TECH STARS (1007)
In partnership with local and international players, Factory 619 offers a dynamic ecosystem and tailor-made programs to support entrepreneurs in Tunisia.
Factory 619, a global innovation and technology center based in Tunis, has been fostering entrepreneurship and technological advancement since its inception in 2017. The center’s mission is to establish and co-develop enterprises specializing in e-health, gaming, blockchain, and digital transformation.
Led by founders Mehdi Nakouri and Hédi Michau, it offers a broad spectrum of activities and programs, such as hackathons, challenges, networking events, and workshops. The center operates through four divisions: The Studio, The Foundry, The Forge, and The Garage.
The Studio, the center’s inaugural division, champions technological innovation by validating business concepts and transforming them into scalable tech start-ups. To date, The Studio has successfully launched seven startups, including 4Labs, a Software as a Service (SaaS) sales support solution for the pharmaceutical sector.
The Foundry division serves as a launchpad for entrepreneurs to establish startups and grow businesses. It aids CEOs by overseeing the product development process and bolstering commercial endeavors. Additionally, it provides strategic support to the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for the company’s growth and market entry.
The Forge division provides entrepreneurs with bespoke services in technology, product creation, and innovation programs. The Garage division, on the other hand, cultivates a conducive entrepreneurial environment and fortifies start-ups through pre-incubation and pre-acceleration programs and events.
Factory 619 has forged several strategic partnerships to provide its entrepreneurs with optimal conditions for success. Partners include Tunisian radio station Express FM, the Mediterranean Development Initiative, Nextera, and the Athens Lifelong Learning Institute.
Melchior Koba
The Algerian entrepreneur initiated a platform designed to tackle the escalating issue of illegal parking. This platform aims to link drivers with vacant parking spots.
Algerian entrepreneur Oudda Abbes, a civil engineering graduate from the University of Science and Technology of Oran Mohamed Boudiaf (USTOMB), heads Garini, a mobile app for parking reservations.
Founded in 2017, Garini partners with property developers, private parking lots, and hotels to optimize their parking space usage. It aims to become a key player in the sharing economy through its parking solutions.
The startup has gained recognition in Algeria, winning first place at the 2020 Tunisian Hackathon and the logistics category at the 2021 Startup Challenge Algeria. In 2022, it was the Algerian winner of the Emerging Mediterranean Bootcamp and placed second at the GEC + Africa Regional Pitch Event. Additionally, it received the "Sustainable Cities" award from the Algerian Ministry of Knowledge Economy in 2023.
Abbes currently manages Oran's large parking lot and real estate company Oudda Isjane Immobilier. Before founding Garini, he worked as an inspection engineer at the National Technical Control of Construction Centre (CTC) from 2010 and later joined Ace Architecture as Senior Manager in 2016.
Melchior Koba
Through its activities, events, and partnerships, Founders Factory Africa helps stimulate innovation and economic growth in Africa. It helps solve the social and economic problems facing many countries.
Founders Factory Africa, a startup accelerator and investor, is reshaping the startup landscape in Africa. Established in 2018 by Roo Rogers, Alina Truhina, and Sam Sturm, and headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, the firm is dedicated to fostering and scaling innovative startups, channeling fresh capital into the African continent, and generating systemic impact.
It aims to equip founders with the necessary funding, knowledge, and hands-on support to achieve commercial success. The firm cultivates and grows businesses in Africa across four sectors: healthcare, energy, fintech, and education, with an emphasis on scalability, technology, and impact.
Founders Factory Africa boasts a portfolio of over 55 companies, including Lipa Later and Asaak, spread across 11 countries in East, West, North, and Southern Africa. In August 2023, the accelerator raised $114 million to broaden its model to better cater to founders in the African tech ecosystem. Its hybrid investment approach merges company building, business engagement, and strategic investment to deliver large-scale solutions to consumers in sub-Saharan Africa.
The accelerator team, under the leadership of CEO Bongani Sithole, is entirely African, supplemented by key members from around the globe. It also benefits from the backing of corporate partners such as Standard Bank, Small Foundation, Netcare Group, and Mastercard Foundation.
