The deal comes a few days after Benin officially introduced biometric ID cards, canceling the issuance of old cards.
Trade facilitation solution provider Webb Fontaine announced Monday (July 25), a deal with Beninese authorities to implement its Customs Webb solution. The new artificial intelligence-based solution will replace ASYCUDA World, the old IT system used by Benin customs.
The deal is the result of a partnership binding Benin and Webb Fontaine since 2018. According to Alain Hinkati, Director General of Benin Customs, “Customs Webb, Webb Fontaine’s Customs system, based on artificial intelligence, was chosen by Benin to continue the modernization of customs and optimize the trade environment.”
“Webb Fontaine’s ability to provide cutting-edge technology and digital solutions is a guarantee of success. With this new system, the objective of the public authorities to make Benin an exemplary platform in the simplification and transparency of Customs clearance procedures has taken a major step forward,” he added.
The deal to implement Customs Webb follows a decision issued by the Ministerial council on July 6, 2022. It is in line with the government’s ambition to make Benin a model country whose customs clearance procedure is clear and simple.
Customs Webb's main objective will be to interconnect all the main commercial platforms such as the single window, the community port system, and the electronic goods tracking solution.
In January 2018, Webb Fontaine launched the Single Window for Foreign Trade (GUCE), a platform through which pre-clearance and trade inspection documents can be requested.
With Customs Webb, Benin is taking another step toward the digital transformation of its public and private sector. A few days ago, the country officially introduced biometric identity cards, canceling the issuance of the old non-biometric card.
Samira Njoya
Instant messaging apps have demonstrated their worth over the past few years. However, the majority of the well-known apps are developed by Western actors. With Masolo, DR Congo can become one of the global countries with a major instant messaging app.
Masolo is an instant messenger app developed by Congolese startup Etidlabs. It allows users to send instant messages and media or make video/audio calls. In Lingala -one of the four most spoken languages in DR Congo, Masolo means “conversations.” It is some sort of pledge from the Congolese startup to facilitate and secure online chats.
The messenger app was initially developed for students at the University of Kinshasa. It aimed to democratize instant messaging within the university, which had no reliable internet connection. But, Etidlabs quickly realized that Masolo could be a great business in a country with more than 100 million inhabitants.
Apart from the features usually found with most of its competitors, the Congolese app has new acclaimed features and wants to add others. “We want to make Masolo an integrated platform that can offer several features (banking, e-commerce, gaming, news) and facilitate Congolese living conditions. We have added some Congolese and African touch to our stickers,” indicates Michel Matalatala, one of Etidlabs’ five co-founders.
The messaging app is available for Android and iOS devices. It has a security feature that prevents recipients from forwarding messages or taking screenshots of conversations. That feature, which is absent from the other instant messaging apps (except Snapchat maybe), demonstrates the Congolese startup’s commitment to offering new services and added security to its users.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
In Africa, the coronavirus pandemic demonstrated the need for e-learning initiatives. However, some constraints still affect the development of those initiatives. One of those constraints is teachers’ low ICT adoption. It is, therefore, crucial to train them on how to use IT tools to share their knowledge.
The Francophone University Agency (AUF), on Monday, July 25, kicked off a training session to train teachers in e-learning course designing and scripting. The training session is launched in the framework of Africa Digital Campus, which aims to boost distance learning.
For Ouidad Tebbaa, Regional Director of the Francophone Universities Association (AUF) in West Africa, “the AUF aims to train teachers who will constitute a skill pool to be used by the universities of Burkina Faso and Benin.”
“The project wants to boost the e-learning offer. It will provide the universities with adequate infrastructure and build teachers’ capacities in the e-learning field,” she added.
For two weeks, 69 teachers from Burkinabe public and private universities will be trained in course scripting and designing. They will become bridges assisting other teachers who are yet to grasp the importance of ICT in education.
“Digitilizing education requires paradigm shifts. We need to review pedagogical approaches and consider digitalization not as a constraint but as an opportunity,” explained Jean Marie Dipama, president of the Virtual University of Burkina Faso (UV-BF).
