In just six years, his fintech startup has gone from three employees to close to a hundred. It also won several awards and recognitions.
Idriss Marcial Monthe (photo) is a Cameroonian entrepreneur and co-founder of fintech startup CinetPay. The startup based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, allows companies and institutions operating in Francophone Africa to collect payments via mobile money, bank cards, and related financial solutions.
According to Martial, CinetPay is a convenient solution to the challenges faced by digital entrepreneurs when it comes to collecting payments. As he explains, online bank payment solutions are the most popular means but, they are not suited to the African market. Meanwhile, it was hard to integrate mobile money, which is possibly the most used payment means on the continent.
Currently, the platform plans to cover all of the 15 Francophone African countries by 2025. For that purpose, in December 2021, Martial announced a US$2.4 million seed funding secured from 4DX Ventures and Flutterwave. Gone are the days when the payment aggregator had to support its expansion plans with funds won during competitions and programs. According to the co-founder, in its onset, in 2016, CinetPay was supported by a US$5,000 grant from the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Program. In 2017, it also won US$2,000 during the Euromena Awards organized in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Thanks to the funds raised in December 2021, the fintech startup will expand its presence and become the leading payment aggregator in Francophone Africa. Its growth is to some extent due to the decade of professional experience garnered by Marcial in the African tech industry. In 2005, the same year when he graduated from ENSIT Côte d’Ivoire with a computer science engineering degree, he joined the e-commerce startup Cimarket, which went bankrupt in 2007. In 2009, he co-founded the e-services platform Cinetcore. Between 2015 and 2020, he was the manager of IT solutions company SOCITECH’s Veritas and Oracle business unit. Since September 2005, he is the manager of the Linux and freeware department of AI3L, an Ivorian non-profit association that trains young people in mobile technologies.
Melchior Koba
This year, DR Congo has accelerated the modernization of its public administration. This project wants to improve transparency and management in state firms.
DR Congo recently unveiled its plan for the digitization of 29 state firms. The plan was presented by State Minister Adele Kayinda during the ministerial council held last Friday (June 24). According to the government official, the digitalization project aims to ensure the traceability of the selected firms’ operations and facilitate transparency.
The project will be funded thanks to private capital already negotiated, we learn. It will be implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. For Digital Minister Désiré Cashmir Eberande Kolongele, in the framework of the digitalization project, a shared services platform will be acquired, local tech teams trained and the capacities of firms’ staff built.
“The digitalization of state firms will not only improve management and performance for transparent profitability but, it will also reduce physical records by digitizing hard copies,” the government estimates.
The plan unveiled last Friday is the result of an instruction given by President Félix Tshisekedi during the March 18, 2022, Ministerial council. During the council, he pointed out the importance of digitalization and tasked Adele Kayinda to make sure every firm concerned urgently elaborates its digitalization roadmap. The project is in line with the state firms’ modernization program presented by the government in 2019.
Ruben Tchounyabe
In Nigeria, a new trend is developing with the booming e-commerce market. That trend in social commerce encourages social interactions and good bargains.
Fintech platform PocketApp recently secured an Approval in Principle (AIP) from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to become a mobile money operator. The approval was announced, Monday (June 27), by Piggytech Global Limited. It is the first step before the obtention of a mobile money license.
“For the last 18 months, we have been focused on building the core infrastructure that will enable us to secure social commerce and payments at scale. We believe that social commerce will thrive better in a more trusted environment. So we added escrow to our payment infrastructure, protecting buyers and sellers and many other features, ensuring a smooth shopping experience on the app,” said PocketApp COO Patricia Adoga.
PocketApp was launched, in 2021, as Abeg App. It was then specialized in money transfer but, over the months, it shifted to connect buyers and sellers in Nigeria. To date, it has two million users. It intends to add new features and target the whole African market.
Thanks to the mobile money license, PocketApp will be able to create and manage mobile money portfolios, issue electronic money, and payment cards as well as every other service authorized by the CBN.