Melchior Koba
With a background in economics, he has served as an investment analyst for global corporations. Currently, he leads a firm that provides financial support for the acquisition of solar energy equipment to underserved communities.
South African entrepreneur Michael Heyink (photo), a University of Cape Town Economics graduate, co-founded and now leads Yellow, a startup focused on distributing and financing affordable solar home systems for low-income rural households.
Established in 2018 by Heyink and Maya Stewart, Yellow offers a solar system package that includes a panel, battery, four lamps, a cell phone charger, and a radio. The company also markets smartphones and larger solar systems.
Yellow has developed Ofeefee, a comprehensive sales force network solution for last-mile delivery. This platform automates recruitment and training, offers engaging incentives, and includes an e-commerce and task management engine to streamline informal processes. It facilitates digital inventory, delivery, and warranty service management, and provides real-time credit scoring and portfolio management services.
With its headquarters in South Africa, Yellow operates in Malawi, Rwanda, Madagascar, Uganda, and Zambia. The company employs over 1,000 agents and serves more than 480,000 customers across Africa. In June 2023, Yellow secured $14 million in Series B funding to bolster its presence in existing markets.
Before founding Yellow, Heyink worked as a strategy consultant at Monitor Group from 2012 to 2014. He later joined Agis Investment as an investment analyst in 2015, and subsequently worked as a private equity analyst at Metier, a private equity fund manager.
Melchior Koba
Through its programs, the KivuTech incubator aims to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation, contributing to the technological and economic development of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
KivuTech, a business incubator in eastern Congo, champions young entrepreneurs and emerging businesses, fostering a vibrant tech ecosystem and driving economic growth. Founded by social entrepreneur Benjamin Cinamula and other young Congolese, KivuTech caters to a diverse audience, including entrepreneurs, students, researchers, and startups.
Its mission revolves around fostering technological innovation and economic development. The incubator provides a supportive environment, offering training, mentorship, financing, and collaborative workspaces to nurture promising ventures. Its diverse programs empower entrepreneurs with the skills and resources needed to thrive, contributing to Congo's technological advancement and economic diversification.
The incubator actively promotes education, particularly in tech and computer skills, to equip future generations with the necessary tools for success. It also champions initiatives focused on socio-economic reintegration, gender equality, and unemployment reduction, contributing to broader societal development in the region. Its work has yielded impressive results. With over 40 expert mentors and a robust network of partners, the incubator has supported more than 200 projects, boasting over 100 success stories. Notable initiatives include "l'or dans nos poubelles," a UNDP-backed project that upcycles plastic waste, showcasing KivuTech's commitment to sustainable development.
KivuTech's Kivu Digital Summit, organized in collaboration with young entrepreneurs' organizations, is a testament to its commitment to fostering connections and collaboration within the Congolese tech ecosystem. The event brought together hundreds of young innovators, government officials, academics, and business leaders, fostering dialogue and driving innovation forward.
Melchior Koba
He is an award-winning technology entrepreneur in Africa. Specializing in educational technologies, he aims to stimulate the continent's development through education and knowledge sharing.
Edouard Claude Oussou (photo), a Gabonese strategic leader and entrepreneur, is the founder and CEO of Scientia Africa, an educational technology startup established in 2017. The company, which operates in Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Comoros, aims to ensure 100% academic success for all students through its web, mobile, and SMS/USSD applications.
According to the World Bank, Gabon has the highest school failure rate globally, primarily due to inadequate infrastructure and poor quality school supervision. “Since we can’t replace the state in terms of building schools, we’ve positioned ourselves in terms of school follow-up,” Oussou stated in 2020.
Scientia Africa offers a school tracking application, providing students, parents, teachers, and school administrators with real-time access to essential information for monitoring students’ education. The application analyzes and processes data to evaluate pedagogy, course quality, student assimilation, potential shortcomings, and educational progress.