Throughout 2022, Africa digital campus will organize similar training sessions in other countries. The 2-year program is funded by the European Union to the tune of €2.8 million. It focuses on four key areas, notably developing e-learning, modernizing infrastructure and equipment to allow students and teachers to easily access learning platforms, knowledge sharing as well as awareness-raising to convince decision-makers to support the development of connectivity solutions.
Thanks to the training sessions organized by the AUF, 121 courses (for seven training programs) will be accessible on the UV-BF’s platform.
Samira Njoya
In Africa, the digital ticketing system is nascent. However, Morrocan startup Guichet wants to develop it further and conquer the whole of Africa.
Moroccan digital ticketing platform "Guichet" announced, Friday (July 22), the official launch of its Senegalese subsidiary. The new subsidiary, based in Dakar, is the result of a strategic partnership with a Senegalese operator.
For Guichet founder and CEO Ahmed Tawfik Moulnakhla, Senegal is a strategic market. "Morocco and Senegal are sister countries, whose exemplary relations embody an ambitious and inspiring model of South-South cooperation. By setting up [its subsidiary] in Dakar, Guichet wants to contribute to the exceptional dynamism of Senegal’s culture and entertainment industries by providing the public with smart ticketing solutions developed in Morocco,” he said.
Guichet, which has been operating in the Moroccan market for three years now, just passed the mark of one million tickets sold online. This is an unprecedented performance in the Moroccan entertainment industry. The ticketing platform wants to replicate this performance in the Senegalese market, which is its first step out of its native country, Morocco.
The Senegalese subsidiary is a test for Ahmed Tawfik Moulnakhla who wants to conquer the whole of Africa in the coming years.
Despite a difficult start, over the years, Guichet has managed to gain the trust of the Moroccan public by offering them the possibility to buy tickets online. The platform, which has Android and iOS apps, offers the possibility to buy tickets for concerts, sporting events, festivals, etc. In Morocco, it has organized more than 2,000 events.
Samira Njoya
The Tech revolution is heating up worldwide with tech entrepreneurs developing solutions to make life easier for the population. In Africa particularly, startups are introducing new concepts.
Onloutou is a digital platform developed by an eponymous Ivorian startup specializing in property (electrical appliances notably) leasing. It allows users to rent various properties with no security deposits. The startup founded in 2019 operates in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Gabon.
Its digital platform has a mobile app, available for Android devices. Using the mobile app, users can register to rent the various properties available for lease on the platform. Those properties notably include graders, loaders, real estate properties, do-it-yourself items, household appliances, etc. It also gives the possibility to hire tilers, seamstresses, or interior designers.
To protect itself against lessees who can flee with its properties, Onloutou places geolocation devices on most of its leased properties. Thanks to those devices, it can remotely deactivate the equipment, rendering them useless for the lessees.
With Onloutou, property leasing is simple. It only requires an ID card from its clients to process leasing transactions. Currently, it claims over a thousand happy clients and some fifteen awards. In 2019, the startup took part in banking group BCP’s Open Innovation program, which is better known as Fintech Challenge. It emerged among the top six winners among 1200 applicants from several countries.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
In Africa, last-mile delivery services are gradually picking up. Although it may seem a novelty in some regions, startups active in the industry are developing solutions with hopes to attract a wider audience.
Magic is a mobile app launched, this year, by a Guinean logistics startup. It allows users to purchase products (food, drugs, etc) and get them delivered to their doorstep.
According to Abdoulaye Diallo (photo), CEO of Magic Guinea, the startup that developed the app was founded in 2017. Currently, it is operational in the capital city Conakry and its surroundings (Coyah and Dubrééka), Mamou, Labé, and Kamsar. It will soon start operations in Nzérékoré, Abdoulaye Diallo indicates.
The app is accessible for Android and iOS devices. Once registered, users can access its services like having food delivered, sending a check to a bank, sending someone to pay one’s bills, or making market and administrative errands. The app automatically sends quotes for the services chosen and once the order is validated, a courier takes care of the errand as quickly as possible.