According to Research&Markets, Nigeria’s social commerce industry would grow by 82.4% annually to reach US$1,003.8 million by end 2022 and US$23,817.4 million by 2028.
Muriel Edjo
Digitalization is gradually taking on every aspect of human life in Africa. It helps address several issues and helps reduce the time necessary to complete processes that would take days, months, or years. In Togo, a proptech wants to do the same in the real estate industry.
Togo Home is a digital platform launched by the Togolese eponymous startup in January 2022 by Edmond Joseph Messan (photo). It allows users to easily find real estate properties meeting their desired characteristics.
“With digitalization taking on every aspect of human life, we estimate that it would be useful to develop a platform allowing every trained real estate agent licensed by the state to submit updated offers. That way, our compatriot will only have to input the characteristics of the property they need, check the available properties and their prices, discuss the terms then visit the chosen property before concluding the deal,” Edmond says.
The platform has a mobile app, available on AppStore and PlayStore. It lists all the real estate properties available for sale or rent with all the information needed. Users can filter those properties depending on what they intend to do (rent or buy), where they want it, and the type of property they need. Once a user clicks on a listed property, more pictures are shown with a phone number to contact to proceed further.
Let’s note that to access all of Togo Home’s features, users need to register by filling in the required information (name, email address, and phone number). The platform claims to be the leading real estate search engine (note: Google de l’immobilier in French). To be the first actor informed of any real estate property available in the country, it signed a partnership agreement with the Togolese association of real estate agents.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
To help prepare Africa for the ongoing technological revolution, Orange initiated a set of actions in the markets where it operates. The Women’s Digital Center is part of those actions.
Orange Solidarity Madagascar inaugurated, Wednesday (June 22), Madagascar's 41st Women’s Digital center. The infrastructure, located in Fort Dauphin in the Southeast region, was built in partnership with the regional directorate of the Ministry of Social Protection, the Manarina association, the 8th March Committee, UNESCO, the Association of Women Journalists, and the Anosy regional tax department. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Frédéric Debord, CEO of Orange Madagascar, and Benja Arson, President of Orange Solidarity Madagascar.
Women’s Digital centers are installed in every region of Madagascar. They give long-term training to unemployed and unqualified women, teaching them digital skills, like how to use the internet and some professional software. In the framework of the Women’s Digital center program, more than 9,000 Malagasy women have been trained since 2013.
In addition to the Women’s Digital Center, the same day, the country’s 173rd digital school was inaugurated. The infrastructure is also based in Fort Dauphin and, it is the fourth being inaugurated in that region. It is hosted at EPP Bazar Centre and will accommodate up to 400 learners every year. For its operations, it received digital kits from Orange Madagascar, and teachers were trained by the telecom operator’s paid volunteers.
Through these actions, Orange is committed to helping Africa play its part in the ongoing global tech revolution. The Covid-19 pandemic prompted most African countries to accelerate digital transformation. Notable actions were taken to namely support digital inclusion, improve the digital divide and promote equality in digital education. To accelerate digital literacy, startup accelerators and tech innovation awards were also created.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
During his post-graduate studies in France, he witnessed the success of the ridesharing platform Blablacar and how it helped improve users’ traveling conditions. He later decided to replicate the success in Africa, while taking into account local realities.
Raynald Ballo (photo) is the founder and CEO of Raynis, a startup based in Abomey-Calavi, Benin. The startup specializes in the development of web solutions and supports clients in their digital transformation. Its founder made a name for himself in the African tech industry in 2021, with the launch of RMobility, a mobility platform.
RMobility is a ridesharing app that connects drivers who wish to share their empty seats with passengers who want to travel securely and cheaply. Currently, it claims over 10,000 ridesharers in Benin and Togo.
“... RMobility is first and foremost one of the modern solutions born from the digital revolution in Africa. [...] it helps save money, meet new people and maintain the social bond between members of RCommunauté [note: RMobility users] who are mostly young people,” Raynald Ballo explains. The tech entrepreneur adds that the solution helps the youth contribute to the reduction of green gas emissions.