In addition to his role at Scientia Africa, Oussou serves as the Head of Strategy, Research, and Development at Société équatoriale des mines (SEM) in Gabon. He holds a diploma in computer administration and management from the Institut Supérieur de Technologie in Libreville, obtained in 2003, and a certification in business and entrepreneurship from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in the USA.
Oussou also founded Routedusucces.com, an educational platform where he served as CEO from 2016 to 2020. His professional career began in 2003 at CRN, a marketing company, where he was a Multimedia Manager. In 2018, he interned in business development at Microsoft.
Oussou and his company, Scientia Africa, have received several awards and distinctions. In 2017, the African Startup Forum voted Scientia Africa as the best African startup in the education category. Positive Youth’s Africa named Oussou as one of the 100 most inspiring young Africans. In 2019, the African Union Commission recognized him as one of Africa’s top education innovators. In 2021, he won the Moov Africa Gabon Télécom Startup Challenge.
Melchior Koba
Financial hurdles can hinder start-up growth. To equip aspiring entrepreneurs with the tools and guidance needed to secure funding, 250 STARTUPS offers customized incubation, acceleration, and mentorship programs in Rwanda.
250STARTUPS, a Rwandan incubation and acceleration center led by Managing Director Charles Shyaka, provides technology startups with the resources to develop a proof of concept and become investment-ready through a customized program. The center accelerates startups for six months per cohort, offering financial, legal, technical, and mentoring support to help them transition from incubation to expansion.
The center also runs a capacity-building program for young graduates in information and communication technology (ICT), finance, and law, who collaborate closely with entrepreneurs under expert guidance. Each month, the center hosts Capital Talks, where incubatees showcase their progress to potential partners, investors, and other startups. The center currently supports 160 beneficiaries, 40 companies, and 80 associates.
Among the startups backed by 250 STARTUPS are Nyereka Tech, an e-commerce platform selling IoT sensors and experiential learning tools, and AFIA Pharma, a pharmaceutical e-commerce platform. Another notable startup is Safe Sana, which has developed a safety device that detects gas leaks, automatically shuts down the gas cylinder, triggers an alarm, and sends SMS alerts and calls to a mobile phone.
Melchior Koba
An agricultural technology entrepreneur, she created a crop and soil management tool aimed at enhancing farmers' productivity and mitigating crop pests. Her innovation has earned her numerous accolades and distinctions.
Maryanne Gichanga (photo), a Kenyan tech entrepreneur and law student at Mount Kenya University, is the co-founder and CEO of AgriTech Analytics. The company, established in 2018, is committed to eradicating hunger and poverty by assisting small-scale farmers in rural Africa to increase crop yields and secure food supplies.
AgriTech Analytics employs various data types, including satellite imagery and data from its solar IoT crop and soil sensors. The device sends alerts or reports to farmers via mobile phones with over 97% accuracy, enabling early pest detection to prevent crop damage and harvest loss.
The company currently serves 2,880 small-scale farmers across the Rift Valley, Central, and Eastern Kenya, with plans to enroll 15,000 farmers by 2024. "There are 33 million farmers in Africa and approximately 4.5 million small-scale farmers in Kenya. Our target market is 2.5% of this demographic in Kenya which translates to 112,500 farmers by 2027," Gichanga stated in 2023.
Gichanga, a former data analyst at Standard Chartered Bank (2013-2020), received several awards and honors in 2023. She was included in Business Daily Africa's 40 under 40 women list and won the 2023 Agritech of the Year award on behalf of her company from Guzakuza, a women leaders in agribusiness support organization, and the German Agency for International Development Cooperation (GIZ).
Melchior Koba
MALhub, a shared workspace in Ilorin, offers budding entrepreneurs and small businesses affordable workspace, training programs, and incubation support. The hub aims to nurture young talent and foster economic growth in the Nigerian city.
Nigeria’s Makers and Leaders Hub (MALhub), an incubator established in 2017, is fostering a supportive and inclusive tech community under the leadership of managing partners Kehinde Kamaldeen and Abubakar Sadiq.
