Technology now appears as an essential tool that can be leveraged for improved governance and growth. In line with its commitment to socio-economic development in Africa, Orange wants to support the development of innovative tech solutions.
French telecom group Orange announced Friday (May, 20), the launch of its 12th Orange Summer Challenge, a 3-month competition helping students create innovative tech solutions. Backed by Google and EY Tunisie, the competition is open for students in the eight MENA countries where Orange already has its digital centers. Those countries are namely Tunisia, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, Mali, Sierra Leone, Madagascar, and Jordan.
In the framework of the summer challenge, students who have projects aimed at leveraging technology for the greater good will receive training and mentorship from local and international coaches. The experts teaching and mentoring them will notably come from Orange Coding Academy (for the software component of the competition) and the FabLab Solidaire (for the hardware component).
They will also receive technical support, notably in project design (business modeling, business plan writing, etc…), from EY Tunisie.
The three partners will also provide design thinking and soft skill courses to help mentees present their projects during the final stage of the competition in each of the participating countries. Applications for the summer challenge are open till June 15, 2022. Interested students can submit their applications here.
Ruben Tchounyabe
Currently, Anis Sahbani is an associate professor at the Sorbonne University Pierre and Marie Curie Campus. With his expertise in robotics, he is making his company, Evona Robotics, a pioneer in Africa’s robotics industry.
Anis Sahbani (photo) is a Tunisian entrepreneur, Associate-professor, and robotics specialist. In 2014, he founded Enova Robotics, a company that specializes in robot design and manufacturing.
One of the well-known robots designed by Anis Sahbani is probably PGuard, a fully automated security robot. Initially created for use on industrial sites, airports, and border zones, it is now used by the Tunisian Ministry of Interior to maintain public order. During the coronavirus health crisis, the government used it to enforce lockdown rules. In 2020, speaking on the use of robotics and artificial intelligence to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the robotics specialists explained that robots could be intermediaries protecting humans against possible contaminations.
In a bid to show PGuard’s utility outside the security segment, Sahbani is gradually introducing those robots in the social sector. He also developed Vaesense, a contactless patient monitoring robot. His startup also created MiniLab, an education robot to be used by universities and research labs in teaching robotics.
Enova Robotics is the result of several years of field experience. In 1998, after his electrical engineering degree at the National Engineering School of Tunis (ENIT), in Tunis, Anis Sahbani enrolled at the Paul Sabatier Toulouse III University, France, where he got his Ph.D. in robotics in 2003. In 2014, he became an associate professor at the Sorbonne University Pierre and Marie Curie Campus. The same year, he founded Enova Robotics, which won the pitch fest InvesTech 2021 organized by the US embassy in Jordan in partnership with SelectUSA. This award opened doors to the startup for the SelectUSA virtual summit held in June 2021.
Melchior Koba
After an extensive experience with several health institutions in England and the United States, Abasi Ene-Obong returned to Nigeria to advance the fight against cancer in Africa. His achievements are gaining increasing recognition and earning him numerous accolades.
Abasi Ene-Obong (photo) is a Nigerian doctor and founder of biotech firm 54Gene, which wants to ‘bridge the disparity gap in genomics data.’ Using translational research and advanced molecular diagnostics, the biotech launched in 2019 also helps fight cancer in Africa and around the world.
“Though the arc of conducting early research through drug approval can belong in biotech, we have taken the approach to building the backbone that is needed for short-term successes to long-term gains that provide better healthcare delivery and treatment outcomes from diseases,” Eno-Obong told Techcrunch.
A Ph.D. holder (in cancer biology from the University of London), the founder has a master's in Human Molecular Genetics (in 2009) from the Imperial College, London. Before founding 54Gene, Abasi Ene-Obong worked as a cancer researcher and published a paper on pancreatic cancer immunology in the Gastroenterology Journal. From 2014 to 2015, he was a research director and consultant for IMS Health (now known as IQVIA), a U.S.-based company offering information, services, and technology in the healthcare industry.
