News (1352)
Partnerships between African countries are essential to stimulate economic growth, create jobs and let the continent successfully implement its digital plans. The agreement between Rwanda and Guinea falls in line with those goals.
Last Tuesday, Rwanda and the Republic of Guinea signed a memorandum of understanding for digital cooperation.
According to Mory Sanda Kouyaté (photo, right), Guinean Minister of Foreign Affairs, the memorandum covers cooperation in ICT, posts and telecommunications, digitization, and e-governance.
For several years now, Rwanda has made digital technology a pillar of development. To achieve its goals, the country launched in 2017, a National Transformation Strategy aimed primarily at providing quality services and care in the public and private sectors by 2024.
Guinea, for its part, has also launched digital projects to make life easier for its citizens. The transitional government recently launched an institutional reform program to equip the country with new systems and reliable policies adapted to the needs of its population.
With that bilateral agreement, the two countries will contribute their experience to further develop their respective ICT sectors and position themselves in East and West African digital markets.
By establishing a digital identification system, the Rwandan government plans to address the challenges faced by citizens who have no identity documents when accessing essential services.
The Rwandan parliament recently approved the revision of a bill governing registration in the national single digital identity system.
The draft law presented on Thursday, April 20, by ICT Minister Paula Ingabire, aims to give the government the required approvals to issue digital identity cards to stateless Rwandans and newborns.
“The enactment of the new law relating to enrollment into a single digital identity system will enable the country to close the existing gap in the current population identification system to a more advanced, effective, and efficient delivery of services in both private and public sectors,” said Paula Ingabire.
The project aims to establish a new digital identity card for Rwandans living within or outside the country. It will consist of a physical copy embedded with a QR code containing the holder’s biometric information, as well as a digital copy.
According to Minister Ingabire, the digital identification project will be implemented, over three years, by the National Identification Agency (NIDA) with funding from the World Bank ($40 million).
If passed, the new law will end the problems faced by stateless and other undocumented persons in the country. It will also solve the problem of scattered, contradictory data in the various databases of different institutions, recorded on paper.
For the ICT Minister, this project will be a catalyst for the development of a strong digital economy and a strong digital service delivery ecosystem that will improve productivity, income, and social welfare.
Samira Njoya
This acquisition comes months after Autochek bought the car sales platform CoinAfrique, in Q3-2022.
Nigerian car financing provider Autochek announced, Monday, the acquisition of majority shareholding in Egyptian car dealer AutoTager.
According to the company's statement, the acquisition aims to strengthen Autochek's presence in North Africa and support the company's continued growth.
Commenting on the transaction, Olajide Adamolekun, group CFO and co-founder of Autochek said: “Amr’s -ed. note: Amr Rezk founder of AutoTager- background and track record are as impressive as it gets and I am delighted to have him on board. His experience will be invaluable as we enter the Egyptian market and continue on our mission to improve the automotive finance value proposition on the continent and catalyze more growth across the automotive ecosystem.”
Autochek launched the acquisition of automotive platforms a while ago. In July 2022, the car financing company acquired CoinAfrique. In September 2021, it acquired Cheki Kenya and Cheki Uganda.
With this majority shareholding acquisition, the company now has a presence in nine countries in East Africa, West Africa, and North Africa, with more than 2,000 partner-run dealerships and workshops, according to its release.
By targeting AutoTanger, Autochek is aiming at North African markets, mainly Egypt - which is the third largest economy in Africa according to the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the third largest automotive market on the continent (according to 2021 data from the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers-OICA).
Samira Njoya
They are among the 18 finalists nominated out of hundreds of applications received by JFD, a network of women entrepreneurs. They were nominated in the Entrepreneur, Intrapreneur, and Junior categories in Africa.
On Monday, April 17, the women entrepreneurs’ network Journée de la Femme Digitale (JFD) unveiled the list of the winners of the 2023 edition of its “Les Margaret Awards.”
Of the 18 finalists in the three categories of the competition, three were African entrepreneurs. In the “Margaret Entrepreneur Europe & Africa” category, Cameroonian entrepreneur Nelly Chatué-Diop (co-founder & CEO of EJARA) was one of the two winners.
Ghanaian-born Rhoda Oduro, the Business Development & Operations Manager of Developers in Vogue, was one of the two winners in the “ Margaret Intrapreneur Europe & Africa” category.
