Egyptian healthcare startup O7 Therapy recently raised US$2.1 million in a seed round, according to a release issued Monday (April 4). With the proceeds, the startup plans to support mental health and expand in the MENA while developing new features and innovative products.
O7 Therapy is an online platform and network of hand-picked Arabic-speaking psychiatrists and psychotherapists. It is also a referral network of specialized clinics and hospitals that take care of people with mental health issues in the MENA region. The platform provides online psychotherapy in a friendly environment using reliable encryption and data storage protocols. In doing so, O7 Therapy revolutionized online health support and provides collaborative mental health services to Arabic-speaking people around the world.
It was founded in 2019 by Egyptian serial entrepreneur Ashraf Bacheet (photo) in partnership with assistant professor of psychiatry Dr. Ashraf Adel and software entrepreneur Nader Iskander. Ashraf Bacheet studied at various institutions such as the German School of Cairo, Cairo University, the University of Maryland, and the UK Chartered Institute of Marketing.
“Our Investment in mental wellbeing improves the lives of individuals in all areas of life; their student life, work, homes, family, friends, and even physical health. This in turn improves the performance of entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporate and government employees, positively affecting countries economically, ” says Nader Iskander.
According to an official release, their “Employee Wellness Programs for organizations are provided through a unique B2B2E model, prioritizing the impact of mental health challenges in the workplace, focusing on raising awareness and understanding, creating safe and supportive spaces, and implementing strategies that promote mental wellbeing.”
With several degrees and certificates in pharmaceutical sciences, tech entrepreneurship, and marketing and communication, Ashraf Bacheet runs a family business operating in the pharmaceutical industry. He also offers consultancy and mentorship services to startups.
In 2011, he started developing his passion for social entrepreneurship by joining a “global NGO as their Middle East Director.”
Ruben Tchounyabe
This year, Kenya’s National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) will roll out its new member identification system. Developed by the Ministry of Health, the new system is intended to correct the flaws of the old system. It will specifically curb fraud, improve reporting structure for accountability and generate adequate socio-economic data.
“Many people have discovered the support given to PWDs and they have registered as members of NCPWD, even those with no disability record, to enjoy the privileges like receiving tax exemption for life,” explained NCPWD Executive Director, Harun Hassan. The official was in Kisumu during the training of County disability medical assessment teams on how to use the new system.
The old system will become obsolete by 2023, indicated Daniel Njuguna, an NCPWD ICT expert, during the same training session. He added that it had no guidelines standardizing the medical disability assessment process, sometimes resulting in information discrepancy and inaccurate records.
According to Douglas Kitut, a representative of the Ministry of Health, there are approximately 600,000 people with disabilities in Kenya. The majority have physical, visual, hearing, learning, mental, and chronic progressive disabilities. In 2021, the country raised US$15.5 million to help them deal with the impacts of the coronavirus crisis.
Since 2009, the NCPWD has been implementing identification reforms to improve its services. The new system appears thus as a new milestone in the process. To migrate its members to the new system, the council is currently carrying out a mass identification campaign across the country. After the campaign, persons with disabilities will receive smart cards. To verify the authenticity of the cards, they will also have QR Codes.
The identification process will bring the services offered by the NCPWD closer to the population, explained Harun Hassan. According to the latter, it will allow stakeholders to generate real-time demographic data on different types of disabilities in Kenya. Then, county medical officers will be allowed to sign on behalf of the Director of Medical Services.
“This means that persons with disabilities will not have to travel to Nairobi to get their assessment reports signed before acquiring the card thus bringing this crucial service closer to the people,” he stressed.
The digitized system is also expected to streamline operations and ensure that only those who meet the required registration threshold are considered.
By digitizing its registration process, NCPWD plans to get integrated with other government agencies so that its members can access its services through Huduma centers or by visiting E-government and E-citizen portals.
Ruben Tchounyabe
In 2020, Ethiopia launched Digital Ethiopia 2025, its national development strategy. One of the focuses of that strategy is digital transformation to improve the efficiency of public services and facilitate access to online payment means.