The hub, based in Ilorin, is a gathering place for technologists, social entrepreneurs, government officials, tech companies, impact investors, and local youth. They collaborate to devise innovative solutions to Nigeria’s pressing social issues, with MALhub aiming to be the go-to partner for such initiatives.
MALhub offers training programs to equip its clients with a competitive advantage and provides a well-resourced coworking space for entrepreneurs. Its incubation program offers the necessary advice and resources for entrepreneurs to realize their business aspirations, providing them with valuable insights and practical strategies to navigate challenges, capitalize on opportunities, and ensure sustainable growth.
With a strong commitment to promoting women’s participation in entrepreneurship and technology, MALhub has organized numerous Women in Tech programs, supporting over 200 women to date. The hub boasts a vibrant community of more than 7,000 active members and has facilitated the creation and support of over 50 sustainable jobs and business ventures.
Melchior Koba
Following his medical studies, he spent several years working for a U.S. medical company. Despite his background in medicine, he ventured into the fintech industry, establishing his own business with a focus on a QR code payment solution.
Senegalese doctor and entrepreneur, Ibrahima Kane (photo), is the founder and CEO of Kalpay, a fintech firm aimed at streamlining payment processes across Africa. Established in 2019, Kalpay has developed a quick payment application that utilizes QR code technology.
The platform offers a range of innovative services for users, retailers, and businesses, and is compatible with all operators. It features two main products: Kalpay Wallet and Kalpay Business. Kalpay Wallet is a digital wallet that allows users to make everyday purchases, transfer money, pay bills, and even purchase airtime using their mobile devices. On the other hand, Kalpay Business provides merchants, businesses, and financial institutions with digital solutions for issuing or receiving digital payments. It also helps generate additional revenue through deposit and withdrawal operations, while facilitating better business management.
Kane explained in 2019, "Upon arrival, the customer will scan the QR code (printed on a white sheet of paper). Their phone will then display the merchant's name and photo, allowing them to proceed with the payment."
Kane earned his medical degree from Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez, Morocco, in 2012, and a Master's degree in Public Health from George Washington University in 2015. He also holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University in the USA.
Before founding Kalpay, Kane served as the Executive Vice President in charge of operations and development at Metro Spine PC, a medical services company, from 2012 to 2018.
Melchior Koba
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Through its programs and activities, Innovate Durban promotes an ecosystem where innovation drives economic and social progress.
Innovate Durban, a non-profit company established in 2013 by the eThekwini municipality, fosters a vibrant innovation ecosystem in South Africa's coastal city. Its mission is to stimulate entrepreneurship, drive economic growth, and create jobs through initiatives leveraging the potential of the 4th industrial revolution.
The organization initially served as a forum connecting stakeholders - entrepreneurs, businesses, academia, government, and civil society - within the local innovation landscape. Officially registered as a non-profit in 2017, it has since expanded its offerings to provide practical support for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Innovate Durban boasts a range of services, including virtual and coworking spaces equipped with 3D printers, laser cutters, and other specialized machinery. Its flagship program, The Start Up Support Program, guides innovators from concept to commercialization through a 12-month process with business and technical skill development, prototype funding facilitation, and connections to angel investors.
Design thinking workshops and training programs are offered through Innovation Co-Lab, an innovation center designed to empower individuals and communities. Tailored to meet specific company needs, these programs aim to nurture innovative problem-solving skills, foster new business ventures, create jobs, and tackle social challenges.
The organization's success relies on collaboration with key partners like Open Cities Lab, Standard Bank, Ubuntu, Durban University of Technology, the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, and the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Melchior Koba
Upon graduation, he accumulated experience in software testing over several years with various U.S. and French firms. Recognizing technology’s influence, he established Expert Team Tunisia, an initiative aimed at equipping the youth with digital skills.
Tunisian entrepreneur and computer engineer, Salah El Amami (photo), an alumnus of the National Engineering School of Sfax (ENIS) in Tunisia, is the founder of Expert Team Tunisie (ETT), a center for continuing education and professional certification.
