The solution aims to help companies get ahead of the competition and boost sales.
Solutech is a digital solution developed by a Kenyan eponymous startup founded in 2014. It helps users -merchants namely- boost sales.
"With stiff competition and the need for route-to-market strategies by FMCG companies in Kenya, the struggle to make day-to-day strategic decisions has always remained a huge concern to manufacturers and distributors. They regularly lack timely and accurate distribution data, visibility of field sales activities and inefficiencies due to the traditional manual recording of activities and the nature of the fragmented retail industry in Africa,” Solutech co-founder and CEO Alexander Odhiambo (photo, left) told Disrupt Africa.
Solutech was founded to address all those issues and become the choice automation partner in the African sales and distribution sector. It developed a mobile app (available for Android and iOS users), which sends real-time notifications on the operations of registered merchants. It collects relevant information, informing its clients’ decisions. Its data also help improve sales management, logistics, and promotions aimed at helping merchants attract more buyers.
"With Solutech, companies have been able to witness increased productivity, a reduction of operational costs, and increased revenue through access to timely, accurate, and relevant customer insights," Alexander indicates. The start-up claims 4,000 daily users, over US$750 million in sales, and over 60 customers.
Solutech operates in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia, DRC, Ethiopia, and Sudan. This year, it is one of the 60 startups that will participate in the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The new funding secured six months after the agritech startup's last financing round brings the total funds it raised to US$14.4 million, including US$6.5 million in debt financing.
Ghanaian agritech startup Farmerline announced, Tuesday (September 27), the second close of its Pre-Series A investment raise. During that round, it raised US$1.5 million from social impact investor Oikocredit.
According to Farmerline co-founder and CEO, Alloysius Attah, the round will help support farmers and agribusinesses across Africa in a context marked by the war in Ukraine. “With the support of Oikocredit alongside our first-round funders, our distribution, logistics, and financing services will continue not only in Ghana but also in Côte d’Ivoire where we’ve recently begun the process of expanding our team,” he said.
West Africa was recovering from the coronavirus pandemic when the Ukraine war began. Record inflationary pressures ensued, sending the cost of living flying in most African countries. According to Issoufou Baoua, an expert food security analyst with the Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), the number of people threatened by food insecurity in the Sahel and West Africa is rising. “We have gone from 10.7 million people threatened by food insecurity in 2019 to 40.7 million in 2022,” he says.
By expanding its African footprint, Farmerline will strengthen its agribusiness supply chain, cut costs for farmers and boost yield with the deployment of AI solutions and local infrastructure.
The startup, founded in 2013, currently claims about US$18 million worth of inputs and crops financed so far by franchising with agribusinesses and input resellers. The startup now aims to reach 300,000 farmers by 2022, a nearly 400% growth from last year, when it doubled its direct reach to 79,000 farmers (from 36,000 in 2020 and 8,000 in 2019).
Samira Njoya
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed consumption habits in Africa, making e-commerce platforms more popular.
Club Tiossane is an e-commerce platform developed by Senegalese dairy company La Laiterie du Berger. It allows clients -notably those living in large towns- access to fresh products. During the coronavirus pandemic, the solution, which was formerly known as Club Kossam, saw a huge jump in its operations.
For its manager, Lucien Diedhiou, Club Tiossane is getting more popular by the day because of the new consumption habits. According to the manager, as both men and women are now working, the need for such e-commerce services will rise.
The solution is accessible only through a web portal and on social media. Users who want to buy fresh products through the web portal need to register an account. Clients can order the products they need for the following week and state a delivery timeframe and payment means (they can pay in advance or pay on delivery). Let’s note that the company delivers to its clients free of charge.
In 2020, it delivered 1,300 households in Dakar. It claims an average of XOF30 million (about US$44,500) monthly income and 62 million lives touched in April 2020. This year, it is among the 43 African startups that will participate in the Social & Inclusive Business Camp sponsored by the French Development Agency.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
After nine years in the banking and finance sector, he made a U-turn, in 2017, to develop his passion for new technologies. In partnership with various partners, he invested in artificial intelligence, earning several awards.
