TECH STARS (1007)
Global development by 2050 requires combating global warming, a challenge that necessitates strong private sector involvement, especially from startups, alongside political action.
Tunisian startup MEPS (Methane Energy Production Solutions) secured second place at the Orange Summer Challenge (OSC) International 2024 with its intelligent, mobile, and autonomous biodigester, a technology designed to transform organic waste into biogas and natural fertilizer, reducing treatment costs and environmental impact. The innovation is spearheaded by Khouloud Ayachi, pictured, and her team.
Two years ago, Ayachi, whose family background includes farming and livestock breeding in Bargou, witnessed the economic hardship forcing her uncle and neighbors to sell their herds. This prompted her to develop a solution enabling farmers and breeders to sustain their livelihoods while generating added value. Drawing on her 2022 professional Master's degree in Environment and Physico-chemical Analysis of Industrial Soils from the Faculty of Sciences of Monastir, she launched the MEPS project.
The biodigester operates through a simple process: organic waste is introduced and "naturally transforms to produce biogas and biofertilizer." The biogas is stored for use in cooking, water heating, or powering agricultural equipment, while the biofertilizer is used to enrich soil, replacing chemical alternatives. Users can monitor biogas and fertilizer production via a mobile application and receive resource optimization advice. A chatbot provides on-demand assistance, and the system includes safety mechanisms to prevent gas leaks and flame hazards, Ayachi explained.
Developing the MEPS biodigester presented significant challenges, including financial constraints and the integration of complex safety features. With support from the Orange Summer Challenge, specifically through the École du Code and Fablab Solidaire, the team developed a high-performance prototype. They are now seeking funding to refine the solution and finalize a safer, more efficient product. "These experiences taught us the importance of innovation, collaboration, and perseverance. Thanks to our partners' commitment, MEPS is on track to become a comprehensive solution," said Ayachi, MEPS founder and CEO.
While initially targeting farmers and breeders, MEPS envisions expanding its technology to revolutionize organic waste management and reduce CO₂ emissions in the restaurant, hospitality, and industrial sectors, as well as for domestic use, in Tunisia and beyond. This ambition is fueled by the growing African and global greentech sector. "Demand for innovative and sustainable solutions is increasing. Businesses and consumers are more aware of environmental impact, and many industries are seeking alternatives to reduce their carbon footprint. We see this shift as an opportunity to diversify our solutions and meet a range of needs," Ayachi said.
Following their OSC International 2024 success, MEPS is preparing for real-world testing to ensure the biodigester meets user needs. Concurrently, a continuous improvement process will optimize the technology, business model, and services before scaling up. The goal is to establish a sustainable company capable of addressing future environmental and economic challenges.
Muriel EDJO
Across Africa, artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a major driver of digital innovation, reshaping industries and addressing critical issues. In Madagascar, AI is steadily improving social inclusion, opening up new possibilities for underserved populations.
Andréa Valéria Andriantefiarinesy (photo) is the co-founder BrA.I, the startup behind a device that instantly translates text into Braille using artificial intelligence, aiming to improve access to information for visually impaired individuals. From a graphic design background, she shifted her career path after joining the Advanced Design program at the Orange Digital Center (ODC). There, she met other young innovators and together they formed BrA.I, which won first place at the Orange Summer Challenge 2023 (OSC 2023).
"The idea came from a simple yet striking observation: access to information remains a major challenge for visually impaired people. While assistive technologies exist in developed countries, their high cost makes them inaccessible to most, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds," Andriantefiarinesy said. "Our goal is to make these technologies affordable and widely available, enabling more visually impaired individuals to access information and gain independence."
Winning first place at OSC 2023 marked the beginning of an intense yet rewarding entrepreneurial journey. "It was a turning point: we had to decide the future of the project. Seeing the potential of BrA.I and the public’s enthusiasm for its deployment, we decided to pursue the venture and turn this idea into reality," she recalls.
The path was not without challenges. Some team members left the project for personal or professional reasons, requiring Andriantefiarinesy to assume strategic and operational leadership roles. "I had to learn how to manage a team, structure our work, and make tough decisions," she said. Thanks to incubation support and guidance from mentors like Rudy DEAL, IT & Digital Services Director at VIVETIC Group, she successfully navigated these challenges.
In 2024, BrA.I won second place and the Women’s Prize at the Orange Social Venture Prize for Africa and the Middle East. "This confirmed that our project meets a real need and that it was time to structure BrA.I into a full-fledged startup," she said.