In the Junior category, Melissa Djouka, another 17-year-old Cameroonian, won the award for the African region, thanks to her project Immo'Sure, a platform aimed at securing the real estate market and protecting its actors in Africa.
For one year, the winners will receive unique and exclusive opportunities to support and accelerate the development of their projects. They will be mentored by companies like La Poste, Google, Axa France, and Universal Music France. They will also receive support from some of the world's largest accelerators, such as the Transatlantic Fund of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Canada.
For the African winners, CIO Mag, Affectio Mutandi, and Gabon 24 will offer targeted training worth €20,000. Africa Mutandi will also allow them access to its investors' network.
"For more than 10 years, we have been working with our partners to accelerate the growth of the Margarets and to reveal the economic and social potential of these future leaders to as many people as possible. This year, we are taking a new step by opening up completely new financing and outreach opportunities for them, " said Delphine Remy-Boutang, founder of JFD & Business Angel.
As a reminder, the Margaret Award was launched in 2013 by JFD. Each year, it rewards African and European women entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs whose projects and innovations address major societal challenges. The award honors Margaret Hamilton, former director of the software engineering department at the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory that developed the embedded software for NASA's Apollo space program.
Samira Njoya
The labor market is undergoing a profound transformation as digital technologies keep growing. While many jobs are disappearing, more are being created and their requirements are changing. In that context, the government needs to urgently take appropriate measures to anticipate and find solutions to help fill the vacancies that are opening.
South Africa will soon launch a nationwide training program to equip the unemployed youth with digital skills, President Cyril Ramaphosa (photo) recently announced. In his weekly newsletter published on Sunday, April 17, he explained that ZAR800 million ($43.6 million) will be invested to fund this new youth initiative led by the National Skills Fund.
According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), “South Africa is projected to see the highest jobless rate globally. As the most industrialized nation on the continent, unemployment is estimated to hit 35.6% in 2023.”
This is due to a number of causes. They include low economic growth that has led to fewer job opportunities, a mismatch between education and skills that makes it difficult for many people to find work, and structural problems like unequal access to opportunities. There are also concentrated ownership, a limited domestic market, and a rigid labor market with labor laws, regulations, and collective bargaining agreements that limit access to employment, particularly in the SME segment.
As the digital economy creates new high-potential occupations, the government sees the retraining or reorientation of some South Africans as a way to respond to the new labor market realities brought about by the accelerating digital transformation. The project to equip the unemployed with digital skills is one of the many development initiatives taken by the government, since 2020, to prepare the country for the fourth industrial revolution.
Over the past three years, many international and local companies specializing in digital services or broadband connectivity have increased their investments in South Africa. New companies have expressed interest in the market. The various investments are expected to create thousands of specialized jobs, which the South African government wants to prepare the local workforce for.
Muriel Edjo
In recent months, South Africa’s digital sector has attracted several important investment pledges. Earlier, Amazon committed to investing in tech services in the country. It is now followed by pan-African digital solutions Cassava Technologies.
Last Friday, Pan-African tech company Cassava Technologies announced its commitment to investing ZAR4.5 billion ($250 million) in its South African operations over the next two years. The initiative was unveiled at the fifth South Africa Investment Conference (SAIC) held the previous day in Johannesburg.
The investment will be made through Cassava Technologies' business units, namely Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Africa Data Centres, and Distributed Power Africa. It is aimed at supporting the expansion of Liquid Intelligent Technologies' fiber network, the expansion of Africa Data Centre’s capacity and footprint, the enhancement of cloud and cybersecurity capacity, and the deployment of clean, renewable energy by Distributed Power Africa in South Africa.
“South Africa accounts for the largest proportion of Africa’s industrial GDP with a sophisticated and growing ICT sector. The country’s unique combination of highly developed first-world economic infrastructure and a stable macro-economic environment affords businesses like ours a conducive investment environment in which we can partner with government to drive economic development and create jobs,” said Hardy Pemhiwa, President & Group CEO of Cassava Technologies.
The initiative is in line with the ambitions of South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, to stimulate the country's economy and attract ZAR2 trillion in investments over the next five years to achieve development objectives.
Cassava Technologies has eight subsidiaries, namely Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Liquid Dataport, Liquid C2, Africa Data Centres, Distributed Power Africa, Sasai Fintech, Telrad, and Vaya Technologies.