Youssef Bouyakhf is a Moroccan tech entrepreneur and co-founder of DeepEcho, a medical imaging startup.
Through DeepEcho -founded in 2020, Youssef combats infant and maternal maternity with a prenatal diagnosis solution that helps prevent potential pregnancy complications and reduce diagnostic errors. Thanks to high-performance deep learning algorithms, the solution makes ultrasound scans simpler yet more accurate.
"DeepEcho is a deep tech startup that focuses on the fourth Millennium Development Goal of reducing child mortality. We come from AI Lab and we work hand in hand with the best doctors in Morocco," Youssef Bouyakhf told Plug and Play in February 2022.
The tech enthusiast is particularly attracted by artificial intelligence given its usefulness in practical applications. In 2020, he co-founded Akumen IA, a consulting firm leveraging tech and data science to meet firms' and institutions’ needs. Three years earlier, he co-founded AIOX Labs, a Morocco-based start-up studio that uses data science and artificial intelligence to address businesses’ needs.
Before going into entrepreneurship full-time, Youssef worked for national and international institutions. His professional career started in 2009 when he was hired, as an audit intern, by the accounting firm Ernst & Young. Months later, he became an assistant Director of Marketing and Communication for the construction company Garanti Koza. In 2011, he joined BNP Paribas as a Business Analyst Intern in the structured debt department.
The following year, JP Morgan hired him as an Investment Banking Summer Analyst. Between 2015 and 2017, he was a principal investing associate for the financial services group Macquarie Group. Then, his growing interest in artificial intelligence pushed him to start side projects.
Thanks to DeepEcho, he is among the three winners of the 2022 Orange Social Venture Prize in Africa and the Middle East (POESAM). He is also one of the nominees for the Aviram Awards-Tech for Humanity 2022, a competition launched by the Aviram Family Foundation in partnership with Forbes. In September 2022, DeepEcho was selected for the pan-African program “Investing in Innovation,” funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Melchior Koba
In 2020, the tourism sector was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic worldwide. Amid the wave of accelerated transformation that ensued, countries, like Togo, are multiplying actions to revive the sector and make it a better instrument in their fight against poverty.
Togolese Minister of Tourism, Dr. Gbenyo Lamadokou (photo, center), inaugurated, Tuesday (September 27), the new national platform dedicated to the promotion of the tourism sector in Togo. The platform, called Togo Tourism, was inaugurated at the University of Lome, on the sidelines of the 42nd World Tourism Day.
According to Dr. Gbenyon Lamadokou, this new portal is of great importance, because it will revive the tourism sector, which was greatly affected by the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, September 26, the Ministry of Tourism published figures showing a 49.1% year-to-year decline in tourist arrivals in Togo in 2020. According to the figures in 2020, the country recorded 481,706 tourists against 946,376 in 2019.
The figures nevertheless show a gradual recovery. Indeed, from XOF19 billion in 2020, the revenues generated by the sector rose 34%, to XOF25 billion in 2021. For Dr. Gbenyon Lamadokou, the rise was due to a “gradual deployment of the Covid-19 vaccine, the adoption of several measures, and the easing of travel restrictions.”
The new platform aims to attract even more tourists to the country. It presents the country’s cultural and tourist potential and lists the 10 reasons why visitors should visit Togo. It is part of the national strategy to attract 500,000 tourists to Togo annually and raise the contribution of the tourism sector to 6.2% of GDP by 2025.
Samira Njoya
Niger has the highest fertility rate in the world. Meeting the food needs of this rapidly growing population is a challenge for the government, organizations, and actors in the agricultural sector.
Last Tuesday, the Digital Development Agency (ADN) and the Swiss Foundation for Technical Cooperation, Swisscontact, launched an integrated digital platform in Niamey. The platform, baptized AgriShop/Rayuwa, aims to improve the skills of the various actors in the agricultural ecosystem in Niger, but also to facilitate their access to agriculture data and information.