Andriantefiarinesy envisions BrA.I becoming an essential tool for visually impaired individuals within five years, with at least one device in every institution. "Ultimately, we want BrA.I to become a personal device, used on demand just like a mobile phone," she said. "We’re aiming for large-scale adoption, with our device present in every household, providing a practical and accessible solution for daily life—both nationally and internationally."
Through Used.ma, Anainiaa Reda is working to advance sustainable fashion in Morocco and Africa. The platform seeks to combine innovation, social impact, and environmental considerations within the second-hand market.
Anainiaa Reda (photo) is a graduate in organizational and strategic management from Ibn Tofail University. In 2022, he launched Used.ma an e-commerce platform specializing in the buying and selling of second-hand clothing, promoting circular fashion in Morocco and across Africa.
Through Used.ma, he merges his business acumen with his passion for the fashion industry, and his decision is already proving successful, with the platform winning third place in the Poesam (Orange Prize for Social Entrepreneurship in Africa and the Middle East) and second place in the Prix Maroc Jeunesse in the "Entrepreneurship" category in 2024. Used.ma is, in fact, the culmination of a long journey that began when Reda was in high school. He started reselling second-hand clothes for fun. This later turned into an avenue to sharpen his negotiation skills, get a glimpse into customer expectations, and gain expertise in supply chain management.Later, he founded a delivery startup, which provided deeper insights into logistics and optimizing customer experience. These ventures shaped his vision and prepared him to launch Used.ma.
Adapting to the Market
The idea for Used.ma emerged from a simple yet powerful observation: despite the global boom in second-hand fashion, Morocco's market remained largely unstructured. Reda identified three major challenges to tackle: lack of consumer trust, the complexity of buying and selling second-hand items, and the textile industry's environmental impact.
Used.ma offers an innovative solution that secures transactions, simplifies exchanges, and encourages more responsible consumption. Inspired by successful international models like Vinted and Depop, Reda tailors these platforms to local realities, considering the preferences of Moroccan and African consumers. His ability to innovate while drawing from proven strategies has been a key factor in his success.
Yet, he faced consumer reluctance to embrace online second-hand shopping and the challenge of building an attractive offering while managing his startup's growth. To overcome this, he adopted a gradual, user-focused approach centered on improving customer experience, listening to feedback, and raising awareness about the benefits of second-hand fashion.
Morocco and Beyond
Looking ahead, Reda envisions Used.ma becoming the leading platform for second-hand clothing and sustainable fashion in North and West Africa within five years. His ambition is to structure the circular fashion market in countries like Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, and Côte d'Ivoire, while building a committed community around sustainability and style.
Beyond creating a profitable business, Reda aims to make a positive social and environmental impact by reducing textile waste and promoting responsible consumption. At the same time, he is opening up economic opportunities for young entrepreneurs and independent resellers, giving them a platform to grow their businesses.
A civil engineering graduate, he chose to make sustainable transport more accessible in Africa. To achieve this, he relies on technology and promotes the adoption of electric vehicles across the continent.
Felix Rubanda (photo) is a Rwandan tech entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Feru Energy, a startup specializing in e-mobility infrastructure across Africa.
Founded in 2022, Feru Energy aims to develop and deploy affordable and reliable e-mobility solutions for businesses and electric vehicle (EV) drivers on the continent. One of its key innovations is SafariCharger, a comprehensive charging optimization solution for electric vehicles.
SafariCharger includes a Charging Station Management System (CSMS) designed for infrastructure operators, as well as a mobile app. The CSMS provides real-time monitoring and analysis, offering detailed insights on charger usage to help operators optimize their charging networks.
The mobile app informs users about charging station availability, pricing, and locations. It also allows booking time slots and making payments via mobile money, a widely used payment method in Africa.
Rubanda is also the head of charging stations at Kabisa Electric, a Rwandan company specializing in electric mobility. In 2021, he co-founded Punda Group, a company leveraging technology to transform Africa’s construction sector. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering technologies from the University of Rwanda. Before venturing into entrepreneurship, he led Five Worlds, a Rwandan travel and tourism agency, from 2014 to 2017.
By Melchior Koba,
Editing by Sèna D. B. de Sodji
He is an entrepreneur passionate about digital innovation, especially in e-commerce, financial inclusion, and USSD technology. His work focuses on streamlining commercial transactions between merchants, suppliers, manufacturers, and retailers, making business interactions more efficient and accessible.
Amein Eskinder (photo) is an Ethiopian computer scientist and tech entrepreneur, best known as the founder and CEO of Taywan, a B2B e-commerce and financing platform.
