• Boniface Wainaina launched Constantnople to modernize aquaculture operations and improve yields.

• The company combines durable fish cages with digital monitoring of water quality, fish health, and feeding.

• The solution targets small and mid-sized fish farmers facing high losses and limited resources.

Boniface Wainaina, a Kenyan entrepreneur, founded and leads Constantnople. He aims to improve production conditions and make fish farming more profitable and sustainable.

Constantnople builds its offering on the design and manufacture of modern fish cages. The company replaces traditional wooden or metal structures, which operators often consider inefficient and short-lived.

The company uses durable materials that withstand prolonged immersion. As a result, it reduces degradation, maintenance costs, and replacement frequency. Consequently, farmers can secure their operations and improve long-term productivity.

Beyond hardware, Constantnople provides an integrated monitoring system that allows fish farmers to track production in real time. The platform continuously monitors key parameters such as water quality, fish health, and feeding.

This system enables farmers to detect anomalies early. Therefore, it helps reduce losses and optimize yields. In addition, it supports better decision-making across the production cycle.

The company primarily targets small and medium-sized fish farmers, who often face financial constraints and significant production losses. Although the solution remains in its deployment phase, Constantnople has already started equipping its first users, mainly independent fish farmers.

Boniface Wainaina trained as an accountant. He graduated from KCA University and obtained a degree in business administration and management in 2023 from the European Business Institute of Luxembourg.

He began his career in 2016 as an accountant at Infotech Management. He then joined Kirvam International in 2017 in a similar role. From 2019 to 2024, he worked as an accountant at Danco Capital, a manufacturer and supplier of pipes and fittings in East Africa.

Therefore, Wainaina leverages his financial background and industry experience to build solutions that address structural challenges in aquaculture while supporting income stability for fish farmers.

This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum

• Douala signs a strategic agreement with Huawei to support its digital transformation.

• The project targets smart traffic systems, surveillance, and fiber-optic infrastructure expansion.

• Authorities plan to digitize 200,000 land records to secure transactions and reduce disputes.

The Douala Metropolitan Area signed a strategic memorandum of understanding with Huawei on April 28 in China. The agreement targets the digital modernization of Douala, the country’s economic capital, which hosts more than 3.5 million residents and faces rising pressure on mobility, land management, and public services.

The partnership remains a framework agreement at this stage. However, it outlines technical support across key areas of urban management. The project includes the deployment of video surveillance systems, the implementation of intelligent traffic management solutions, and the expansion of connectivity infrastructure, particularly the municipal fiber-optic network.

A central component focuses on land management digitization. The municipality plans to digitize around 200,000 land records and introduce a digital certificate of ownership. Authorities aim to secure land transactions and reduce disputes, as land pressure continues to shape urban planning and investment dynamics.

The project also includes smart public lighting systems. These systems enable remote management of infrastructure, reduce energy costs, and improve maintenance efficiency.

In addition, the agreement integrates a skills transfer program. Huawei will train engineers and municipal officials in digital technologies through its training programs.

Authorities have not disclosed financial terms or an implementation timeline. Nevertheless, the agreement reflects a broader strategy by the Communauté urbaine de Douala to modernize urban governance through data and digital technologies.

Huawei has already implemented similar smart city projects across Africa. The company deployed solutions in Nairobi and Mombasa, where authorities integrated surveillance and urban management systems into public security frameworks.

In South Africa, the city of Ekurhuleni adopted the group’s support for digital networks, cloud solutions, and urban management applications. In Senegal, the company is implementing a project in Dakar to digitize road traffic.

These initiatives align with Huawei’s global “Safe City” strategy, which covers more than 100 cities across around 30 countries. The program combines video surveillance, traffic management, and urban data platforms.

Samira Njoya

• SOCAPHARM launched “Ivoire Health,” a prepaid card dedicated to pharmacy spending.

• The solution allows users to anticipate and manage out-of-pocket medical expenses.

• The company combines digital health tools, consulting services, and professional training.

Raymond Bleu-Lainé operates as both a pharmacist and an entrepreneur. He leads the Société Africaine de Consulting Pharmaceutique (SOCAPHARM), a company that specializes in pharmaceutical consulting, training, healthcare, and digital communication.

SOCAPHARM, founded in 2016, develops digital solutions for the healthcare sector. The company designs applications and tools that facilitate access to health services and improve the efficiency of healthcare structures.

Its flagship solution, Ivoire Health, offers a prepaid card dedicated exclusively to pharmacy expenses. The company provides this virtual card to users, who can purchase medicines, pharmaceutical products, or parapharmaceutical goods within a partner pharmacy network without using cash at the point of sale.

Moreover, Ivoire Health positions itself as a health savings solution. Users preload funds onto the card and then use the available balance to pay for pharmacy purchases. This mechanism allows users to anticipate medical expenses and manage a monthly medication budget more effectively.

In parallel, SOCAPHARM expands its operations into two additional areas. First, the company provides consulting services and supports healthcare stakeholders in solving organizational, structural, and development challenges. Second, the company delivers training programs designed for healthcare professionals.

Raymond Bleu-Lainé holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, which he obtained in 2009 from the University of Maryland in the United States. He began his professional career in 2011 as a pharmacy manager at Rite Aid, a U.S. pharmacy chain.

Subsequently, he served as an oncology manager at Servier, a France-based international pharmaceutical group, from 2017 to 2020.

This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum