TECH STARS (960)
With over ten years of experience in tech entrepreneurship, she has founded two companies that develop useful tech solutions adapted to African markets. Her entrepreneurial drive and innovations have been celebrated with several awards and distinctions.
Olajumoke Oduwole (photo) is a Nigerian entrepreneur and computer scientist. She graduated, in 2015, from the University of Lagos with a Master's in systems engineering with a major in artificial intelligence and software.
In 2021, she co-founded the fintech startup Alajo, of which she is currently the CEO. Through its eponymous application, her startup digitizes savings and credit transactions via a USSD infrastructure. The said application is designed for merchants, fast-growing businesses, unbanked, and even underbanked individuals. It has already helped its users save over 373 million naira (443,600 euros).
“Opportunely, the under- and un-banked now have access to financial products, services, and opportunities from corporates through data analyzed from their transactions,” Ms. Olajumoke told Disrupt Africa in April 2023.
Thanks to Alajo, Olajumoke Oduwole and Eniola Oladeinde (the co-founder of Alajo) took part in the Google for Startup Accelerator: Women Founders program.
Before Alajo, Ms. Olajumoke had already founded, in 2014, KJK Africa, a software development firm that creates sustainable software products and offers services aimed at increasing business efficiency, strengthening customer relationships, raising the visibility of operations, and increasing sales.
From 2012 to 2013, she worked for Bethel Group of Companies as a senior developer and IT manager. She also headed the brand, IT, and digital transformation departments at RegCharles Finance & Capital from 2013 to 2014. In 2018, she was a communications consultant to the Presidential Council for an Enabling Business Environment, Nigeria (PEBEC-EBES).
She has received several distinctions and awards for her work. In 2018, she was a top 10 finalist in the Seyi Tinubu Empowerment Program's Rising Tech Entrepreneur. In 2020, she made it to the Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 list.
Melchior Koba
An Ivoirian entrepreneur, Rukayatou Saka (pictured) is the founder and CEO of Paiement Pro. She holds a degree in computer engineering obtained in 2012 from the School of Multimedia Specialities in Abidjan (ESMA) and a master's degree in data engineering obtained in 2021 from ISM Paris.
Paiement Pro is an online platform that allows its users to accept payments via mobile money solutions (like Orange Money) or by credit card. The platform was created in 2019. Secure, it fosters online selling and online businesses in Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, and Senegal.
Paiement Pro is a product of Amira Global Technology, which was founded by Rukayatou Saka. Established in 2008, Amira Global Technology is a digital transformation consulting company, involved in the design and development of digital solutions. Apart from Paiement Pro, the company has developed Doumgba Marché and Liste de Mariage.
Liste de Mariage is a web platform that allows future spouses to digitize their wedding list and enable friends and acquaintances to offer them gifts online, via VISA and Mastercard credit cards or mobile money (Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali).
Doumgba Marché is a web platform that improves the value chain in the production and sale of agricultural products. It connects the producer with the nearest transporter for the shipment of the product, thus allowing the production to be sold online.
To date, Amira Global Technology has completed 1,175 projects and developed more than 8 large public platforms. In 2021, the Jack Ma Foundation ranked it among the top 50 African companies. The same year, Rukayatou Saka received the national excellence award for the best female digital initiative of the year. Also in 2021, she was one of the 50 finalists in Africa's Business Heroes.
La Startup Station, an accelerator for tech startups based in Morocco, plays a crucial role in developing innovation and entrepreneurship in the country. By fostering collaboration between startups and large companies, it creates opportunities for local entrepreneurs and startups.
Founded in 2017 as La Startup Factory, La Startup Station promotes the startup mindset within large public and private institutions to democratize the culture of technological innovation and entrepreneurship. The accelerator is led by its founder, