa about FeexPay's goals, Jean Hugues Houinsou said that the startup wanted to become the leading payment aggregator in Africa. “[...] We have initiated a process to expand to other countries, in addition to Benin,” to improve continental financial inclusion he said.
Jean Hugues Houinsou holds a master's in banking and finance from the National School of Applied Economics and Management in Benin. He is certified by the University System of Maryland in the application of the Scrum methodology to agile project management and by Harvard University in the fundamentals of leadership. He also holds Google certifications in digital marketing, Adwords, and Analytics, among others.
Apart from FeexPay, his group founded La Vedette Media, a web marketing agency. From 2019 to 2020, the versatile entrepreneur worked as the project manager of Google Digital Skills for Africa. Currently, he is the co-leader of the Google Business Group in Cotonou.
Melchior Koba
Burkina Faso is under a growing terrorist threat since 2015. To effectively respond to these attacks in the country, the government has turned to digital technologies, which offer a range of tools to counter insecurity.
The National Gendarmerie of Burkina Faso, on Tuesday, May 16, inaugurated its Digital Brigade for Alert and Assistance (BNVAA).
The brigade is accessible via its web platform and a mobile application “Ma Gendarmerie BF”, available on Playstore and Appstore. It aims to provide citizens with a direct and accessible communication channel with the national gendarmerie.
According to Lieutenant-Colonel Evrard Somda, Chief of Staff of the National Gendarmerie, the digital brigade "is a practical and quick way for the gendarmes to interact and respond to users’ concerns every hour of the day, monitor social networks to analyze the feelings of people on particular topics or detect subversive messages and comments, publish safety tips and alerts in case of incidents or disasters, and give recommendations to guard against burglary or online scams.”
The BNVAA is part of the Burkina Faso government's drive to leverage digital technologies to bring government services closer to the population. It was set up to support the national gendarmerie in its fight against growing insecurity.
The brigade will be managed by trained personnel grouped under two teams. The first team will oversee the collection and analysis of digital data and evidence and handle interactions with the population, through a chatbot assisted by a security agent. The second team will take care of the creation of awareness materials and produce intelligence reports on the security situation.
According to the executive, the objective is to optimize the performance of the gendarmerie by strengthening and consolidating its connection with citizens. The BNVAA also aims to ensure the physical presence of territorial brigades and intervention units, as well as reduce waiting times when citizens request their services.
Samira Njoya
The Moroccan Youth Ministry and UNICEF launched Tuesday (May 16), a digital platform for youth engagement.
The platform, dubbed U-Report Morocco, will allow young people aged 14 to 25 to express themselves and share their views on issues affecting them and their communities as a whole. The goal is to foster citizenship and make their voice count in policy-making processes.
CTIC Dakar has established itself as a driving force in the Senegalese entrepreneurial ecosystem. As an incubator and accelerator, it has provided critical support to the country's tech start-ups, helping transform their innovative ideas into successful businesses.
CTIC Dakar is a Senegalese incubator created in 2011. It is the result of a public-private partnership led by FICTIS, the network of ICT incubators operating in Senegal. It aims to foster the development of growth potential SMEs in West Africa.
It is placed under the administrative supervision of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the technical supervision of the Ministry of ICT. Currently, it is headed by Isidore Mbodji, its Executive Director.
The innovation hub offers a full range of services and programs to support start-ups at each stage of their development. It has three main support programs. The first one, Buntutekki, is a 3- month pre-incubation program that supports budding entrepreneurs from the ideation phase of their project to the business plan and formalization.
The second, Incub'Action, is a tailored 2-year incubation program that aims to mature startups’ economic models, allowing startups to easily conquer markets. The last one, Adduna, is a six-month acceleration program that allows existing companies to develop, and structure operations to reach the next growth stage and attract investors.
In about seven years of operation, the incubator has supported over 176 companies and start-ups. They include M-Louma, which connects agriculture value-chain actors, People Input, an African web and mobile service provider, and the web services company Inaota. It has coached more than 2,400 project leaders and organized more than 1,200 working sessions.
In 2022, the incubator took part in BAM: Empowering African Accelerators, a program designed to enable accelerators and incubators to amplify their impact and support future entrepreneurs in their respective operating regions.
In addition to being an incubator and accelerator, CTIC Dakar is positioned as a real player in the Senegalese entrepreneurial ecosystem. It regularly organizes events (more than 150 already), workshops, and conferences to promote exchanges and collaborations in the start-up community.
Supported by Sonatel, World Bank Group, and Info Dev, among others, CTIC Dakar also plays an active role in promoting technological innovation in Senegal, by encouraging research and development. It also supports ICT initiatives.
Melchior Koba