In Africa, many startups are focused on improving financial inclusion. They have developed many fintech solutions, some more innovative than others.
Babimo is a fintech solution developed by an Ivorian startup. It enables users to pay bills online using a contactless QR code. The Abidjan-based startup was founded in 2021 by El Mehdi Messek.
The solution features a mobile app accessible on iOS and Android. Through the app, a user can create an account, with a phone number and a PIN code, and access the various services. In addition to paying bills online using the QR code, users can transfer money to their contacts via the Moov Africa, MTN, or Orange mobile networks, or buy airtime.
Babimo's digital wallet can be topped up by mobile money for various commercial transactions. It is worth mentioning that the startup collects commissions on the various operations. For example, for a 25,000 CFA Franc (around $40) top-up with Babimo, an operator transfer fee of 625 CFA Franc and an account top-up fee of 125 CFA Franc will be deducted, crediting the account with 24,250 CFA Franc.
The startup, which passed through Orange Fab, has received several awards since its launch. In 2022, it came second and received a check for 5,000,000 CFA Franc at the Moov Start-Up Challenge. In early 2023, it won first prize, a check for 2 million CFA Franc, at the first IMP'HACK Hackathon organized by online betting platform 1xbet and Go Impact Côte d'Ivoire. In October 2023, it was also part of the Africa Startup Initiative Program at Startupbootcamp Afritech.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
As an entrepreneur and designer, he has founded multiple successful businesses, earning various awards and distinctions. Notably, he was mentioned in the Forbes Africa 30 under 30 list in 2019.
Evans Akanno (photo) is a Nigerian entrepreneur and designer. He is the founder and CEO of Vzy, a platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to automate the website creation process.
Evans Akanno studied electrical engineering at Imo State University, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 2009. Certified in 2018 by the Harvard Extension School in innovation and strategy, he also holds a master's degree in innovation and entrepreneurship (2022) from the University of California, Irvine.
Vzy was founded in 2021. Its flagship tool, suitable for everyone –even those with no coding skills– enables users to manage multiple websites from a single account. It also provides a mobile interface, allowing users to design and manage their websites right from their mobile devices. It offers Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology to secure websites, a Content Delivery Network (CDN) for faster loading times, and Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud hosting to guarantee reliable performance.
On October 5, 2023, Vzy was selected, along with 10 other startups, to join the Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First program. It will receive up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits and access to Google's AI expertise and support.
Evans Akanno also works with incubators and accelerators to support startups and budding entrepreneurs. He is a mentor at Startup Grind Lagos and Startupbootcamp. Before Vzy, in 2015, he founded Cregital, a Nigeria-based company specializing in branding, UX/UI design, and web development. In 2019, he also co-founded Disha, an innovative tool that helps designers and freelancers receive international payments. The solution was acquired by Flutterwave in 2021.
Before entrepreneurship, the Nigerian entrepreneur worked as a brand marketing specialist for the e-commerce company Jumia from 2012 to 2013. In 2013, he joined Konga Online Shopping Ltd as a creative strategist. He worked there until 2014.
Throughout his career, he has received several awards for outstanding entrepreneurship. In October 2016, Cregital received the award for Best Website Development Company of the Year from the Nigeria Technology Awards. In 2019, Forbes Africa named Evans one of the 30 under 30 in the technology category. He was also listed among the 100 most influential young Nigerians by Avance Media.
Melchior Koba
Through its innovative programs and commitment to education and youth empowerment, Africa ICT Right aims to help build a digital future for Africa.
Founded in 2007 and led by CEO Daniel Kwaku Ganyoame, Africa ICT Right (AIR) is a Ghana-based non-profit organization dedicated to bridging the digital divide by building a more equitable and technologically advanced future for all. It uses information and communication technology (ICT) tools as a catalyst to address critical national issues related to agriculture, health, gender, education, and youth empowerment.
Through its education programs, it strives to improve access to ICT tools and the quality of the tools accessed by users by equipping schools with computer labs and training STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) teachers on how to integrate ICT into teaching and learning. It works with schools and communities in several regions to donate computers and set up ICT labs through the Iteach ICT, Computer 4 Change, and Connecting the Unconnected projects.
Its Girls in Tech program focuses on closing the gender gap in the technology sector by educating, inspiring, and equipping high school girls with coding and digital technology skills and resources so they can pursue opportunities in STEM fields.
Meanwhile, its agricultural program aims to enhance the skills of smallholder farmers by offering affordable, organic, and ecologically sustainable farming techniques. The organization also runs an entrepreneurship training program called the WeThrive Program.
The organization has set up over 4 digital labs and more than two STEM labs. It has already trained more than 798 young people, more than 69 entrepreneurs, and more than 226 teachers in over 105 schools. It has reached over 19,595 students and donated over 525 computers.
In recognition of its outstanding work, Africa ICT Right won the Motorola Solutions Foundation award in 2018 for its Girls in Tech program. In 2021, it was the winner of the best e-health company award at the Africa Technovate Awards.
Melchior Koba
With the exponential growth of global platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook, the number of digital content creators in Africa has significantly surged in recent years. Governments want to capitalize on this trend to boost their revenues.
Kenya will now collect taxes from content creators. President William Ruto (photo) has approved proposed amendments to the Finance Act, 2023, concerning taxes and levies from digital creators.
Under the Act, payments made by taxpayers to content creators will now be subject to a 15% withholding tax. The tax is specifically applied to goods and services sold to content creators’ audiences. The text also proposes a tax on creators' paid content subscriptions and revenues generated on free content.
Last May, the law was amended and submitted to the government for approval, which was quick to respond positively, creating a sense of frustration among the country's young content creators. In their view, the proposed tax is too high for a growing digital economy, given that they receive minimal state support for content creation. On the government side, the new tax aims to diversify revenue sources, tackle poverty, and grow the digital economy.
It is one of the numerous taxes introduced in the 2023 Finance Act. Some of them broaden the tax base to include the digital space. They are expected to generate up to $2 billion in additional revenue for the Kenyan government.
Samira Njoya
In 2019, Raxio committed to building ten to twelve data centers in Africa. The company is growing rapidly and continues its expansion on the continent.
Raxio Data Centres, a Tier 3 data center provider focused on the African continent, announced on Wednesday, October 25, that it has secured $46 million in acuity funding from its existing shareholders Meridiam and Roha. The funds will be used to continue its expansion in African markets.
"This funding will help Raxio expand and consolidate its position as the provider with the widest geographic footprint of data centers in Africa at a time where demand for high-quality digital infrastructure in Africa continues to grow from both international and local businesses," said Brooks Washington, partner at Roha.
Various public and private players are injecting significant funds into the development of technological infrastructures on the continent. According to the International Telecommunication Union, Africa is home to less than 2% of the world's data centers, and the industry's global giants see this as an opportunity and are investing in several countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya.
Earlier in the year, Raxio secured a $170 million loan from the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) and Proparco, the private sector financing arm of French development agency AFD, to accelerate its growth in Africa. The company is present in Uganda, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and Tanzania.
Robert Mullins, President and CEO of Raxio Data Centres, explains that "this capital injection will allow Raxio to continue to expand its presence across the continent and to deliver the resilient mission-critical environments" Radio clients demand.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Leading global companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Oracle, have shown their commitment to investing in the establishment of data centers across Africa. Simultaneously, local businesses are also actively positioning themselves within the market.
On Tuesday, October 24, Medallion Data Centres, a Nigerian data center operator, launched a new data center in Lagos. Named LOS2 Data Centre, it replaces LOS1, which has reached its maximum capacity but can now accommodate more data. LOS2 has a computing capacity of one megawatt (MW).
"The new Tier 111 Data Centre will help us to extend the current peering and connectivity process we had in LOS1, our first data center facility in Lagos that has reached its full rack capacity. We decided to build a second Data Center facility to accommodate more customers’ data," says Ikechukwu Nnamani, CEO of Medallion Data Centres.
Data center providers in Africa are increasing their investments in the sector due to growing demand on the continent. Digital Realty, the parent company of Medallion Data Centres, is part of this dynamic and aims to become a major player in the sector in Africa since acquiring Medallion in 2021. The firm has pledged to invest $500 million over ten years to accelerate the continent's digital economy.
"It is exciting now that we can build and expand on the LOS1 Data Centre facility and ready for our customers to continue to grow and expand their business and to also help make the internet infrastructure in Nigeria stronger and better," said Mike Collins, Vice President of Market Development at Digital Realty Group.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Last Wednesday, October 25, Pascal Nyamulinda, Director General of the National Agency for the Identification of Persons (ANIP), officially launched anip.bj, the agency’s official mobile application.
The application aims to facilitate the acquisition of administrative documents, help users check the authenticity of those documents, and submit claims and complaints. For the time being, it is only available for Android devices.
Driven by a passion for technology and a strongdedication to sustainable agriculture, heconsistentlypioneers new ideas and challenges conventionalnorms. His contributions have not onlyrevolutionized the technologysector in Morocco but have alsosignificantlyinfluenced the country's agricultural economy
Amine Zarouk (photo) is the founder and CEO of Green OpenLab, a Moroccan startup offeringinnovativetechnological solutions for sustainableagriculture.
He graduated, in 2006, from Paris-East Créteil University (UPEC) with a master’s in distributed information systems. He alsoholds a diploma in key account sales force engineering, obtainedin 2007 from NEGOCIA, an international sales and commercial negotiation training center.
In 2021, fueled by his passion for new technologies and entrepreneurship, hefounded Green OpenLab, a pioneeringcompanydriving digital transformation in the industrial and agricultural sectors. The company supports agritech startups by providingcustomized technologies to foster efficient and sustainable agricultural practices. Its mission is to empowerfarmers by enhancingproductivity, optimizingresources, and modernizing agricultural value chains
Green OpenLabpromotes the adoption of digital tools for enhancing agricultural efficiencywhileprioritizingenvironmentalsustainability and resource conservation. Additionally, it serves as a dynamic hub for fostering innovation, collaboration, and practicaldemonstrations, catering to younginnovators, PhD students, and researchers.
Amine Zaroukisalso the co-founder and CEO of Stratfield, a joint ventureheadquartered in Casablanca. Foundedin 2021, the company has a delivery center and an innovation center in Fez, an expertise and training center in Tangier, and a subsidiary in Munich for technologytransfer.
Beforefounding Green OpenLab, heworked at Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance (Sofinco) in France ashead of developmenturbanizationin 2007. In 2008, heco-founded G-Fit Maroc, a companyfocused on outsourcing technology services, whichin 2014 joined the Alten Group and becameAlten Delivery. He led the companyuntil 2021.
Amine Zarouk has alsoworked for the Fédération des technologies de l'information, des télécommunications et de l'offshoring (APEBI), an organizationthatpromotes the development of the ICT sector in Morocco. Havingjoined the federationin 2011, hewas a member of the board of directors (2011-2019), president of the offshoring pole (2019-2020) and president (2022-2022) respectively.
Melchior Koba
The adoption of blockchain technology is swiftly gaining momentum throughout Africa. While the continent may not currently lead in resource mobilization, investments in the sector are rapidly gaining speed, benefitting numerous companies in the region.
On Monday, October 23, Uganda's Presidential Advisory Committee on Export and Industrial Development (PACEID) signed a memorandum of understanding with a TA-CargoX technology consortium comprising Technology Associates and CargoX, a blockchain-based document transfer company. The MoU aims to create TradeXchange, a national digital trade facilitation platform.
"The TA-CargoX Consortium will provide a robust, globally compliant digital trade platform as the surest means to integrate Uganda into the global trade network. This platform shall automate the import and export value chain, provide visibility in the trade supply chain, ensuring transparency, traceability, authenticity, and reliability in trade processes, as well as save cost directly for all participants," said Girisch Nair, Chairman of Technology Associates.