Founded in 2020, Taywan is a digital solution designed to streamline informal trade and supply chains for merchants, retailers, and kiosks. The platform offers a comprehensive distribution network, connecting manufacturers, wholesalers, suppliers, and retailers—while also providing financing solutions for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“We are not only empowering MSMEs; instead, we are aiming to create an enabling ecosystem for manufacturers, wholesalers, suppliers, and retailers so that each one of the stakeholders participates in achieving an inclusive and prosperous Ethiopia,” says Eskinder.
Today, Taywan serves 2,500 merchants, 25 agents, 25 importers, and 15 suppliers.
In addition to Taywan, Eskinder is the CEO of Cico, a startup specializing in unified Cash In, Cash Out point-of-sale solutions. Before launching Taywan, he founded HYTHEM Labs in 2017, a software research and development institute, which he led until 2022.
Eskinder holds a computer technician diploma from The Spark Academy in Ethiopia. Between 2021 and 2023, he also worked as a consultant for Hover Developer Services, a tech startup that helps Android developers integrate USSD actions from any mobile operator into their apps.
By Melchior Koba,
Editing by Sèna D. B. de Sodji
He began his entrepreneurial journey in 2019 while still a student, developing technological solutions to accelerate digital transformation in Africa.
Cirus Sumika, a Ugandan tech entrepreneur, is the founder and CEO of Sumic IT Solutions, a startup dedicated to narrowing Africa’s digital divide by providing sustainable technology solutions.
Founded in 2019, Sumic IT Solutions specializes in building professional websites for businesses, NGOs, hotels, and educational institutions, among others. The company also develops mobile applications, handling the entire process from ideation to delivery while offering ongoing support. Additionally, it provides digital marketing services, IT consulting, and training in new technologies.
"Our core mission is to facilitate the growth and self-sufficiency of businesses by providing them with affordable, standard, and sustainable technologies. We achieve this through a range of services including Website Design & Development, Domain Name Registration & Hosting, Mobile Application Development, Digital Marketing, IT Trainings, and IT Consulting," the startup states.
Sumic IT Solutions operates under Sumic Group, founded by Sumika, which also launched Sumic Online, a platform that facilitates buying and selling various products and services.
Sumika holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Makerere University, Uganda, which he earned in 2021. In 2020, he interned as an accountant at KPMG East Africa. Between 2023 and 2024, he was a partner at Black Leaders Worldwide, a business network for Black professionals in the U.S. and the U.K.
His achievements include winning the Startup of the Year in Technology award at the 2022 Startup Uganda Awards. In 2023, Sumic IT Solutions received the Global Recognition Award. Most recently, in 2024, Sumika was named Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the Private Sector Foundation Uganda, the country’s top private sector body.
By Melchior Koba,
Editing by Sèna D. B. de Sodji
A fintech expert with extensive experience in sub-Saharan Africa, he has played a key role in the development of Onafriq (formerly MFS Africa) across the continent. He designs innovative financial solutions tailored to the needs of the African market.
Yogo Dubois (photo) is a Congolese entrepreneur specializing in financial technology. He is the founder and CEO of Rego, a fintech startup that is revolutionizing access to financial services in sub-Saharan Africa.
Founded in 2024, Rego is a pioneering company that facilitates digital identification and credit assessment. Its platform offers secure, scalable, and inclusive solutions, enabling businesses and individuals to access financial services more easily.
By integrating advanced technologies such as encryption, biometric authentication, and alternative data analysis, Rego ensures optimal security and promotes financial autonomy. From identity verification to credit profiling, it bridges the gap between innovation and financial inclusion.
Yogo Dubois is the president of the DRC Fintech Association, an organization dedicated to the development of the financial technology sector in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He sits on the board of Africa Fintech Network, a platform bringing together fintech leaders across Africa, as well as on the board of Onafriq in the DRC, a pan-African fintech, where he is also a shareholder.
A graduate of the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management in Germany, he earned a master’s degree in marketing in 2017, followed by a master’s in business management and administration in 2019. In 2024, he obtained a certification as a commercial banking and credit analyst from the Corporate Finance Institute.
His career began in 2002 at Airtel DRC, where he successively held positions as customer service representative and product manager. In 2008, he became regional head of business development at InTarget Mobile Advertising, a company specializing in advertising and mobile marketing in Africa. In 2016, he joined Onafriq as commercial director for Southern and East Africa.
In 2017, Yogo Dubois joined the South African company Siyavula Education, specializing in educational technology. In 2020, he became regional director of business development for sub-Saharan Africa at Mondia Group, a mobile commerce company.
By Melchior Koba,
Editing by Sèna D. B. de Sodji
As a computer scientist and entrepreneur, Ousseynou Diop leverages innovation to advance education and entrepreneurship, driving Africa into the global digital economy.