Established in 2010, ETT provides a variety of high-quality training courses in information technology and business management. The startup aims to enhance the careers of young individuals and secure their future employment. It currently offers more than 180 themes across eight training areas. To date, it has certified 3,660 learners, conducted 352 training sessions, satisfied 3,956 customers, and delivered 8,448 hours of training.
ETT has also launched an online revision platform, Expertest, for professionals seeking certification and skill assessment. Expertest offers a range of mock exams and corrected exercises, available in packs for each level.
In addition to ETT, El Amami founded Improve Software in 2016, a startup specializing in software testing. Based in France, it provides training services in software testing, both in-person and remotely.
Before his entrepreneurial ventures, El Amami served as a qualification manager at Orange (2011-2012). He has also held the position of test manager at several companies, including QuickPlay Media, an American technology firm, Solocal Group, a French digital marketing company, and SeLoger, a French real estate listing platform.
Melchior Koba
Benin's government has established a dedicated center to combat cybercrime, bolstering its efforts to tackle online threats in the West African nation. The new unit aims to improve investigations and prosecutions of cyber-related offenses, a growing concern across the continent.
Beninese computer scientist Ouanilo Medegan Fagla (photo) was appointed head of the newly established National Center for Digital Investigations (CNIN) on Wednesday, January 24, in a bid to bolster the country's fight against cybercrime.
Fagla, a veteran cybersecurity expert and former Director of Digital Security at Benin's Agency for Information and Digital Systems Agency (ASIN), will now lead the CNIN, aiming to enhance investigations and prosecutions of online offenses.
The Beninese government established the CNIN on November 29, 2023, to continue the fight against cybercrime. The center assumes the responsibilities of the Office central de répression de la cybercriminalité (OCRC) and will take over the cybercrime-related missions of the ASIN.
Before his appointment, Fagla served as ASIN's Director of Digital Security. He is an ISACA-certified information security manager and holds a General Academic Studies Degree (DEUG) in applied mathematics and computer science from the University of Orléans (2004), and a master's degree in computer science from Epitech (2007).
Fagla began his professional career in 2005 at Epitech as an assistant professor. He later became a research expert in reverse engineering at Neuf Telecom, a French ISP, in 2006. In 2008, he joined Bizanga Labs, an email and messaging security company, as a software engineer, a position he also held at Cloudmark, a cybersecurity firm.
Fagla, a former pedagogical director at Epitech (2011-2016), co-founded iNNERSHiP in 2015, a company offering customized development programs for businesses. He served as the Director General of the National Agency for Information Systems Security (ANSSI) from 2019 to 2023.
In 2021, the President of the Republic appointed Fagla as an Officer of the National Order of Benin.
Melchior Koba
With climate change disrupting water resources, soil fertility, and crop health across Africa, agricultural entrepreneur Tafadzwa Chikwereti is turning to digital tools to empower farmers and boost their resilience.
Tafadzwa Chikwereti (photo), a young entrepreneur and graduate of the National University of Science and Technology, is the founder of agritech firm Murimi Electronic Agriculture (eAgro), established in 2020.
eAgro’s mission is to bolster farmers’ resilience to climate change, offering a suite of digital tools for climate-smart farming, including data analysis, artificial intelligence (AI), satellite imagery, and an intelligent agronomy tool, Cropfix. The company also provides a credit rating system through Credfarm, facilitating access to affordable financial services for farmers and agribusinesses.
Credfarm assists financial institutions in developing loans tailored to the needs of small-scale farmers by providing an agriculture-specific, data-driven credit risk assessment model.
eAgro’s smart farming platform, Cropfix, uses AI, satellite imagery, and natural language processing to deliver personalized agronomic advice to farmers via text, USSD, and WhatsApp, helping them detect and manage pests and diseases.
Chikwereti has received several accolades for his work. He was a finalist for the Anzisha Prize in 2021, won the Startupper of the Year award from Total Energies in 2022, and was a finalist for the Global Student Prize in 2023. He was also named one of the 12 finalists in the GoGettaz Agripreneur Competition organized by the Africa Food Systems Summit in Tanzania.
Melchior Koba