The new partnership is part of Uganda's ambitious goal to double its exports by 2026. PACEID aims to leverage this collaboration to support exporters, resolve trade bottlenecks, and easily comply with global trade standards, among other things.
TradeXchange will therefore be a blockchain-based collaboration platform that will streamline processes and improve the flow of information between farmers, producers, traders, and government agencies.
Once up and running, it will help the government reduce cargo release times, cut import compliance costs, and improve the efficiency of risk assessment when importing goods, tax revenue collection, and overall transparency of goods flow.
Samira Njoya
As an incubator, Leancubator organizes events, business growth programs, and challenges, helping to strengthen Algeria's innovation ecosystem.
Leancubator is a specialized Algerian innovation hub and incubator that supports sustainable and innovative projects in various sectors such as the blue and green economies, foodtech and fintech.
Founded in 2018 by Abdelfettah Herizi, Hichem Hadded, and Nesrine Ziad, it offers incubation and acceleration programs for startups, small and medium-sized enterprises, and project carriers offering solutions to Africa's social and environmental challenges.
For startups, it provides personalized assistance, including coaching sessions tailored to their specific innovative projects. Additionally, it facilitates access to a diverse network of investors and practical resources, such as workspace, meeting rooms, and essential IT equipment.
The incubator provides various programs, notably the renowned Algeria Startup Challenge, designed to fuel the growth of startups and innovative projects by offering them the necessary support, resources, and networks to materialize their innovative ideas.
Each year, the Algeria Startup Challenge holds challenges under various themes. In the framework of the fourth edition of the challenge, it launched the Harm Reduction Initiative Awards, an innovation challenge aimed at Algerian project promoters offering innovative solutions around best practices in risk reduction, such as industrial, food, health, road, and ecological risks, and so on.
Other challenges include the Fintech Startup Challenge for fintech, insurtech, and regtech, and the Foodtech Startup Challenge for agritech, aquatech and food safety solutions.
Since its creation, Leancubator has participated in over 3,000 projects and organized more than 40 innovation challenges. It has supported 350 startups and innovative projects and collaborated with over 50 economic and institutional partners. These partners include BNP Paribas, WestMED, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Leancubator has received several awards, notably recognition from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Startups, and SMEs, for its active role in fostering innovation and developing startups in Algeria. Additionally, it was honored as the top program for fostering skill development and innovation in the blue economy across the Western Mediterranean at the WestMED 2021.
Leancubator has also been recognized by Algeria's Commission d'Organisation et de Surveillance des Opérations de Bourse (COSOB) as an active player in supporting the development of fintech in the country. These activities and distinctions make the incubator a major player in innovation and entrepreneurship in Algeria and Africa.
Melchior Koba
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Chronic diseases such as cancer, hypertension, and diabetes are recurrent causes of death in Africa. Nneka Mobisson is one of the entrepreneurs fighting to improve the management of these illnesses on the continent.
Nneka Mobisson (photo) is a Nigerian pediatrician and entrepreneur. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1996), a Master's degree in Public Health from Emory University (1998), and a Master's degree in Business Administration from the Yale School of Management (2004).
She is also one of the co-founders and CEO of mDoc, a company dedicated to optimizing the end-to-end care experience for people suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. The idea for mDOc stems from Ms. Nneka’s realization of the huge gap in the African healthcare system, in 2010, following her father’s death from a massive stroke.
Leveraging the growing penetration of mobile technology, mDoc's digital platform connects people with chronic illnesses to a multidisciplinary team of healthcare practitioners. Experts can be reached from South Africa, Zambia, Rwanda, Kenya, the USA, the UK, and Nigeria. Patients can receive personalized support, through education and tools to improve self-management.
On September 25, 2023, the company was selected by Google as one of 30 artificial intelligence startups changing the future of healthcare. The other winners come from Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Nneka Mobisson's professional career began in 1999 at the pharmaceutical company Merck, where she was a business analyst. She also worked at the World Bank as a consultant from 2003 to 2004. She was then hired as a resident physician at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. In 2007, she became a partner in the management consulting firm McKinsey. Before founding mDoc, she was the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)’s regional lead and Executive Director in Africa.