The success of RMobility demonstrates users’ need for affordable mobility solutions. In that light, Raynald replicated the concept in the parcel delivery segment with RColis, a platform that allows the delivery of the RCommunauté’s parcels. RDigital was also created to develop web and mobile solutions to support clients’ projects.
Raynald's involvement in the mobility segment is the result of years of professional experience in that segment. He was a parking studies manager for the Urban Forum initiated by Sciences Po Bordeaux, France. He later worked as a researcher for ITEC Etudes, a consulting firm specializing in transportation and traffic surveys. He was also a mobility and transport project manager for travel agency Prêt à Partir and a parking study engineer for SARECO, a transport and mobility research company. Currently, he is a Ph.D. student in geography and planning in Nantes, France.
Melchior Koba
After trying times in the development of his first project, the young entrepreneur came to the limelight in 2016. Since then, he has rolled out several innovative solutions and won many awards.
The name Arthur Zang came to the limelight in the Cameroonian health sector in 2016 when he launched the production of Cardiopad, a connected electrocardiogram. The electrocardiogram is constituted of tablets and electrodes.
The tablets have many apps, including the electrocardiograph, which allows a complete cardiac examination. They also have the electrocardioscope that help record patients' cardiac activity and analyze them in real-time. The tablets also have a telecardiology app through which the various cardiac data recorded can be transferred to specialists for analysis.
Arthur Zang started working on a prototype in 2009. For the tech entrepreneur who grew up in Mbankomo, a small town located 20 kilometers from Yaoundé, the aim with Cardiopad was to find a solution to the low number of heart specialists in Africa.
To successfully carry out his project, in 2015, he was awarded US$45,000 (by Cameroonian President Paul Biya). He complemented the financial resources with the equipment received after winning the Microsoft Imagination Competition.
In 2021, Cardiopad was already used by 267 public health institutions in Cameroon. Some private hospitals have also adopted the solution. The tool is also used outside the national borders, in Gabon notably. Thanks to Cardiopad, the former chief computer engineer of the Catholic University of Central Africa (2013 to 2014) has won several awards such as the Rolex Foundation Prize in 2014, and the gold medal of the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation in 2016.
During the Covid-19 crisis, the tech entrepreneur distinguished himself again with a new tool, the Oxynnet, a medical oxygen generator capable of producing 95% pure oxygen from ambient air. The generator, which can be controlled remotely, is connected to the electricity network or the solar panel used by hospitals. It allows them to produce 60 liters of medical oxygen every minute and supply at least 10 patients simultaneously.
Melchior Koba
The informal sector is an important segment of the African economy. Yet, actors are most of the time left to fend for themselves for various reasons. In Angola, an entrepreneur has decided to digitize the sector with a virtual marketplace.
Roque Online is a digital platform developed by Angolan eponymous startup founded in 2018 by Geraldine Geraldo. It is a virtual marketplace allowing traders to take their businesses to the next level. Its name is inspired by Roque Santeiro, a famous Angolan market active between 1991 and 2011.
“Our focus is to help anyone compete effectively in modern society. Whether you’re an informal market vendor, small business owner, or a large distributor, you can download our mobile application and start registering your inventory so we can start monetizing it on our website or through our partners’ e-commerce channels,” the startup explains on its platform.
The digital platform has a mobile app available on PlayStore and AppStore. To assess its services, users must first create an account and put up goods and services for sale. To boost the user base, the startup invites market women to offer their goods and services online. That way, it helps create additional income for the women, who were not aware of the existence of an online market where they could reach more clients.
Roque Online has become a reference marketplace to buy almost anything and get them delivered. From food products to services, customers can access anything they want from informal traders. This allows small family businesses to expand their consumer base and adapt to the changing business environment. In 2019, the startup won the first prize at Seedstars Luanda.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Nigeria is currently working on a program to train 1 million developers in the coming 18 months, Communications Minister Isa Ali Pantami (photo) announces.
The government official made the revelation during a virtual event on the “Role of Software Testing in Nigeria’s Digital Economy.” He stressed the need to license more software developers given the increasingly major role being played by software in all aspects of human life. He also pointed at the need for a secure system to make sure the market is not ridden with vulnerable software.
“We want to see how we can license some of you to provide these services, that means if I develop software, I need to come to a certified tester to make sure I meet the standard quality assurance; all the basic bug-free, and the vulnerability assessment before I am able to sell that software,” he said.
The training program will be implemented by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and target both professionals and inexperienced actors. During the virtual event, Isa Ali also called digital actors to support the program.
Vanessa Ngono Atangana
Entrepreneurship is the sector that creates the most jobs in Africa. However, many project initiators still fail to make their businesses more sustainable due to several factors. The Cameroonian government is trying to correct that.
Cameroon’s SME promotion agency APME presented, Monday (June 20) two digital applications to support project initiators. The first app, Notapme, is a rating system assessing SMEs’ financial strength. As for the second, MyOBus, it is an online business plan builder.
According to Jean Marie Louis Badga, director-general of the APME, the two apps will help the agency and its decentralized units in many ways. For instance, they will help “improve the bankability of the projects initiated by the SMEs supported by the agency by providing them with training materials on business plan development and by emitting an opinion on their credit risk based on a set of measurable and factual elements.”
The two apps allow project initiators to simulate in real-time business creation or development models and have remote assistance. They will also allow users (SMEs notably) to always assess their credibility, and improve the indicators usually taken into account by financial institutions during the credit awarding process.
Notapme and MyOBus were developed in the framework of the APME’s strategic positioning to reinforce its support mechanism. They also broaden the range of non-financial services offered by the public agency.
For Jean Marie Louis Badga, the two apps will let banks and investment firms have more information on loan requesters’ credibility and financial health. The apps will also help those financial institutions improve their risk management while diversifying their offers.
At the same time, Notapme and MyOBus will improve development partners' and backers’ intervention strategies by reinforcing their operational capabilities and increasing the orders they place with local SMEs, therefore increasing the latter’s capacity to go international.
"The two digital platforms are now part of our entrepreneurial ecosystem and open better opportunities for Cameroonian SMEs," said Achille Bassilekin III (photo, center), Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Social Economy, and Handicrafts.
Ruben Tchounyabe
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Ushanga is an initiative supported by the Office of the Vice President, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, the various county governments, and the Ministry of Public Service, and Gender among others.
Ushanga is a digital platform set up by the Ushanga Initiative and supported by the Kenyan government. It aims to help women in West Pokot, Samburu, Narok, Kajiado, Marsabit, Baringo, and Turkana sell their beaded accessories online.
Speaking during the launch of the platform, the Sports, Heritage and Culture Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed explained that the platform would expose the women’s “beautiful work” to the world, which will then respect their “intellectual capacity.”
In Kenya, every pastoralist community has its special way to make beautiful accessories. With the platform, they can present such diverse offerings to potential customers in the local market and also to international buyers. Earrings, bracelets, chest plates, rings, and belts are some of the items that will be available on the platform.
According to Hellen Nkaissery, chairperson of the Ushanga Initiative, “as pastoralists’ women, the women who are low in the radar, now they are being lifted up through the support of our government, through the program of Ushanga Kenya Initiative, and we are being put in a platform where other parts of the country have also been supported.”
In the framework of the Ushanga Initiative, the Kenyan government has decided to invest US$4 million to impact the lives of 5,000 women. Those women will be endowed with professional skills, leading to the creation of 60 cooperatives.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
He plans to become the banker of the African unbanked population. To achieve his ambition, his idea is to combine mobile money services, which are popular on the continent, with international financial tools.