According to ADN CEO, Wahidi Rabiou, the AgriShop/Rayuwa platform has three components. They are namely an e-commerce feature to connect farmers with potential clients and fellow farmers, an assistance feature to advise farmers, and an information feature to inform and train them.
Agriculture plays a very important role in Niger's economy. According to the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), it accounts for nearly 40% of the country’s GDP and provides livelihoods to more than 80% of the rural population. However, farmers sometimes lack the right information on seed techniques. They sometimes don’t even have loyal customers to quickly sell their products.
The e-commerce feature, Agrishop, will correct these shortcomings by offering farmers the possibility to list their products for sale. It targets "cooperatives, input or seed suppliers, individual or professional buyers, agribusinesses, agritech and also farmers, transporters, and marketers,” Wahidi Rabiou explains.
The platform can be used even without an internet connection. Thanks to a dedicated USSD code, farmers can receive information and advice via SMS messages. They can also receive remote assistance.
The project also includes an interactive voice server accessible through a short code allowing users to listen to pre-recorded messages on useful information, and agricultural advice in French, Hausa, Zarma, and many other languages.
The development of this “groundbreaking” platform is part of two programs implemented by Swisscontact. The first program is the Promel (Local entrepreneurship promotion program) financed by the Swiss Cooperation and the PEMIJ (Promotion of youth employment and labor market integration) financed by the Dutch Embassy.
Samira Njoya
In recent years, the number of startups created in Africa has risen significantly. Those ventures develop solutions to address various challenges facing residents.
VetCode is a digital solution developed by an eponymous Egyptian startup founded in 2018. It enables users to book pet grooming, obedience, behavioral and veterinary services remotely.
Its services can be booked via its web platform, by calling a dedicated number, or via its mobile app (available for Android and iOS devices). The startup behind VetCode is partnered with several vet clinics. In case of emergency, its clients can visit the nearest clinic in its network or even request a vet to visit them at home.
VetCode also has a pet store where customers can buy, sell or adopt a pet. Currently, it operates in a dozen Egyptian cities, with hopes to enter new markets in the coming years. To fulfill its ambitions, it has already raised more than US$450,000 since its inception.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
In Africa, access to quality healthcare still proves challenging for many residents. To address the situation, tech entrepreneurs are developing solutions to complement government initiatives.
Damu-Sasa is an e-health solution developed by a Kenyan startup Damu Sasa System Limited (DSL), founded in 2017. It supports blood supply, inventory, and transfusion management. It also helps improve haemovigilance.
To easily create its blood bank database, the solution has an Android app, allowing donors to join an e-community of blood donors and discuss with them through the chat feature.
Through the app, donors can access their blood donation records and check whether a blood donation appointment is scheduled. Thanks to that approach, Damu-Sasa can supply blood to hospitals, even in case of emergency. Currently, it claims a database of 44,527 donors in 38 counties, 34,161 lives touched and 179 hospitals supported.
In 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, it received a US$20,000 grant from Villgro Africa, an incubator and impact investor operating in the health sector, to enhance its capabilities. At the time, DSL chairman, Matunda Nuancham explained that the funding would help “improve potential blood donor numbers and hence help alleviate, to the degree possible, the perennial blood shortages.”
In June 2022, the University of Nairobi announced a partnership with DSL for a project aimed at improving the management of blood transfusion services in Kenya. Months later, in September, DSL made it to the list of the 30 African healthtech startups to participate in the first cohort of the i3 innovation program sponsored by several foundations, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
In Africa, the volume of funds attracted by fintech startups is growing rapidly. Those startups come up with alternative solutions to address some of the pressing challenges faced by businesses and individuals.
myStash is a fintech solution developed by an eponymous Nigerian startup, founded in 2021. It automatizes the savings process, allowing users to save a preset percentage of their earnings and expenses.
Through its web and mobile apps (the mobile app is available for Android and iPhone users), users can manage their finances and set the percentage of expenses and earnings to save. To do that, they must first register by providing personal information, then link their bank cards to their myStash accounts.
The startup assures that the process is secure and it has no access to sensitive information. On its website, it claims that it has helped over 25,000 customers and hundreds of businesses “make better money moves by helping them save bit by bit in Naira or Dollars.”
The startup also offers a 5-12% interest on the amounts saved. In addition, it enables users to receive part of their salaries in US dollars. Its services are free. This year, it is among the 43 African startups selected for the Social and Business Camp sponsored by the French Development Agency to help startups get themselves known to potential investors for their growth.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The 2-year program launched by Southbridge A&I and its partners aims to uncover homegrown innovations that have the potential to change the way healthcare supply chains and systems work.
On Monday, Sept. 26, Investing in Innovation Africa unveiled the list of 30 African startups selected for the first cohort of the Investing in Innovation (i3) program.
The selected startups include seven Nigerians, five Kenyans, three South Africans, three Moroccans, two Zimbabweans, two Ugandans, one Cameroonian, one Angolan, one Congolese, one Ivorian, one Ghanaian, one Rwandan, one Senegalese, and one Tunisian.
All of them are in the start-up or growth phase and offer innovative solutions for the distribution of medicines and medical equipment, stock management and financing, authentication, traceability, and medical waste management. They will each receive a US$50,000 grant and support to catalyze growth-oriented partnerships with donors, industry leaders, and institutions. Their market access will also be improved with the various events they will attend throughout the year.
According to Efosa Ojomo, member of the i3 Steering Committee, “i3’s focus on African ingenuity is long overdue – supporting locally-led, market-creating innovations to scale will equip the continent to achieve health gains, generate prosperity and weather future crises.”
Samira Njoya
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The difficulties in accessing traditional banking services have motivated African entrepreneurs to develop a multitude of fintech solutions to help both individuals and businesses.
Paiement Pro is a fintech solution developed by Ivorian start-up Amira Global Technologies, founded in 2019. It allows users to collect or issue mobile money and credit card payments online. It also helps them develop their online businesses.
Apart from its web platform, the solution also has an Android app allowing users to register an account by providing a set of information, including name, contact details, geographic location, etc. The startup will later dispatch a sales representative to check users’ activities. After registration, users can access all the features required to set up their online payment or issue payments.
The solution integrates several plugins such as Pro Shop, Pro Agenda, Pro Event, etc. To enable seamless performance, each of the plugins has dedicated features like the QR Code scanner that allows users to authenticate tickets sold using the Event Pro plugin.
To facilitate the processing of transactions carried out via its platform, Amira Global Technologies has partnered with the United Bank of Africa (UBA), mobile operators, Visa and Mastercard. Currently, it operates in Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, and Senegal. It also eyes the Cameroonian, Congolese, DR Congo, Ghanaian, Nigerian and Togolese markets.
In 2021, it received the National Award for the Women's Digital Initiative of the Year. It was also among the top 50 finalists of the Africa’s Business Heroes competition. This year, the startup is also one of the 43 African start-ups selected for the Social & Inclusive Business Camp sponsored by the French Development Agency.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
As a media and ICT enthusiast, she has over 30 years of professional experience in mentoring, consulting, and venture financing. Her expertise has been honed through the many senior positions she has held in many countries.
Biola Alabi (photo) is a Nigerian businesswoman. Since September 13, 2022, she is a venture partner in Egypt-based venture capital firm Cairo Angels Syndicate Fund (CASF), which focuses on startup tech firms based in the MENA region. With CASF, Mrs. Biola is responsible for origination, investments, portfolio management, and investor relations.
For Biola, who is excited to bring “regional ecosystems together”, when the opportunity came to join CASF, the answer “was a no brainer.”
As an angel investor, advisor, and even member of the board of several startups, Biola Alabi is a global leader. Her certificate in Global Leadership and Public Policy, obtained at Harvard University in 2013, and her certificate in Transformational Leadership obtained at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School in 2016, illustrates her global leadership ambitions.
In January 2022, she co-founded Atika Ventures, a women-led venture capital firm. Since 2021, she is the deputy chair of the Lagos Angel Network, which is “committed to providing seed funding, mentoring and access to their business networks to Lagos area start-up entrepreneurs and their early-stage businesses.”