Ousseynou Diop (photo) is a Senegalese software developer and tech entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of Xarala, a startup specializing in technology education.
The name Xarala, which means “technology” in Wolof, reflects the platform’s mission: to provide Africans with access to quality education to help them unlock their full potential. Founded in 2018, Xarala offers hands-on and accessible training in key digital fields, including software development, digital marketing, design, and data analysis.
The startup provides a mobile app for self-paced learning, along with personalized mentorship and certifications upon course completion. Xarala allows learners to study in their preferred language, making education more inclusive and accessible.
Alongside his work at Xarala, Ousseynou Diop serves as Software Technical Lead at ORYA TECHNOLOGIES, a financial services provider in Senegal. His tech journey began in 2016 as a freelance web developer. From 2017 to 2022, he was Vice President of the Programming Commission at Daara-IT, a Senegalese community of young tech enthusiasts.
Diop later joined OuiCarry, a logistics company, as a full-stack developer, before moving to Digital.in in 2020, where he worked on AI-driven recruitment solutions. From 2022 to 2023, he was a full-stack developer at Gemography, a platform connecting software engineers and data specialists with global tech companies.
By Melchior Koba,
Editing by Sèna D. B. de Sodji
He helps businesses develop innovative products by building a community of information and communication technology (ICT) experts.
Thierry Kientega (photo) is a telecommunications engineer and tech entrepreneur from Burkina Faso. He is the founder and CEO of OUIcoding, a consulting firm specializing in information technology.
Founded in 2018, OUIcoding specializes in digital transformation, offering custom development solutions, NoCode services, and data and artificial intelligence-based tools. The company focuses on process automation and rapid application development. It also identifies, vets, and connects coders, designers, and engineers from Africa and emerging markets with businesses across the continent.
The startup has built a community of talents, where members can train, learn, share knowledge, and innovate. Its ambition is to create an ecosystem conducive to innovation and collaboration. Today, this community includes over 360 experts and has supported more than 158 projects, involving 46 companies.
Thierry Kientega holds a telecommunications engineering degree obtained in 2008 from the École Supérieure d’Ingénieurs de Rennes in France. He also earned a PhD in telecommunications in 2011 from the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in France.
His career began in 2007 at France Télécom (which became Orange in 2013) as a telecommunications engineer. In 2011, he joined the international consulting firm Leyton as a senior consultant, helping companies identify financial levers to accelerate growth and drive sustainable progress. In 2014, he became director of the commerce division at CFAO France, a company specializing in international trade.
By Melchior Koba,
Editing by Sèna D. B. de Sodji
After studying in Europe, he returned to Algeria determined to use his skills to benefit his country. As an entrepreneur, he's leveraging technology to make healthcare more accessible.
Amine Babou (photo), an Algerian tech entrepreneur and business school graduate, is the co-founder and CEO of Beesiha, a digital health company.
Founded in 2019, Beesiha is an online medical appointment platform designed to improve healthcare access and simplify the patient experience in Tunisia. The service, available for free via a mobile app and website, helps patients find doctors and schedule consultations seamlessly. For physicians, Beesiha offers a synchronized online agenda, streamlining appointment management and reducing wait times.
"Beesiha addresses a challenge we all face—finding a doctor, locating their office, traveling for an appointment, returning for the consultation, and sometimes waiting for hours. These constraints can be solved through better organization. Our app is designed to simplify healthcare access," explained Hambli Charef, the startup’s public relations officer from 2020 to 2021.
Beyond healthcare, Babou expanded into sports marketing by co-founding DKS in 2022, an agency specializing in branding and communication for elite athletes.
A graduate of ESSEC Business School in France, where he studied entrepreneurship, finance, and economics, Babou began his career in 2014 as an analyst and surveyor at Junior ESSEC Conseil, a European junior enterprise. In 2015, he worked as a sales associate at Mercer Maurice Energy Solutions Limited in the UK. Between 2017 and 2019, he was a project management consultant at Atos Consulting, specializing in digital transformation.
Melchior Koba
Edité par Sèna D. B. de Sodji
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Concerned about the challenges facing Tunisian artisans and provides them with digital solutions to showcase their work on international markets.
Moncef Ben Rajeb (photo) is a Tunisian computer scientist and tech entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of Qartaj, a company specializing in e-commerce.
Founded in 2015, Qartaj operates as a business-to-business (B2B) platform with the mission of showcasing Tunisian craftsmanship to a global audience. The company provides an online marketplace that enables local producers and artisans to market their products internationally.
"We enhance the sales potential of local businesses by promoting their products online and helping them overcome their biggest challenges: acquiring customers and managing sales. This allows local producers and brands to focus on creating high-quality products," Moncef Ben Rajeb wrote on LinkedIn.