On Monday, April 4, Ethiopia, through the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MINT), signed a partnership agreement to integrate Mastercard’s payment service gateway into its e-services portal. Therefore, users can pay for public services using bank cards for the first time while Commercial Bank of Ethiopia will collect the payments on behalf of the government.
For Minister of Technology Belete Molla (photo), the partnership with Mastercard enables the country to “provide a versatile digital payments solution – customers with any bank card can use it. That means people can pay conveniently and safely wherever they are and at any time. It also enables us to improve revenue collection and achieve efficiencies—in turn, freeing up resources to improve service delivery.”
The partnership agreement follows a memorandum of understanding signed, in 2020, by the MINT and Mastercard. That memorandum aimed to support the government in digitizing payments and improving public services in line with Digital Ethiopia 2025, the national development strategy.
In the first phase of the project, only civil society organizations will be able to pay for operating licenses using any branded payment card.
“By supporting the Ethiopian government in the implementation of a world-class and innovative digital payments platform, we are collaborating to save resources, increase efficiencies, and deliver improved services to citizens. Soon, members of the Civil Society Organization will no longer need to carry cash, travel long distances, and stand in long queues at banks to pay for their licenses. Rather, they will be able to do it safely and conveniently online,” said Mark Elliott, Division President, Mastercard, Sub-Saharan Africa.
Muriel Edjo
In Africa, medical density is currently below the World Health Organization’s recommendations. In recent years, startups have sprung up using technology to fill health offers.
E-health platform Altibbi will introduce drug delivery and virtual consultation services in Egypt. The move follows the announcement, on March 28, 2022, of a successful US$44 million series B round led by investors like Foundation Holdings and Hikma Ventures.
The health tech founded in 2008, in Jordan, aims to digitalize the whole medical procedure allowing users to get checked by physicians, receive prescriptions, and lab test interpretations online. It wants to capitalize on the low competition in the market due to tough regulations.
“The regulatory system is an ally of ours as, after so many years, we have managed to crack it. We are actually today the most licensed digital health company in the Arab world (...)We’re licensed in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. We’re working with the government as part of a round table to regulate telehealth and digital health platforms,” says Jalil Allabadi (Photo, left), founder and CEO of Altibbi.
In addition to its web platform, Altibbi has a mobile app, available on App Store, Play Store, and AppGallery. To access the over 10,000 doctors available daily on the platform, users must register on the platform, then log in using their phone numbers and a verification code. In 2013, Altibbi received the top prize in the health category during the Arab E-Content Award in Bahrain.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Nairobi residents can now report illegal dumping, unsafe waste disposal, and water shortages. It is possible thanks to Hatua, a mobile app launched last March 21, on the sidelines of the celebration of World Water Day at Kariokor Social Hall in the Kamukunji constituency. Hatua will also allow residents to report littered areas in residential districts.
Created by the sustainable development consultancy firm Niko Green, Hatua was developed with the support of the Kenya Alliance of Residents Association (Kara), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the European Union (EU).
When reporting a problem, users describe the issue, select the appropriate category and submit their contact information. The complaint will then be assigned a reference ID through which they can track the status of their report. According to Nickson Otieno, CEO of Niko Green, if the complaint is not processed within five days, the system will automatically forward it to another agency. “There is no chance for your report not to be processed,” he said.
“Our current system of reporting environmental pollution is long, tedious, and ridden with corruption. With the new platform, users can track the status of their complaints in real-time,” explained Henry Ochieng, CEO of KARA.
“The app will help NECC [National Environmental Complaints Committee] officials work even faster because they will be able to get reports of environmental pollution as they happen,” he concluded.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
During the coronavirus pandemic, Aida Kandil preserved the income of hundreds of Moroccan artisans. Her alternative solution, MyTindy, allowed them to continue selling their services online. She plans to scale the solution to a larger audience.
Aida Kandil (photo) is a Business and Commerce graduate, with a major in Strategic marketing management, from McGill University, Canada. To show her dedication to her native country, she co-founded MyTindy, in 2019, to promote local crafts to international buyers. Through the platform, visitors from all over the world can buy jewelry, furniture, decorative objects, etc., directly from Moroccan craftsmen and get them delivered to their doorsteps.
Since the launch of MyTindy, Aida Kandil has been supporting Moroccan artisans in their digital transition and their upgrading projects. She trains them in ways to leverage the power of the internet to boost sales. She also handles the logistics to deliver the artisans’ sales.
In 2018, the young entrepreneur then based in Montreal, Canada decided to relocate home. At the time, she was managing online referencing for a global brand. Despite the promising career, her passion for Morrocan crafts took over and Aida Kandil who was born in Paris and studied in France, Canada, and Morocco decided to contribute her skills and experience to the development of that sector.
The idea to create MyTindy came because there was no other platform offering such a service, she explains. “When going back to Canada after each of my trips to Morrocco, I used to buy decorative items. When people see those items, they ask me where I bought them and how they can order the same. (...) At one point, I traveled to Morrocco and toured New Medina asking artisans if they had online platforms through which they could sell to international buyers. I also asked them if they would be interested in offering their items for sale if there was one,” said Aida Kandil to explain the origin of her platform.
Aida Kandil currently claims a catalog of 8,000 reference products offered by 250 artisans on MyTindy. The platform also offers personalization features for the clientele -70% foreign- that is very sensitive to the environmental-friendly label.
The platform she co-founded and jointly funded with Chakib Yasmine is gaining popularity and since February 2022, MyTindy has been on the hunt for investors for its MENA expansion.
With MyTindy, Aida Kandil won the top prize of the Startup for Good Mediterranean Region organized by Emerging Valley in 2020, the award for the best digital solution at the 2020 World Summit Awards, the award for the best national Business and Commerce solution at the 2021 World Summit Awards 2021.
Ruben Tchounyabe
Although the fastest growing in the World, the African startup ecosystem is still faced with fundraising difficulties, the early-stage segment notably. For Nigerian entrepreneurs Benedict Afolami and Ose Eromosele, Conectivest may be the solution to that problem.
The finance industry has no secrets for Benedict Afolami (photo, left) and Ose Eromosele (photo, right). With over 15 years of combined professional experience in technology and finance, they have had time to identify the issues faced by fundraisers in Africa and the gaps between investors' and entrepreneurs’ expectations.
They created Conectivest to tackle the various problems they identified during their professional career. Officially launched in June 2021, the digital platform facilitates investments by networking investors and entrepreneurs. According to the founders, successful fundraising always starts with perfect alchemy between investors and the fundraiser.
“It’s an investment networking space that facilitates founder to founder connection; investor to investor connection; hub to founder connection and investor to founder connections,” explains Benedict Afolami, Co-founder and CEO of Conectivest.
Conectivest offers a quick way for founders, hubs, incubators, and investors to connect and exchange ideas. It helps startups fine-tune their profiles. It also allows investors to manage their deals and investments. Through weekly demo days, Connectivest allows entrepreneurs wh are ready to raise money to meet with investors.
In less than a year, the founders claim to have onboarded more than 350 active Africa-focused investors from three major investment groups, including LoftyInc Capital Management, Midlothian Angel Network, and South-South-East Angel Network. Through Conectivest, the said investors have directly or indirectly completed more than 50 deals totaling US$2.2 million, they told TechBuild Africa.
Aïsha Moyouzame
Moove is an African mobility fintech that is democratizing vehicle ownership by providing revenue-based vehicle financing to mobility entrepreneurs across Africa, where limited access to vehicle financing has resulted in the lowest per capita car ownership in the world. The company is Uber’s exclusive vehicle financing and vehicle supply partner in sub-Saharan Africa.
South African mining technology platform Dwyka Mining Services will help Canadian mining firm Trevali roll out the smart mobile scanning unit Hovermap in its mines. That move aims to improve the localization, visualization, and mapping of mining assets and related infrastructure using detection scanners and lightwave telemetry, which will help reduce costs and improve the quality of Trevali’s services.
“Traditionally, [Trevali’s] scanning methodologies were quite time-consuming, and coming into the Trevali operating team was quite a shift to what was done in the past,” comments Jamie van Schoor, Dwycka’s MD.
Hovermap is essential for Trevali’s project to realize the digital twins of its mining asset and infrastructures since it helps scan and compile 3D models. For some time now, the Canadian firm has been modernizing its mines in Africa. For instance, in Namibia, it uses the Slim Gyro system to inspect drill holes at the Rosh Pinah mine. According to Gerhard Louw, Chief Surveyor of Rosh Pinah Zinc Corporation, Slim Gyro significantly improved production strategies and results.
In the same vein, with Hovermap, Trevali wants to apply a standardized method and collect important data-driven information. As it explains, by automating physical processes, digitizing assets, and improving mining processes it ultimately intends to consolidate its status as one of the renowned mining firms.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
With Covid-19, the retail e-commerce market is booming in Africa. Noticing the developing trend, many international players are positioning themselves to meet the needs of clients who are increasingly attracted by the prospect of remotely buying what they need.
Buying online and getting your package delivered to your doorstep, at a drop-off or pick-up point is now possible in Morocco, Kenya, and Nigeria with United Parcel Service (UPS). On Monday, April 4, the US parcel delivery firm announced a partnership agreement with Jumia in that regard.
In the framework of the agreement, UPS will capitalize on Jumia’s e-commerce logistics assets to develop its delivery service and strengthen its presence in Africa. It will also offer clients several payment options including mobile money.
“At the beginning of our journey (launch of the e-commerce platform), 10 years ago, logistics infrastructure was one of the most challenging aspects of our operating environment. This challenge was a catalyst for us to build an unparalleled logistics platform in Africa, offering our sellers and consumers reliable, convenient and cost-effective delivery services. (...) Today, we are helping other businesses overcome these infrastructure challenges by giving them access to our logistics platform,” said Apoorva Kumar, Jumia's senior vice president for logistics.
According to Jumia, after Morocco, Kenya, and Nigeria, the partnership with UPS will extend to Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and all the remaining African countries where it is present. For Apoorva Kumar, it is the opportunity to build “a world-class logistics business in Africa.”
Due to the coronavirus pandemic that began in 2020, urban populations’ consumption habits are changing in Africa. As a result, the parcel delivery sector is growing as much. In its Postal Economic Outlook 2021, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) reports that domestic parcel volume grew by 6.1% in 2020. International parcel volume on the other hand declined by 24.8% due to temporary air transport restrictions.
Muriel Edjo
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In July 2018, a diabetes management app entered the Nigerian tech ecosystem with the ultimate mission to educate the population and “reduce the prevalence of diabetes.” Diabetes is not a death sentence, its creator Diekola Sulu (photo) told Ventures Africa.
At age 26, in 2006, Diekola Sulu was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. At the time, he was careless with his lifestyle and had limited information about his disease. He kept his carefree attitude until his condition worsened. Then he started educating himself on his condition. Thanks to the information he got, he realized his disease was not a death sentence, it could be managed.
The realization gave him a new goal: to educate people and help those suffering from diabetes better take care of themselves.
Before founding Self Healthcare Empowerment Initiative (SHEI) he lived in the UK where he acquired a wealth of information on diabetes. He later relocated to Qatar where he worked with the government to deliver healthcare programs. In 2015, he helped the Qatari government develop a National Diabetes program. During his professional career, he discovered that both the Middle East and his native country, Nigeria, had the same problem, namely a lack of education and information about the right tools to manage diabetes.
In 2016, he decided to launch SHEI to raise awareness about the disease. However, realizing that on-the-ground activities were not reaching a larger audience, he decided to use technology to address the problem. “(...) Then we realized that we were not reaching as many people as we wanted because we were limited to only the people we could see. So we sat down and thought about a better way, and the best way was to go through tech,” he recounts. So, in July 2018, he self-funded the launch of ManageAm, a mobile app, with some strategic partners.
With diabetes management requiring a lot of effort between balancing routines, tracking blood tests, planning exercise and diet, medications, and managing blood sugar levels, ManageAM aims to be a dedicated self-management app. It helps users achieve their short and long-term health goals, and efficiently calculate their progress while facilitating healthy lifestyle decisions. It also allows users to effectively engage, discuss treatment, and follow up with their physicians.
According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), 24 million Africans were living with diabetes in 2021. In that context, ManageAm aims to position itself as a necessary tool to reduce the prevalence of diabetes and promote self-education.
Aïsha Moyouzame
Launched 10 years ago, the single window for foreign trade is one of the flagship projects in Kenya’s development program, Vision 2030. It has already helped secure millions of dollars in license/permit fees and correct the flaws of the manual system.
In August 2021, Kenya started upgrading the Kenya TradeNet System, its trade facilitation platform. According to Ukur Kanacho Yatani, the country’s Treasury Cabinet Secretary, the upgrade will be completed by the end of April 2022.
The government official made the revelation last March 31, during the first East African Trade Facilitation Summit, held in Nairobi under the theme “Re-imagining Trade Facilitation in an era of Technology.”
For Ukur Kanacho Yatani, with the upgrade, “some of the limitations” will be addressed, and “features that were lacking in the Kenya TradeNet system” will be added. They will then “promote the betterment of intra-regional trade as well as significantly make it easy to carry out trade,” he explained.
“As we launch the upgrade of the Kenya TradeNet System, which is also known as the Trade Facilitation Platform, the next 10 years are indeed promising to the trading community,” he added.
The Kenya TradeNet System is a single online platform through which actors involved in international trade and logistics can carry out various trade-related procedures like submitting documents to clear goods and pay taxes and duties.
Launched in January 2011, the system already includes 23 government agencies out of 38 targeted, 38 active insurance companies, 36 banks, nearly 1,529 clearing agents, 46 shipping agents and shipping companies, 29 container freight terminals, and five freight handling companies.
KenTrade, the agency in charge of the platform, reveals that since 2014, more than 3.3 million permits have been issued through the system while over 2.8 million unique consignment references (UCRs) have been processed. As of December 2021, the system had over 16,000 registered users. Partner government agencies were able to collect a little over Ksh3.5 billion (US$30.3 million) in license/permit fees from traders. Also, from May 1, 2018, to June 30, 2021, a total of 445,146 import declarations with values estimated at Ksh2.9 trillion were registered in the system.
Muriel Edjo
Egyptian fantasy soccer platform Eskab announced last Monday the successful completion of a US$3 million funding round. Led by 4DX Ventures, the funding round saw the participation of several financial institutions and angel investors. Thanks to the funds secured, Eskab wants to make soccer more exciting and interactive for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) fans by developing new products. In that regard, it intends to recruit engineering talents and product teams as well as partner with soccer clubs.
Fantasy soccer is a simulation game where users predict the outcome of soccer matches between virtual teams they create using virtual representations of real-life players. With their virtual teams, users can take part in free or premium competitions and win prizes.
“During my time [in Canada], I got exposed to the rise of DraftKings and FanDuel. My friends were playing these two games and while I didn’t know much about Canadian sports, specifically hockey, I found that playing these games was the easiest way for me to kind of get to know the sports and kind of develop that sense of camaraderie with my friends. (...)I enjoyed the games and realized, ‘Why is no one doing this for the hundreds of millions of football fans in the Middle East and Africa?’ So we did some research and realized there was a massive market gap for this kind of game [fantasy football] in the Middle East and Africa, ” explains Aly Mahmoud, Eskab founder.
Launched in 2018, the platform claims more than 700,000 users in Egypt. Its userbase has been growing steadily since the launch of premium contests in 2021. The platform plans to enter other sports but, with the coming soccer World Cup, Eskab to first explore the soccer world before venturing into other virtual sports.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Kenyan telecom operator Safaricom and Islamic bank Gulf African Bank recently launched a Sharia-compliant mobile loan called Halal Pesa.
Thanks to the solution, users can receive up to Ksh20,000 loans fully repayable within 30 days with a 5% “commodity Murabaha margin.”
For Safaricom, Halal Pesa is “the first Sharia-compliant mobile and digital financial solution” in Kenya.
“Kenya is now a highly innovative, interconnected, and fast-paced community that requires solutions on the go. All our digital offerings, including Halal Pesa, seek to directly address this aspect. Our current strategy is focused on digitization for financial inclusion,” said Abdalla Abdulkhalik, Managing director of Gulf African Bank.