Samira Njoya
By reinforcing its cooperation with Estonia, which is the e-governance leader in Europe, Angola wants to become a digital government offering user-friendly and secure ICT solutions that make life easier for its citizens.
Last Friday, Angolan State Minister Adão de Almeida and Estonian IT Minister Kristjan Järvan signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen cooperation between the two countries. The MoU, signed in Tallinn, Estonia, covers cooperation in the areas of digital governance, modernization of the administration, and capacity building.
“Estonia is one of the most advanced and innovative digital societies in the world, but reaching it is the fruit of decades of work. We are happy to share the accumulated knowledge, skills, and experience because digital capabilities are key to the social and economic development of any country,” said Kristjan Järvan.
Indeed, for several years, Estonia has been a model in the use of digital technology to simplify the lives of citizens, improve political efficiency and boost the economy. The country has succeeded in going digital. In 2020, the country was ranked 3rd in the E-Government Development Index unveiled by the United Nations. Last year, it was the 8th country with one of the best e-government development indexes in the world.
This status of e-government champion has earned the country invitations from many African countries -including Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mauritius- for digital cooperation.
The Memorandum of Understanding it signed with Angola thus allows the latter to capitalize on its digitization experience. The agreement will also enable Estonian companies to enter the Angolan market and more African countries.
Samira Njoya
The coalition was founded in December 2022 to bridge the digital divide in Africa. To achieve this ambition, it focuses on universal acceptance.
The Coalition for Digital Africa announced, Thursday (April 13), the launch of a new initiative to strengthen Internet infrastructure across the continent. The initiative aims to prepare the websites, applications, and email systems of African higher education institutions to support all domain names and email addresses.
It is supported by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and conducted in collaboration with the Association of African Universities (AAU). In its framework, the Coalition for Digital Africa will educate African higher education institutions on Universal Acceptance (UA), one of the foundations of a multilingual Internet that allows users worldwide to access websites in local languages.
It will provide training to help the targeted institutions configure their websites, applications, and email systems to make them AU-compliant and integrate AU concepts into their curricula.
The project is part of a series of initiatives announced by the Coalition for Digital Africa when it was founded, in December 2022, to ensure the safe and stable growth of the Internet in Africa and close the gap between communities and economies.
The initiative highlights an important step to building more useful and empowering websites and digital apps in Africa: expanding the choice of languages and scripts.
“This work truly lays the foundation for a more inclusive Internet. [...] By enabling the use of local languages and scripts, users here in Africa and around the world will be able to more readily access important content online – from within the continent and beyond – for academic purposes,” said Professor Olusola Bandele Oyewole, Secretary General of the AAU.
Let’s note that in Africa, some 1,000 to 2,500 languages are spoken, according to the Education for All Global Monitoring 2005 report published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Digitalization has proven to have positive impacts on socioeconomic development. In that regard, most African countries, Congo included, have placed digitization on the list of their key priorities.
This year, Congo will invest CFAF13.995 billion ($23.3 million) to strengthen residents’ access to the Internet and digital services. During the first meeting of the steering committee of the Digital Acceleration Project (PATN), several projects were discussed.
At the meeting, Minister of Digital Economy Leon Juste Ibombo explained that the activities to be carried out this year will help, among other things, create "a secure government intranet, a single portal for e-government services to citizens and many information systems to better manage the services offered to citizens.”
Of the CFAF13.995 billion budget set for 2023, CFAF5.720 billion will be used, among other things, to develop broadband connectivity, particularly in the universities Marien Ngouabi and Denis Sassou Nguesso in addition to some administrative buildings and isolated areas such as the department of Likouala. CFAF3.737 billion will fund the improvement of digital services offered to the population, civil registration services notably.
This session of the PATN steering committee marks the effective start of the 5-year project, backed to the tune of $100 million by the World Bank, €25 million ($27.5 million) by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and a €15 million ($16.5 million) loan from the European Union.
By trying to make the Internet and digital services accessible to everyone, Congo bets on the digital economy as a driver of socioeconomic growth, productivity, and good governance.
Samira Njoya
According to UNESCO, investing in science, technology, and innovation (STI) is essential for economic development and social progress. But, it is all the same important to ensure access to the right information about the sector to enable effective and appropriate usage.
The Federal Government of Nigeria, on Tuesday, April 11, officially inaugurated the Nigerian Science, Technology and Innovation Television called "NSTI TV".
According to Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Dr. Adeleke Olorunnimbe Mamora (photo, center), NSTI TV is a multilingual science channel that will broadcast content in English, Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa and will be accessible on any internet-enabled device.
“As part of our plans for ease of access to information, we have developed an indelible and robust Television that is Terrestrial, Satellite, and Internet-Based Science Over-The-Top (OTT) TV channel dedicated to Science and Technology knowledge dissemination, with a strong commitment to spreading scientific awareness, especially with Nigerian perspectives, ethos, and cultural milieu,” the government official said.
Over the past few years, Nigeria has implemented several actions to advance STIs and integrate them into Nigerians’ daily habits. According to Adeleke Mamora, if effectively exploited, they can propel Nigeria into the list of the top 20 economies in the world by 2030.
This television station was thus introduced as part of the Implementation of Executive Order No. 5 For the Development Of Local Content In Science, Engineering, And Technology. To this end, it will focus on Nigeria's contributions to STI by publishing the latest results and products of all research institutions and the latest developments in STI in Nigeria and the world.
According to the Director General of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Dr. Halilu Shabba, NSTI TV is a milestone for the agency as 25% local content was used in the creation of the channel.
Samira Njoya
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Kenya wants to become a reference in digital transformation in Africa by 2027. To finance the projects it plans for that purpose, it seeks the support of the World Bank and private investors.
The World Bank will provide $390 million to finance the construction of Kenya’s digital infrastructure, a release dated April 5, 2023, informs.
According to the Bretton Woods Institution, the financial resources will fund the first phase of the Kenya Digital Economy Acceleration Project. That first phase focuses “on expanding access to high-speed internet, improving the quality and delivery of education and selected government services, and building skills for the regional digital economy.”
“Broadening access to digital technologies and services is a cross-cutting pathway to accelerate economic growth and job creation, improve service delivery, and build resilience,” said Keith Hansen, World Bank country director for Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, and Uganda.
A few weeks ago, Minister of Digital Economy Eliud Owalo announced that Kenya was in talks with the World Bank to obtain $600 million to fund its Digital Superhighway Project.
Phase 1, which has been financed, will run from 2023 to 2028. Phase 2 will run from 2026 to 2030, focusing on building a secure, data-driven environment to enhance digital service delivery and innovation for the regional digital economy.
According to Keith Hansen, the Kenya Digital Economy Acceleration Project aims to make the country's growth more equitable by reducing disparities in digital skills and connectivity, and expanding the digital marketplace.
Samira Njoya
Senegal, through its digital strategy, aims to become an innovative leader in Africa by 2025. However, several projects are still lagging, two years before the deadline. Therefore, the country is multiplying partnerships to accelerate its implementation.
Last Saturday, the Senegalese Minister of Communication Moussa Bocar Thiam (photo, left) announced a memorandum of understanding with the UAE company Presight ai LTD.
On Twitter, the government official indicated that the new partnership aims to support Senegal in the implementation of various projects, namely digital identity and addressing and tax digitization projects.
Under the newly signed MOU, Senegal will receive financial support for the implementation of the digital projects mentioned. The digital addressing project was initiated in February 2021 to map the entire national territory and assign a digital address to each geographical location.
The digital identity project, launched on June 24, 2022, aims to provide an operational, reliable, secure, and accessible digital identity to Senegalese users by 2024. As for the digitization of taxes, the project was launched several years ago, to allow online tax filing and payment.
On Monday, April 10, 2023, Moussa Bocar Thiam also signed a memorandum of understanding with the company PANAMAX in Dubai. That MoU finances the development of a digital post solution and covers the company’s participation in the digital week "SENEGALCONNECT" - May 16-20, 2023 in Dakar- organized by the Ministry of Communication, Telecommunications, and Digital Economy.
Samira Njoya
Cameroon, like several African countries, has officially adopted online visas. The system announced months ago will become effective in a few days.
Starting from April 30, 2023, applications for Cameroonian visas will be exclusively made online, announced Minister of External Relations, Lejeune Mbella Mbella, through a release issued on Thursday, April 6.
According to the release, regardless of the applicant’s geographic location, visa applications must be submitted on www.evisacam.cm following established administrative procedures. After the application, visa fees will be paid via various methods, namely Mastercard, Visa, Paypal, Mobile Money, Orange Money, Moov, Wave, Safaricom, Airtel, Vodacom, and Africell.
An online visa authorization will then be issued to the applicant who will be able to go either to a diplomatic mission or to a border post to retrieve the visa within three days. In this final stage, applicants’ biometric data, fingerprints, facial images, etc., will be collected.
The Cameroonian government received the equipment for the project from Abidjan-based company Impact Palmarès R&D SAS in June 2022. The bill updating the legal framework was submitted to the National Assembly on July 2, 2022, and the decree updating the conditions of entry, stay, and exit of foreigners in Cameroon was signed last month by the President of the Republic, Paul Biya.
The reform prescribed by the President of the Republic is the first step toward the digital transformation of Cameroon’s diplomatic apparatus. According to Minister Lejeune Mbella Mbella, "the e-visa system [aims] to make Cameroon a more attractive destination, address the grievances of the Cameroonian diaspora and upgrade the consular system to international standards.”
Samira Njoya
The e-commerce industry has grown exponentially in recent years and the number of online marketplaces has followed suit. The marketplaces that were developed in the wake of the e-commerce boom include DizzitUp, an African start-up and finalist of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2022. The platform has great ambitions and wants to become the African alternative to Alibaba. During the Lomé chapter of the Africa Fintech Tour, Togo First interviewed its CEO, Solofo Rafeno, to learn more about this marketplace which is getting popular by the day in Benin, Togo, and Madagascar.
Togo First: Could you tell us what DizzitUp is about?
Solofo Rafeno (SR): DizzitUp is an online marketplace that offers African SMEs access to financing solutions to develop their activities. The start-up also helps these businesses increase their revenue by providing an online store that enables them to showcase their products and services to locals and the African diaspora, which is constituted of over 40 million individuals.
DizzitUp is focused on essential goods and services sold exclusively by African companies in 6 categories: food, renewable energy and construction, health, education, tech (phones, computers & internet), and shortly, new decentralized financial services (DeFi).
As a result, DizzitUp enables the digital and financial inclusion of African VSEs/SMEs while bringing them additional revenues.
In 4 months of operation, DizzitUp Marketplace has registered 150 merchants and we plan to exceed 1,000 merchants in Togo, Benin, Madagascar, and Ivory Coast by the end of 2023.
Togo First: What are the main consumer profiles targetted by DizzitUp?
SR: DizzitUp buyers are divided into two main groups: locals that buy for their consumption and members of the African diaspora -more than 40 million individuals- that buy for their relatives based in Togo, Benin and Madagascar to date, and soon in Côte d’Ivoire.
Togo First: How does your marketplace address trust issues?
SR: 80% of the African economy is made up of informal small and medium enterprises (SMEs). To encourage trust between merchants and consumers, one solution is to carefully select merchants, verify them, and focus on essential products and services such as food, self-sufficient solar power equipment, building materials, phones, computers, and health and education services.
DizzitUp field teams verify that the stores have physical addresses and offer products that meet our criteria. We then take pictures and videos and only selected products are posted on our platform.
Also, since logistics is crucial to guaranteeing service quality, our platform offers an extra service: delivery, which is carried out by independent deliverymen.
Togo First: How are the deliveries made?
SR: Our main aim is to always boost the activities of our [registered] merchants. So, we prefer buyers picking their products directly from stores so that the flow of customers can be increased. Package pickup is the default choice but, each merchant can suggest delivery services, which are offered by local DizzitUp partners.
Let’s say for instance that a relative living in Kara buys on the platform and pays using TMoney or Flooz, the beneficiary, a family member in Lome, can come and pick up the goods at the store in Lome or the goods can be delivered by DizzitUp's partner.
Another case is the recurrent purchase of food baskets, "FoodBox", by a Togolese living in New York for his relatives living in Lome. Once the order is paid via Visa or Mastercard, the relatives living in Lome can pick up the goods at the selling store or have them delivered. The merchant is immediately paid by DizzitUp -via TMoney or Flooz or by bank transfer- after the goods are delivered. It should be noted that for any order exceeding CFA30 000, there is free delivery anywhere within the Greater Lome region.
Togo First: You have a Blockchain-based strategy. Do you think that payment methods such as crypto-currencies can be game-changers for marketplaces like yours in Africa?
SR: It is important to note that blockchain is not a payment method in itself, but rather an infrastructure similar to Swift.
Currently, our marketplace accepts Visa and Mastercard international bank cards and mobile money from seven French-speaking countries in West Africa.
We will soon launch our DizzitApp application, based on the Blockchain infrastructure, allowing the diaspora and young urban Africans to pay in Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies knowing that merchants will still be paid in local currency, FCFA, and Ariary for Madagascar. This third means of payment on DizzitApp will allow those with digital assets to use part of their assets to support their families back home with their needs (buying them food, paying school fees and medical procedures, etc.).
Cryptocurrencies are becoming a global medium of exchange with 200-400 million users, including over 40 million in Africa. These people will soon be able to use their cryptocurrency assets to buy essential goods such as food for their consumption or their families in other African countries
Togo First: What do you think of regulations, notably those related to crypto-currency use?
SR: Togo is the second African country with the largest number of crypto-currency users after Nigeria, which represents huge opportunities for the African economy.
Decentralized blockchain networks and associated crypto-currencies are an opportunity for emerging countries. They can allow African countries to accelerate intra-continental trade and facilitate the financial inclusion of VSEs/SMEs and citizens as mobile money services have done for a decade.
But all these new technologies can only be beneficial to businesses and citizens if there is a clearly defined regulatory framework that is regularly amended over time.
Regulators have realized that there is a need for this regulatory framework. We are eagerly expecting them to comply with them to sustain our investments and boost our merchants’ activities.
Togo First: Why did you choose Togo as your base? Do you think that Togo can accelerate the deployment of your startup in the sub-region?
SR: We created our first subsidiary in Togo, which is a real financial hub in the sub-region. We chose to set up here in Togo because the country has a legal infrastructure and a favorable business environment that attracts many financial institutions. The presence of Ecobank's global headquarters in Lomé was also a decisive factor.
Despite our start-up status, they welcomed us into their multinational division. This partnership allowed us to integrate their payment gateway to manage bank cards worldwide and mobile money in 7 countries in the sub-region.
As a result, we were able to create our subsidiary in less than a month, which is an important comparative advantage.
Togo First: You were one of the finalists of the annual competition organized by your partner Ecobank. Was the initial partnership a decisive factor in that selection?
SR: Our partnership with Ecobank was not the decisive factor in our selection in the competition, as other start-ups also had significant partnerships. However, our ambition to expand in 21 countries, of which Ecobank is absent in only two, and our vision and ambition to be an economic player impacting the VSE/SMEs in Africa gave us a definite advantage.
We were one of the six finalists, selected among 700 startups from 59 countries, in the Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2022.
Togo First: You have already raised venture capital funds once. Do you intend to raise additional funds?
SR: Indeed, DizzitUp has already managed to raise $340,000 in funding from 44 individual investors, called "business angels". About a third of these investors are Africans living in Africa or Europe. The funds raised helped develop the start-up and its technology platform over 3 years.
The company is currently planning a second round of $3 million in equity to finance its expansion in Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria and to develop the new decentralized finance services for VSEs/SMEs merchants of DizzitUp Marketplace.
For this new round, DizzitUp aims to attract private African investors for about 20% of the total amount sought and international investment funds (VCs, international institutions, and corporate funds) for the remaining.
Togo First: What are your future expansion plans?
SR: Regarding our plans, we have decided to strengthen our presence in Madagascar, Togo, and Benin in 2023 and launch a subsidiary in Côte d’Ivoire. We also plan to expand in Nigeria, in 2024, to consolidate our position in West Africa.
I am convinced that Nigeria is not only Africa’s economic driver but also the key to success for a pan-African expansion. No one can claim to be a pan-African company without being present and operational in Nigeria.
Togo First: What are your strategies to achieve those plans?
SR: Our marketplace model is quite simple: purchases are proportional to the number of merchants and products listed. The more offers we have, the more accounts are created, because people can buy what they want. We invest in advertising for merchants and have already made sales in 2022. One of our competitive advantages beyond our decentralized payment infrastructure is our ability to attract merchants by combining digital and on-ground approaches.
We always start with a physical presence approach, deploying teams on the ground to recruit merchants. We also have student recruiters and an incentive system to encourage recruiters, who are also marketing managers for merchants. We provide full free support to merchants, including creating visuals, photos, and videos that we post on Facebook. Recruiters become marketers for our merchants.
Interview by Fiacre E. Kakpo