• DR Congo’s Fogec launches Bokeli, a digital platform to streamline business plan development and financing applications for SMEs and startups.
• The platform standardizes information for financial institutions and reduces administrative barriers to credit approval.
• Over five years, Fogec has supported nearly 300 projects, totaling $3.2 million, while Congolese startups raised $2 million in 2024, highlighting the financing gap.

The Entrepreneurship Guarantee Fund in Congo (Fogec) launched a digital platform, Bokeli, on February 3 in Kinshasa to help entrepreneurs structure business plans and submit financing applications electronically. The platform is part of DR Congo’s broader effort to strengthen SME and startup access to credit.

Entrepreneurs can access Bokeli at https://bokeli.fogec.cd/ to create business plans, prepare financial documentation, and transmit their applications to relevant institutions. The system aims to standardize the data required by banks and guarantee mechanisms, while reducing administrative hurdles that slow financing approvals.

Fogec said the initiative addresses a key challenge in the Congolese entrepreneurial ecosystem: many project owners struggle to produce technically sound applications that meet banks’ requirements. “Our mission is to facilitate access to financing for SMEs, startups, and artisans by providing guarantees to viable projects,” the institution said.

The launch comes amid a growing entrepreneurial environment, driven by a young population increasingly engaged in economic activities. Despite this dynamism, access to structured financing remains limited. According to Partech Africa, Congolese startups raised $2 million in 2024, up from $1 million in 2023, still modest relative to market potential.

Fogec said it has supported nearly 300 projects totaling $3.2 million over five years. By offering a digital tool for business planning and application submission, the institution seeks to improve project bankability and facilitate interactions between entrepreneurs, guarantee structures, and financial institutions, boosting national productive capacity.

Samira Njoya

Alors que les start‑up algériennes peinent encore à accéder à des financements privés structurés, les autorités boursières misent sur un levier inédit pour rapprocher l’écosystème entrepreneurial du marché financier.

Les start‑up labellisées peuvent lever des fonds à la Bourse d’Alger sans payer les frais d’introduction, grâce à un dispositif exceptionnel valable jusqu’en 2028. La mesure a été annoncée le dimanche 1ᵉʳ février par la Commission d’Organisation et de Surveillance des Opérations de Bourse (COSOB), en coordination avec la Société de Gestion de la Bourse des Valeurs (SGBV) et Algérie Clearing.

Le mécanisme cible les opérations réalisées via le compartiment « Croissance », un segment du marché des titres de capital destiné aux entreprises à fort potentiel. Les start‑up éligibles bénéficient d’une exonération totale des frais liés à l’obtention du visa sur les documents d’information, à l’admission à la cote, ainsi qu’à l’administration, la conservation et la gestion des titres.

Le dispositif s’applique aux levées de fonds plafonnées à 500 millions de dinars algériens (3,85 millions USD) et couvre toutes les opérations engagées entre 2026 et 2028. En supprimant ces coûts d’entrée, souvent dissuasifs pour les jeunes entreprises, les autorités cherchent à lever un frein majeur à l’accès au marché boursier comme source de financement alternatif. Le paysage entrepreneurial algérien compte aujourd’hui plus de 7800 start‑up enregistrées sur le portail officiel startup.dz, dont environ 2300 ont obtenu le label officiel « start‑up ».

Cette initiative s’inscrit dans une stratégie plus large de soutien à l’entrepreneuriat et à l’innovation, présentés par les pouvoirs publics comme des leviers essentiels de diversification de l’économie nationale. Elle intervient dans un contexte où la Bourse d’Alger reste de taille modeste, avec seulement huit titres cotés à la fin du premier semestre 2025, incluant les récentes introductions de la Banque de Développement Local (BDL) et de la start‑up Moustachir.

À ce jour, Moustachir demeure la seule start‑up algérienne à avoir accédé à la cote. Introduite en 2024, l’entreprise avait fixé des objectifs ambitieux : un chiffre d’affaires supérieur à 55 millions de dinars en 2025, avec une trajectoire projetée au‑delà de 187 millions de dinars à l’horizon 2028. En moins de deux ans, la start‑up s’est déjà implantée sur plusieurs marchés du Moyen‑Orient, notamment à Oman et aux Émirats arabes unis.

Samira Njoya

Edité par Sèna D. B. de Sodji

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L’Algérie se dote d’un cadre institutionnel renforcé pour prévenir les cyberattaques

• Tunisian engineer Khouloud Abada founded RenYou in 2023 to structure long-term skin health monitoring.
• The application combines artificial intelligence with direct support from dermatologists and medical specialists.
• RenYou integrates lifestyle and nutrition factors into dermatological follow-up.

Khouloud Abada is a Tunisian entrepreneur and a trained engineer specializing in chemical process engineering. She founded and currently leads RenYou, an application designed to support people seeking better skin care through direct involvement of doctors and dermatology specialists.

Founded in 2023, RenYou introduces a new approach to telemedicine applied to skin health. The application aims to simplify the care pathway while ensuring monitoring under the supervision of healthcare professionals. The platform prioritizes personalized support tailored to each user’s needs rather than a standardized solution.

The platform relies on artificial intelligence to help users understand their skin condition, track changes over time, and receive structured guidance to treat dermatological issues. RenYou emphasizes accessibility by simplifying access to information and follow-up tools, allowing users to manage their skin care autonomously and continuously.

At the same time, the application adopts a holistic approach. RenYou does not treat the skin in isolation but incorporates factors such as diet and lifestyle that directly affect skin health. This approach reflects the idea that skin health often mirrors overall living habits. In line with this vision, RenYou also develops educational content aimed at informing and raising awareness beyond the application’s core use.

Khouloud Abada graduated from the Preparatory Institute for Engineering Studies in Tunis, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in applied sciences in 2016. She later obtained a master’s degree in energy from the University of Tunis in 2020, followed by a master’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2021 from the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences in Germany.

She began her professional career in 2020 as a chemical process engineer at Medis, a company specializing in licensing generic medicines to pharmaceutical groups. From 2021 to 2023, she worked as a mechanical engineer at Audi UK within the British automotive group, before fully committing to her entrepreneurial project with RenYou.

Melchior Koba