Months later, he became a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) senior associate and healthcare industry advisor in the U.S. In 2017, he spent months as a Lead Consultant for Nigeria's Strategic Health Development Plan. In 2019, Quartz Africa named him one of the most innovative entrepreneurs on the African continent of the year. In September 2020, months after the launch of 54Gene, Abasi Ene-Obong was named in Fortune’s 40 under 40 most influential people in healthcare. The same year, his startup, 54Gene, received the Best Healthcare Technology Solution award from AppsAfrica.
In September 2021, 54Gene raised US$25 million during a series B round led by Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund. The operation, which was the third organized by the startup since its creation, brought the overall volume of funding secured to over US$45 million. It was aimed at expanding “54gene's capabilities in sequencing, target identification and validation, and precision medicine clinical trials enabling drug discovery in Africa for both Africans and the global population,” and enabling the startup to “begin its expansion across the African continent.”
"It's truly incredible to witness the impact of African scientists in global research and it is critical to global health that this continues. We want to scale our contribution to global drug discovery by extensively developing life science capabilities on the continent and this additional capital will catalyze our endeavors," Ene-Obong said
Three months later, he created the African Center for Translational Genomics (ACTG), a genetic database managed by the Non-Communicable Diseases-Genetic Heritage Study consortium.
Melchior Koba
This year, at least two international meetings have gathered public and private actors involved in personal data protection in Africa. The issue is ever-pressing, given the weakness of several African countries in a digital era marked by increased use of the internet and information systems.
Chad, Niger, and Morocco signed, Thursday (May 12), a data protection knowledge sharing agreement. Morocco was represented by the National Control Commission for the Protection of Personal Data (CNDP) while Chad was represented by the ANSICE and Niger by the HAPD.
Under the agreement signed on the sidelines of the Network of African Data Protection Authorities (NADPA/RAPDP)’s general assembly, CNDP will share its experience with the other two parties.
For ANSICE director-general Abdel-Nassir Mahamat Nassour, the agreement was signed because of the urgent need to find means and solutions to protect citizens’ data and meet their various demands. The same view was shared by Sanady Tchimaden Hadatan (photo), president of Niger’s HAPDP.
With the acceleration of digital transformation in Africa, residents are called to be connected to the internet and information systems more often. They, therefore, generate an increasing amount of personal data, which is prized by governments and companies. It is now urgent to protect that data since they are a valuable commodity in the digital era. If not, the data can be subjected to abusive exploitation by national and international parties.
Muriel Edjo
Over the past seven years, Victor Mapunga has been involved in several digital projects. Since 2018, he has been promoting the use of digital identities through FlexID Technologies.
Victor Mapunga (photo) is a Zimbabwean serial entrepreneur, software developer, and CEO of FlexID Technologies, a blockchain startup promoting the use of digital technologies. Through FlexID, the young tech entrepreneur has already served several clients in Africa and Asia. For instance, last year, he provided digital identities to 50,000 patients in Zimbabwe in the framework of a program initiated by healthtech Ubuntu Clinics to improve care and follow-up for its users.
For Mapunga, “harnessing the power of technology in the healthcare sector is paramount in driving cost down and most importantly improving patient outcomes.”
The serial entrepreneur has an extensive and diversified entrepreneurship career. In 2014, he founded GreyMarge Investments to invest in technology, finance, healthcare, logistics, and infrastructure. Months later, he launched an edtech, iLearnfb. In May 2017, he co-founded JustBuy ZW, a mobile app allowing users to post classified ads.
With multiple certifications in technology entrepreneurship earned in the U.S. and the U.K., the Zimbabwean entrepreneur is determined to use digital technologies to foster economic and social development in Africa.
That drive earned him a spot in the World Economic Forum's 2021 cohort of technology pioneers and opened for him doors to international meetings such as the Blockchain Africa Conference where he was invited to speak last year. He will participate again in 2023.