Her professional career began, in 1999, with Bigwords.com, a textbooks search engine. That year, she joined the online platform as a regional marketing manager. In 2003, she joined Sesame Workshop as regional director for sub-Saharan Africa. Five years later, she was appointed general manager for Africa for South African TV channel M-Net Africa.
In 2015, she established the Grooming for Greatness Foundation, a scholarship and mentoring program for promising young talent and entrepreneurs. She then founded Biola Alabi Media and Entertainment, a production company where she is the Senior Advisor and Executive Producer.
In addition to her numerous occupations, she is also a non-executive director of telecom service provider Monty Mobile Holding, since 2015. She is also a non-executive director of Unilever Nigeria Plc, which specializes in the manufacturing of consumer goods.
Melchior Koba
Entrepreneurship is a key component of strategies aimed at addressing youth unemployment in Africa. However, entrepreneurs still face challenges in accessing financing. Several programs are ongoing to address that issue.
U.S. Tech corporation Microsoft recently strengthened its partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB). According to the press release received by We are Tech on Monday, September 26, the objective of this new partnership is to boost young Africans’ entrepreneurship spirit. It comes after the implementation of the African Development Bank's Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank (YEIB) Initiative.
“The strengthening of our partnership with Microsoft on the Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Banks (YEIB) is an important development in our journey towards harnessing Africa’s demographic dividend and facilitating the creation of millions of jobs for young Africans by 2025,” said Solomon Quaynor (photo, left), the African Development Bank’s Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure, and Industrialization.
Africa has the youngest population in the world. According to the AfDB, the continent’s population, which is growing fast, is expected to double to over 830 million by 2050. Of the estimated 420 million young Africans aged 15-35, one-third are unemployed and discouraged, another third are in precarious employment, and only one in six has paid employment.
This collaboration, through the Microsoft Africa Transformation Office (ATO), will contribute to the development of youth entrepreneurship ecosystems, but also the creation of new jobs. It will also support digital inclusion in Africa.
“We believe much can be done to help foster youth entrepreneurship by collaborating with the African Development Bank, driving greater economic inclusion for this key segment of the population, and ultimately building a more prosperous society,” said Microsoft Africa Regional Cluster's General Manager, Wael Elkabbany (photo, right).
The partnership will also facilitate the establishment of national institutions through a public-private collaboration model that will increase technical and financial support and capacity building benefiting young entrepreneurs.
Samira Njoya
In the past 30 years, internet connectivity has been the main focus of most countries’ digital transformation programs. With the fourth industrial revolution, priorities have evolved but, many nations are still not ready.
Netherlands-based VPN services provider Surfshark recently unveiled the top 10 African countries whose digital experience improves the quality of life. According to its "2021 Digital Quality of Life Index", those countries are namely South Africa, Mauritius, Kenya, Tunisia, Nigeria, Morocco, Algeria, Ghana, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire.
The ten countries were ranked based on five criteria: Internet affordability, Internet quality, electronic infrastructure, e-security, and e-government. By taking action in those five segments, countries modernize public and private services, rendering them more efficient. They also improve their business environments, promote innovation, improve the dynamism of the startup ecosystem, making it more attractive for investors, encourage the population to be actively involved in the development of the digital economy, and promote human development.
Digital quality of life is still modest in those ten countries compared to the global average. Indeed, while the global average -for the 110 countries ranked- is 0.53 out of 0.90 points, the African leader -South Africa- collected just 0.49 points.
Let’s note that some countries perform best in specific index criteria. For instance, Angola, which is not in the top 10 African countries with the best digital quality of life, was the African country with the most affordable internet. Globally, it ranked 17th out of 110 countries.
Similarly, Algeria was the African country with the best internet quality (28th worldwide). Kenya took the lead in “electronic infrastructure” on the continent, coming 58th on the global stage. When it comes to e-security Nigeria was the best African country, the 46th worldwide. Finally, Mauritius has been the African country with the best e-government. In that segment, it was ranked 53rd out of 110 countries worldwide.
Muriel Edjo