Beyond Qartaj, Moncef Ben Rajeb co-founded Five Story in 2017, a retail brand specializing in Tunisian ceramics. In 2021, he launched Safa Tableware, a company dedicated to supporting Tunisian artisans.
He holds a master’s degree in web intelligence from Jean Monnet University in Saint-Étienne, earned in 2014, and a master’s in culture and design management from the Institut d’Administration des Entreprises de Saint-Étienne (IAE) in 2015.
Since 2020, Ben Rajeb has been a member of the Emerging Young Entrepreneurs Society (EYES), a global network of leaders committed to entrepreneurial excellence and authentic business relationships. From 2019 to 2020, he served as project director for Traveltodo Artisanat, a private sales platform dedicated to 100% Tunisian-made products.
By Melchior Koba,
Editing by Sèna D. B. de Sodji
He is a tech entrepreneur specializing in finance in South Africa. His mission is to make freelancing sustainable across Africa.
Thulani Masebenza (photo) is a South African entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of Bloo Money, a fintech startup simplifying payments between businesses and freelancers.
Founded in 2021 as Moya Money by Thulani Masebenza and Sabica Pardesi, Bloo Money offers a web-based application that streamlines invoice and payment management for freelancers. The platform enables them to request instant payments and get paid faster, helping them track their income more effectively and make more informed financial decisions.
For businesses, Bloo Money simplifies the administrative burden of managing freelancers, each with their own invoicing processes. The platform also facilitates the onboarding of suppliers and subcontractors while collecting valuable business data. By doing so, it aims to reduce paperwork and improve operational efficiency.
Thulani Masebenza holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and International Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand, earned in 2017. He also completed a postgraduate diploma in Management, Business Administration, and Management at Wits Business School that same year. In 2019, he completed Udacity's Nanodegree program in programming for data science with Python.
Before venturing into entrepreneurship, he worked in 2018 as an associate consultant at Ernst & Young, specializing in audit, advisory, tax, and legal services. From 2019 to 2023, he served as director at Young Aspiring Thinkers, a nonprofit organization that helps South African high school students develop essential career skills and tackles youth unemployment.
By Melchior Koba,
Editing by Sèna D. B. de Sodji
An engineer by training and passionate about problem-solving, he leverages his technological expertise to deliver high-impact digital solutions for businesses and individuals.
Thomas Brennan (photo) is a South African software engineer and tech entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of Franc, a startup specializing in investment and financial technology.
Founded in 2018 by Brennan and Sebastian Patel, Franc aims to simplify investing and saving for South Africans. The platform offers a robo-advisor that helps users develop personalized investment strategies based on their financial goals. It provides access to a cash fund (money market) with higher interest rates than traditional savings accounts, and an equity fund tracking stock market performance. Franc is fully digital and requires no minimum investment or administrative paperwork.
Thomas Brennan graduated from the University of Cape Town in 2003 with a Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He then pursued further studies at the University of Oxford, earning a PhD in Engineering Science in 2008. His professional career began that same year at AHL, a British investment management firm, where he worked as a quantitative analyst. That same year, he also became an associate product manager at Google.
In 2009, he joined GeoMed, a South African IT company, as a research consultant. The following year, he became a research assistant at the University of Oxford. In 2012, he moved to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a research engineer. From 2015 to 2018, he served as head of research and development at Discovery Ltd, a South African insurance company.
By Melchior Koba,
Editing by Sèna D. B. de Sodji
She promotes financial inclusion in Africa, leveraging technology to offer digital solutions to businesses and individuals in Nigeria.
Adaeze Onwumere (photo) is a Nigerian tech entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of Aku, a fintech company dedicated to accelerating financial inclusion and economic development across Africa.
Founded in 2019, Aku provides digital payment and banking solutions. Its platform enables users to send and receive money and pay bills via USSD, a mobile app, and other channels. By democratizing access to banking and digital payments, the company aims to foster greater financial inclusion.
Beyond payments, Aku also allows customers and merchants to save and access credit. Its accounts come with no annual or monthly maintenance fees, and all banking transactions are completely free. The Aku app has already been downloaded over 10,000 times on Google Play.
Adaeze Onwumere holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and African studies from Yale University (2012) and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2021.
She began her professional career in 2012 with Econet Global, a pan-African technology company, initially as an intern before spending five years in various roles. She later became head of commercial and operations at Cassava Fintech, a subsidiary of the group. Between 2018 and 2019, she served as chief operating officer at EcoCash Holdings, a company specializing in digital financial solutions.
By Melchior Koba,
Editing by Sèna D. B. de Sodji