Her outstanding work has earned her several distinctions. In 2014, she was named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. In 2017, she was a finalist in the Cartier Awards. A year later, she was elected to the Ashoka Fellowship, a “practical and personnel community for social entrepreneurs.”
Melchior Koba
In collaboration with its local and international partners, Jacaranda works to provide young people with the opportunities and skills they need to realize their potential and contribute to the progress of their country.
Jacaranda Hub is a Zambian organization that aims to develop the youth’s skills in the fields of information and communication technologies (ICT) and entrepreneurship through its innovation hub. Founded in 2017 by Mara Zhanet Michelo, who is its CEO, its mission is to enable young people to participate in the creation of socio-economic impact and business value.
"Jacaranda Hub’s idea is to find, build, and mold propitious entrepreneurs. I believe that entrepreneurship is the most impactful way of creating sustainable change and development. It stimulates local economic growth, creates jobs, and reduces poverty. Empowering ambitious innovators to solve problems by converting ideas into reality is the ambitious goal that motivated the journey we are embarking on," explained Mara Zhanet Michelo in 2022.
Jacaranda Hub has three thematic axes. The first, JAC-LEARN, offers safe, resource-rich learning spaces with ICT facilities to promote entrepreneurship education, digital literacy, creativity, accessibility, and the ability to use ICT. The second, JAC-STARTUP & INNOVATION, facilitates the creation of an entrepreneurial ecosystem focused on innovation and business development. It supports startups and the creation of viable small and medium-sized enterprises. The final area is JAC-LIFESTYLE, which explores and promotes the concept of social entrepreneurship, the idea of using business to solve major social and environmental problems.
The organization has set up several other initiatives. One of the best-known is the Next Generation National Youth Incubation Challenge for young people aged 18 to 35. The program strengthens young people's ability to design and develop businesses. It focuses on identifying innovative opportunities and supporting young innovators and entrepreneurs through the ideation, validation, and scaling of new products and services that benefit end-users and create successful startups.
It has also set up the Mosi-oa-Tunya Pitch, an investment-readiness program that matches viable startups with local and international investors. The program helps startups with high growth potential to design, measure, and adapt their activities and be ready for investments.
Thanks to Jacaranda Hub and all its programs, Mara Zhanet Michelo was awarded Woman of the Year in Technology at the Techtrends Zambia Awards 2022.
Melchior Koba
The Universal Postal Union has dispatched two technical experts to Chad as part of a mission running from Monday, October 23 to Friday, October 27. The experts will assess the operational readiness of the postal service operator SPTE and train staff on the use of the international mail processing platform (IPS.POST) and the customs declaration system (CDS.POST).
In the past two decades, Africa has increasingly relied on satellite data to accelerate its development. Currently, around ten countries have established their space agencies and are actively pursuing strategies to accomplish their objectives.
On Tuesday, October 24, Senegal’s space agency ASES and the Regional Satellite Communications Organization (RASCOM) signed a memorandum of understanding and strategic partnership on the sidelines of the African Union-European Union Space Dialogue ongoing in Dakar. The agreement aims to strengthen and accelerate Senegal's digitization initiatives by harnessing the capabilities of satellite communication solutions.
As part of the partnership, the two organizations will implement projects to revolutionize various sectors –including telecommunications, agriculture, education, and health– in Senegal through the use of satellite technologies.
The memorandum of understanding reflects Senegal's commitment to becoming a pioneer in the use of space technology to foster innovation in Africa. It is part of the SenSAT space program launched by the government to meet the country's needs in space products and services and to make the space sector a key driver for socio-economic and sustainable development.
For RASCOM, the protocol aligns entirely with its mission of bridging the digital divide in Africa, ensuring comprehensive connectivity in a sustainable and viable way.
The successful implementation of the partnership will help bridge the digital divide in Senegal, by leveraging cutting-edge satellite communication technologies and providing essential public services to the entire population, including those in far-flung areas.
The agreement comes just a few days before the launch of Senegal's first satellite (due on November 10).
Samira Njoya