Melchior Koba
Most of the reports focused on Africa’s development stress the fact that entrepreneurship can address unemployment and wealth-creation problems. However, there are funding problems. To address those problems, investors, venture capitalists, business angels, and alike are stepping in with ever-innovative financing offers.
London-based venture capitalist Mustard recently launched a £4 million (US$5 million) investment vehicle to support African startups with “globalizable” ideas. Through its investment vehicle, Mustard plans to be both an investor and builder that will develop African idea-stage ventures that are likely to appeal to a global audience.
According to Mustard, African startups have the potential to influence the global scene, therefore imprinting a positive image of the continent. Therefore, it will invest both capital and technical expertise (engineering, design, and storytelling) even before the beneficiary projects and ventures are incorporated.
For the former Tony Elumelu Foundation CEO and Venture Capital advisor for the current project, “Mustard’s approach will [...] bring stories from Africa and other cultures to the world [...] through the meaningful brand narratives it builds for tech ventures.”
“Africa has many stories to tell, and over the last twenty years the story of its resilient youth seen through the growth of tech startups has been one of its most significant,” she added.
Meanwhile, Seni Sulyman, founder of Black Ops (a community of African Venture builders and operators), believes that “right from the first time [...] Mustard’s thesis and idea-stage investment approach [..] was really powerful.”
“I am keen to see what comes next from the Mustard team because I want to see African brands go global, which will not only mean massive changes for the continent but also for its place in the world,” he commented.
Ruben Tchounyabe
With #Kwaba, users can save or receive instant loans for real estate projects. They can also conveniently pay their rent or when they are unable to pay security deposits, they can receive up to 40% of their rent savings and pay in monthly installments.
Internet is an important tool for socio-economic development in Africa, but the majority of the population still has no access to it mostly because they are far from enabling infrastructures. To address that challenge, operators are turning to satellite internet.
In Senegal, Orange subsidiary Sonatel will improve its broadband coverage through its Gandoul-based ground station. On Tuesday, May 17, on the sidelines of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day and the fiftieth anniversary of the ground station, the operator reactivated the satellite internet infrastructure.
With Gandoul ground station, Sonatel wants to allow internet access for a larger population, notably those located in rural areas far from fiber-optic infrastructures and telecom towers. The service will be provided through “O3b mPOWER,” an advanced communication satellite system currently consisting of eleven satellites, intelligent software, and innovative ground infrastructures. In February 2022, it signed a service agreement with “O3b mPOWER” owner, Société Européenne des Satellites (SES).
"The multi-terabit capacity of O3b mPOWER satellite constellation and its automated ground infrastructure can generate thousands of dynamic beams to deliver unprecedented multi-gigabit per second and low-latency connectivity services to clients in Africa,” Sonatel says.
This will facilitate access to public and private online services for millions of Senegalese. In the long run, Sonatel may even extend its offers to other West African countries.
Gandoul ground station was inaugurated on April 5, 1972, by former president Léopold Sédar Senghor. It was first renovated in 1991, then in 2003 before welcoming Africa’s first intercontinental satellite antenna in 2020. In 1978, the ground station empowered most of Senegal’s international communications, making the country the first to transmit satellite communications in Africa. In 1981, it contributed to the successful launch of NASA’s space program Columbia.
Muriel Edjo
In January 2022, Twiga Foods launched a diversification strategy by adding a range of products to its offering. With Twiga Fresh, it pushes the commitment up a notch to offer quality and affordable food products to Kenyans.
Kenyan agritech Twiga Foods recently launched Twiga Fresh, its subsidiary dedicated to commercial farming. According to Twiga Foods CEO Peter Njojo, the startup invested US$10 million with the support of development funds. The commercial farming subsidiary is already producing watermelons, onions, and tomatoes on a 650-hectare piece of land leased in Taita-Taveta, we learn. To boost its yield, Twiga Foods will use modern farming techniques.
“Twiga Fresh, in addition to our growing range of private label products, will ensure we drive growth in customer numbers and broaden the basket size by offering quality produce at a discount against prevailing market prices,” said CEO Njono.
It is in line with the diversification strategy unveiled by Twiga Foods last January by adding sugar, salt, rice, cooking oil, maize flour, etc to the list of the products it sells. In November 2021, the agritech raised US$5 million to support its East and West African expansion.
The startup, which connects farmers, sellers, and final consumers, promises to continue sourcing fresh farm products to address food inflation. By leveraging technology, it offers low prices by reducing the number of intermediaries in the supply chain. “The commodity-driven volatility in the world today is causing an unprecedented level of food inflation across the world. In Africa, we can least afford this disruption, and that is why we are excited about the imminent impact our technology-enabled supply chain will have in reducing the cost of food,” explained Peter Njonjo.
Ruben Tchounyabe
Since 2020, most African countries have been investing heavily in their digital transformation. Indeed, the coronavirus pandemic demonstrated that their socio-economic ecosystem was not resilient to major crises. Although the pandemic is gradually waning off, they are intent on enhancing their preparedness.
Mauritania's Minister of Digital Transformation Cheikh El Kebir Ould Moulaye Taher (photo), unveiled, Monday (May 16), the key projects to be launched by his Ministry in the coming days.
The projects were presented on the sidelines of a cybersecurity event. According to the government official, the projects include connecting the country to a second subsea cable system, launching a dozen new e-services, accelerating e-governance, and creating a computer emergency response team.
The investments will boost the use of digital tools, which efficiently improve public service and inclusive growth, he added. They will also raise Mauritania’s preparedness for the digital economy. Indeed, in the past ten years, the country made little to no digital progress. It did have three telecom operators and several internet service providers but its internet penetration rate is 35.8%, revealed Hootsuite and We Are Social in the Digital Report 2022.
By enhancing connectivity, e-governance, and cybersecurity, the government wants to improve residents’ access to quality internet and the development of innovative entrepreneurship. Its aim is also to enhance the efficiency of public services whose credibility depends on the security of online users.
In its latest e-government development index (EGDI), the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) ranked Mauritania 38th out of 54 African countries. In its Cyber Security Index, the ITU did not even rank the country because there were no data on its cybersecurity performance.
Muriel Edjo
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The seed round raises the volume of funds already raised by Topship this year to US$3 million. With the funds, it intends to upgrade its infrastructure to “make the shipping experience in Africa as easy and stress-free as booking an Uber ride.”
Nigeran startup Topship announced, Monday (May 16), the successful completion of a US$2.5 million seed round to expand its international presence. According to the Tweet announcing the event, the round was led by “Flexport, Ycombinator, Soma Capital, Starling Ventures, Olive Tree Capital, True Capital, Capital X and some amazing angel investors including Immad Akhund (Founder and CEO of Mercury) and Arash Ferdowsi (Co-Founder of Dropbox).”
“With this capital, we plan to invest in strategic partnerships and product innovation tailored to solve a myriad of shipping problems we’ve identified through daily interactions with our merchants,” the startup wrote.
For Topship CEO Moses Enenwali, the startup currently allows 1,500 merchants to send cargoes and parcels to over 150 countries. Following requests from merchants in Ghana, Tanzania, and Kenya, the startup plans to launch operations in those markets.
The coronavirus-spurred e-commerce boom trickled down on the freight market. Although there are actors already offering a mix of air and ocean freight services, Topship wants to focus mainly on the air freight in Africa because the continent is “not yet ready” for heavy cargo freight activities.
“... We don’t have enough ports on the continent. For example, in Nigeria, we have one functioning port, and for ocean freight to work, we need ports, railways, and roads for trucking. But we don’t have the roads, and we don’t have the railways. [...] It’s difficult to connect the continent with ocean freight. [...] So what we’ve seen is the way to connect the continent is via air [since] every country and major city on the continent has a functioning airport, and airlines are flying to all those airports daily,” Enenwali said.