Roger Nengwe Ntafam (photo) is a Cameroonian artificial intelligence engineer and the co-founder of fintech PaySika. The startup he co-founded in February 2020, with Stezen Bisselou facilitates money transfers through a mobile app that can be loaded with mobile money. It also allows users to manage their money in real-time from Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Telegram and offers requesters free virtual cards for international or online transactions.
The entrepreneur explains that he got the inspiration for this payment solution from the tribulations his father, a shop owner, used to go through for stocktaking, accounting, and petty cash management. The main thing that pushed him to create the solution was the challenge he faced while trying to pay his tuition fees during his engineering studies at Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse, France. At the time, he did not have a bank account, and paying those tuition fees was a real challenge for him.
The startup claims over 20,000 users were registered on its waitlist during the pre-launch phase. In October 2021, it raised US$300,000 from British, French, and Nigerian investors to launch activities (in the first quarter of 2022). Its current target markets are Cameroon and Gabon.
Roger's professional and entrepreneurial journey began after a brief stint in the oil industry, working as an assistant operator for Exxon Mobile.
Before starting the PaySika adventure, Roger Nengwe Ntafam sharpened his entrepreneurial skills with MyMoney, which he co-founded in 2019. The startup created a chatbot that allows users to easily manage their finances.
But even before that venture, he developed many skills, in financial technology notably, with several research centers such as the North-East Midi-Pyrénées Multidisciplinary Research Laboratory (LRPmip) and the Artificial Intelligence Center in Prague, Czech Republic.
He also participated in various entrepreneurial support and tech innovation programs such as the first cohort of French Tech Tremplin, a high-impact entrepreneurial coaching program, in 2019. In March 2022, he joined the Founder Institute's Entrepreneur in Residence program.
Melchior Koba
The tech and insurance entrepreneur has over fifteen years of professional experience in Europe and Africa. In 2018, he invested in two growth sectors: fintech and telecom namely.
Souleymane Gning (photo) is a Senegalese entrepreneur and telecom engineer. In 2018, he founded Assuraf, an insurance broker.
The aim of “Assuraf is to use online and offline communication medium to simply show Africans the inner working of the insurance sector to get them more exposed to the sector, understand its critical role and the coverage it offers,” Souleymane explains.
The insurance entrepreneur was able to successfully implement his project thanks first to his telecom engineering master’s obtained at the University of Poitiers, France, in 2003 and his over fifteen years of professional experience. He developed his professional skills in various companies, including SFR in France and Sonatel in Senegal, where he held his first management position from 2003 to 2006. He later became Cisco System’s Public Sector Manager for West and Central Africa and then Business Consultant Sicap SA (Swisscom). He also worked at Upstream, Persado, Sandvine and was a senior education advisor for EM Normandie Business School.
In 2018, the same year when he founded Assuraf, he founded eConnect, a telecom, media, and tech firm. The tech firm provides commercial tech solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Melchior Koba
In the past, the processing of census data collected was strenuous and long. With digitalization, the country will improve processing time as well as the accuracy of the data collected.
Mali launched, Wednesday (June 15), its fifth population census. Dubbed RGPH5, this census will be the first to go all-digital in the country. Data will be collected and processed on tablet computers.
According to Dr. Arouna Sougané, director-general of the national institute for statistics (INSTAT), digitalization will improve the quality of the data collected and processing time. Indeed, initial results are expected for the fourth quarter of this year. He explains that the census aims to elaborate a database detailing the population size, its structure, and geographical distribution. The database will improve the efficiency of development actions as well as give an idea of the progress recorded in the implementation of development programs.
To organize the RGPH5, Mali raised XOF25 billion (US$40.2 million) thanks to support from the World Bank and other partners. It also deployed 26,327 census officials, 4,504 team supervisors, and 866 tech supports.
Per the provisions of the United Nations Statistical Commission, a population census should be carried out every ten years or so. Mali’s first population census was carried out in 1976, the second one was in 1987, and the last two were in 1998 and 2009.
Ruben Tchounyabé