Magic includes geolocation features that allow users to locate the nearest shops, restaurants, etc. The features also enable real-time monitoring of the order delivery process. Magic Guinea claims over a thousand downloads of its app. It also has notable Guinean companies among its subscribers and hopes to convince more people in a country where delivery services are novelties for the time being.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Morocco embarked on a digital transformation journey years ago. Thanks to the various partnerships and agreements it has already signed, the country expects to digitize all of its public services by 2025.
In Morocco, the Ministry of Justice is moving to accelerate its digital transformation. Indeed, on Friday, July 22, in Rabat, Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Digital Transformation, represented by Digital Minister Ghita Mezzour.
In the framework of that memorandum, the Ministry of Digital Transformation will offer technical assistance for the implementation of the Ministry of Justice’s digital projects. The two ministries will also share experience and collaborate on human resource development. Notably, the memorandum will oversee the interconnection of the Ministry of Justice’s digital platforms and allow the Ministry of Justice to use digital participatory platforms.
According to Abdellatif Ouahbi, the digital transformation of the Ministry of Justice is a strategic move aimed at rendering its services more accessible to users. “In the coming months, the Ministry will redesign its websites and digitize its justice services,” he said. He explained that with digitalization, the justice system will be accelerated since data can now be securely exchanged in real-time between departments.
The acceleration of the Ministry of Justice’s digital transformation is in line with the country’s digital transformation strategy (Maroc Digital 2020 and 2025) launched in 2016. The national digital transformation strategy aims to reduce the divide. Its ambition is to digitize at least 50% of administrative procedures and connect at least 20% of Moroccan SMEs to the internet by 2025.
As Minister Ghita Mezzour explains, in its new development model, Morrocco considers the digitization of public services a tool to improve economic, social, and territorial integration.
Samira Njoya
In Africa, fintech startups are gradually gaining ground, offering exclusive services to users. Thanks to its new mobile app, Studely becomes the first startup to allow students to remotely open a bank account in Paris.
Cameroonian consulting firm Studely launched Friday (July 22), its fintech app StudelyApp in Brazzaville, Congo. The app was launched during a ceremony attended by administrative authorities, entrepreneurs and students.
According to Studely co-founder and CEO Duplex Kamgang (photo, left), the mobile app complements the visa assistance services rendered by Studely.
“StudelyApp has been developed [...] to help students remotely open a bank account in Paris. It gives them the possibility to become banked while facilitating the payment of their school and housing fees. When they enter France or Germany, they just have to purchase a Mastercard for their bank transactions,” he explains.
The innovation was praised by Congolese Minister of Digital Economy Léon Juste Ibombo, who estimated that the app would enrich the Congolese ecosystem of practical solutions addressing the challenges faced by students who travel abroad. With its new service, Studely becomes the first global startup to develop a solution for the problems faced by students when they are required to pay their school ad housing fees before landing in Europe for their studies. The app is already available for Android devices. In the coming days, it will also be available for iOS users.
Studely was founded in 2015 to assist students in the visa application process for their studies in Europe, France, and Germany notably. Its assists in the obtention of proof of financial support, accommodation research, travel or home insurance, and bank account opening. The fintech is already present in fifteen countries and claims over 10,000 students assisted.
Before launching the StudelyApp in Congo, it had already launched the solution in Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Samira Njoya
He has some fifteen years of professional experience in several sectors, including the digital sector. By contributing his international expertise, he wants to support his country’s tech ecosystem.
Harinjaka Ratozamanana (photo) is a Malagasy consultant and co-founder of Hackoragna Cooperative Company, a digital cooperation platform. His platform, founded in 2020, gathers startups and VSMEs, which develop innovative tech solutions, in a bid to promote local tech talents.
According to the Hackoragna Cooperative Company’s website, the platform adopts a cooperative approach to help its members better develop their entrepreneurial projects by following a fair and ethical process. By doing so, the members help Madagascar achieve positive transformation and improve its industrial sector. “Let’s co-create a digital economy that works for the common good and our mutual benefit,” Harinjaka invites.
The latter has an extensive professional career. From 2007 to 2009, he was an observer for French media France 24 and an author for the international bloggers’ community Global Voices. In 2008, he started working as a web developer for Fanamby, an environmental non-profit organization. In 2009, he was a web and new media consultant reporting on the Gabonese election for several foreign media. Two years later, he became the senior communications officer of the humanitarian organization Akbaraly Foundation.