Ruben Tchounyabe
At the end of his University studies, Perseus Mlambo wanted to pursue a legal career but his entrepreneurial drive took the lead, taking him to the African fintech segment. With Union54, he intends to shorten settlement time and decentralize payment card issuance.
Zambian tech entrepreneur Perseus Mlambo (photo) is the co-founder of Union54, a fintech startup decentralizing the issuance of virtual and physical payment cards. Thanks to its API, the startup allows firms to issue branded payment cards without third-party processors or banks.
He launched Union54 in 2021, with Alessandra Martini, to help SMEs easily offer added-value services (loyalty, discount, or credit cards) to their clients. He wants to save them from the painstaking processes he went through to issue debit cards for Zazu, the startup he founded in 2015 to help clients better manage their income.
Perseus is an LLB graduate from Nottingham Law School. He is also a former Ethics Office Support Staff at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He estimates that it is important to create an alternative debit card issuing network to reduce Africa’s dependence on foreign solutions. With the foreign solutions currently used, Africa can be affected by political decisions and sanctions, he believes.
In April 2022, his startup raised US$12 million in a seed extension round led by Tiger Global. Participating investors included Vibe VC, Earl Grey Capital, and Packy McCormick’s Not Boring Capital. With the proceeds, Union54 will expand its coverage. Currently, the startup claims more than 500,000 virtual cards issued and hours saved for its users.
Melchior Koba
Technology appears like an important tool to solve some of the most pressing challenges in Africa and many entrepreneurs want to capitalize on it.
GoodTalent is a Nigerian startup that allows users to crowdsource, screen, and onboard talents.
Thanks to its cloud-based social platform, the startup founded in 2020 by Jimmy Braimah (photo) helps “reduce cost and time-to-hire” by being a talent pool and instant messaging platform that recommends talents based on their skills. It also offers the possibility to ask the social community for referrals.
The startup wants to change the way companies select, hire and pay talented engineers. “...We are building a company that will be at the forefront of hiring engineers within 1-2 years. We are giving companies a choice to be flexible in their hiring strategy. We all know how startups are losing the “war for engineering talents”, as a result, we are providing the right tools to make it easier for startups with smaller budgets to compete effectively against the larger companies,” explains Jimmy Braimah.
Currently, the services offered by GoodTalent are accessible only through its web platform. Talents register on the platform by providing a set of information including their last name, first name, and email address. They then become visible to partner companies and recruiters that have subscribed to the services. Depending on their subscription type (pricing starts at US$100), recruiters and companies can publish job offers and recruit a fixed number of talents.
Since its creation, the startup has completed several funding rounds totaling US$50,000. In February 2022, it was awarded the Hackernoon Community Startup of the Year 2021 award.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The coronavirus pandemic boosted the African delivery segment. Unfortunately, some operators are unable to access operational loans. A Zimbabwean startup wants to offer an alternative solution.
Thumeza is a Zimbabwean startup that allows small-scale transporters access to short-term operational loans. Founded in 2018 by Gugulethu Siso (photo), the startup describes itself as an “empathetic alternative financing solutions” provider.
“Access to credit is a lifeline for growth which unfortunately over 70% of small scale transporters active in Africa’s 300 Billion US dollar logistics industry do not have. This is either due to a lack of collateral or credible operational data. This means that as a small scale transporter, options for quick access to assistance are extremely limited should you get a post-paid trip, have a breakdown in transit, need to pay for insurance, or simply need to service your vehicle and meet other day-to-day operational needs,” it explains on its website.
To access Thumeza’s services, users need to register on its web platform (currently, there is no mobile platform) by filling out a Google form. Based on the information collected, Thumeza estimates the volume of credit that can be granted to each user.
In 2021, the startup was named one of 10 finalists in Telecel Group's US$750,000 Africa Startup Initiative (ASIP) program and Startupbootcamp Afritech accelerator. In 2022, the startup expanded its services to Zambia and Kenya with plans to launch operations in South Africa in the coming months.
Adoni Conrad Quenum