He later joined the tour operators’ association GOTO Madagascar as a web consultant. In 2012, he made his first entry into the tech entrepreneurship world by co-founding Habaka, a tech innovation space that he led till 2016.
In 2015, his international IT expertise was requested by the Malagasy government, which appointed him as technical advisor of the Ministry of Digital Transformation. The following year, he became a parliamentary assistant and Director General of Private Sector Development at the Ministry of Commerce the year after.
In July 2018, Harinjaka Ratozamanana was reassigned to the Ministry of Digital Transformation but, this time around, he was chief of staff and then secretary general. In September 2021, he became the associate edtech advisor for IAMTHECODE Foundation, an organization that aims to train one million women and girls in computer coding by 2030.
Melchior Koba
Waste management is a challenge in several large African cities. As municipal services and even NGOs seem to be overwhelmed by the issue, startups are stepping in to develop innovative solutions.
Coliba is a digital platform developed by Ivorian waste management startup Coliba Africa. It allows the collection and recycling of plastic waste in Ivorian cities, notably in Abidjan where the startup has some fifteen waste containers.
Coliba Africa was founded in 2017, by Yaya Koné and Genesis Ehimegbe. According to Yaya Koné, it aimed to let households know how valuable their waste is. Indeed, for every waste deposited in Coliba’s containers, households receive points and bonuses that can be exchanged for vouchers or basic food or school kits depending on the neighborhood.
“We believe that plastic bottles must be considered as raw materials and informal waste management operators should be formalized thanks to the training we offer,” co-founder Yaya explains. He adds that Coliba’s services are accessible to every social class since they can be contacted via the internet or phone calls.
To reach a wider audience, the startup developed a mobile app (available for Android and iOS devices) but, it also has telephone numbers where users can reach out via calls or just by sending SMS. By using the mobile app, households can identify the nearest collection points, ask Coliba to come to pick up waste, convert their bonuses and points to rewards and remain informed about the latest waste recycling news on the African continent.
The startup has installed waste containers at filling stations, schools, and supermarkets. In Abidjan, it claims 135 containers, 16 operational stands where informal waste managers can sell their plastic waste and 64 direct jobs created.
It plans to cover the whole of Abidjan and enter other African cities by 2023. In 2020, it received an undisclosed amount of financial support from GreenTec Capital Partners to support its growth. The plastic waste it collects is used for the production of PET flakes for manufacturers. It produces over 1800 tons of PET flakes every year with hopes to reach 15,000 tons yearly by 2025.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
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Over the past four years, Africa's startup industry has attracted significant investors. The number of innovations developed is growing with beneficial impacts on the lives of millions of people. Several tech solutions developed by African startups have gained international recognition.
African startups have developed a fantastic ecosystem, according to Arun Venkataraman, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets. Speaking during an exclusive interview, with Ecofin Agency, before the next US-Africa Leaders Summit, the official revealed his country’s admiration of the digital ecosystems developed by African countries.
“The fantastic ecosystems developed by startups in countries like Nigeria and Kenya as well as the innovations that have come out of them” meet the expectations of the creative and forward-looking African youth, who are the core of the demographic dividend, he said.
"If this dynamic is carefully backed by the right policies, it can lead to great success and greater innovation that will benefit every one of us," he emphasized
Arun Venkataraman estimates that digital technology is one of the sectors where Africa and Africans can contribute a lot to their trade relationship with the U.S. "The U.S is looking forward to the innovations and new ideas contributed by Africans. We see Africa not only as a consumption market for U.S. goods and services but also as a key provider of the goods and services the United States needs,” he told Ecofin Agency.
Over the past four years, Africa's start-up industry has indeed undergone a profound transformation. The number of innovative companies created on the continent has increased. The volume of investments they attracted has gone up as well, following a sharp uptrend. According to Partech, African startups attracted US$1.16 billion in 2018. By 2021, that volume rose to US$5.2 billion. Investors committing funds to those innovative companies include American companies such as Bezos Expeditions, Visa, PayPal, Sequoia Capital, and LeapFrog.
For Arun Venkataraman, given the dynamism of its startup ecosystem, “Africa is much more than a commodity market. Even though we have to help it develop strong value-added sectors, we admire the successful ventures noticed because they add value to the U.S., but also the global market as a whole.”
Muriel Edjo
In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic forced most African countries to accelerate their digital transformation. In that regard, they focused heavily on boosting access to the internet and digitization of public services. Meanwhile, with the development of new technologies, cybersecurity has become an ever-present issue. Hence, the Nigerien government wants to devise a strategy to protect residents against cyber threats.
Niger validated Wednesday (July 20), the first draft of its national cybersecurity strategy. The draft was validated during a workshop held at the Niamey Congress Palace.
According to Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Hassane Baraze Moussa, the national strategy will safeguard Niger’s digital transformation. Cybersecurity “ is not a privilege. It is a requirement because of cyberspace issues. […] Elaborating a national cybersecurity strategy is a key step to guarantee Niger’s digital transformation,” he explained.
“Cybersecurity is essential in almost every human activity. It has become a priority for companies, but also for governments, which must protect people and properties,” the official added.
Niger initiated the elaboration of its cybersecurity strategy in June 2018. Almost four years later, the completed and vetted strategy is in line with the country’s 2022-2026 socioeconomic development program, the ECOWAS regional cybersecurity and cybercrime strategy, and the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection. It is part of Niger’s national security strategy.
Samira Njoya
Over the past five years, there has been a steep rise in the volume of investments secured by African startups. All through those years, Nigeria has almost always been the country attracting the most startup investment. Authorities now want to enhance those startups’ capabilities with a dedicated legal framework.
The Nigerian Senate passed Wednesday (July 20), a startup bill first drafted in June 2021. With its bill passing the Senate review, the national startup ecosystem is getting closer to its goal of ensuring “that Nigeria's laws and regulations are clear, planned, and work for the tech ecosystem.” The two steps remaining are validation by the House of Representatives and the signature of the President of the Republic.
The main objectives of the bill are "to provide a legal and institutional framework for the development of startups in Nigeria and to provide an enabling environment for the establishment, development, and operation of startups in Nigeria; Foster the development and growth of technology-related talent and position Nigeria's startup ecosystem as the leading digital technology hub in Africa, having excellent innovators with cutting edge skills and exportable capacity.”
Currently, Nigerian start-ups attract the most investment in Africa. They are thriving thanks to a long battle fought by the private sector. Nowadays, analysts point to their contribution to economic growth in the current digital age, and public authorities are determined to provide a better framework for their development.
In its nascent start-up bill, Nigeria has provided several facilities that will help accelerate the maturation of startups. The facilities include a label entitling to tax incentives, financial facilities through a dedicated seed fund, and customs facilities as well as training.
Once the bill is passed, Nigeria will join the list of the few African states that have adopted specific startup regulations. These include Senegal, Tunisia, and Mali.
Muriel Edjo
The smart card will serve as an ID card, allowing access to various government services. It will be used as a payment card to settle transactions.
Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital, will start issuing smart ID cards to its residents. For that purpose, the state signed Wednesday (July 20), a partnership agreement with fintech company Verve International. The smart card is an enhanced version of the identity cards issued by the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA).
“We have upgraded the residency card from an ordinary plastic card, for identification purposes only, to a smart, multi-purpose card that combines biometric identification with other functionalities and benefits, that cuts across areas such as security, financial services, mobility, and access to government services and amenities,” explained Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
According to the governor, the smart ID card is “borne out of the need to embrace change and align with global best practices.”
Dubbed "LAG ID", the smart card is a first of its kind in the country. It will enable holders to conduct transactions anywhere and anytime, easily verify their identities and access various social amenities provided by the government. It will “ultimately help inform the government’s planning and provision of services designed to secure lives and property,” Governor Babajide adds.
The card comes with an electronic wallet that can hold funds and be used for daily transactions and support monetary authorities' cashless program.
The partnership between Verve International and Lagos State Government is in line with the fintech company’s ambition to create a digital identification system in Nigeria. Recently, the company partnered with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to develop a digitization framework for the efficient management of Nigerians’ identity.
Samira Njoyav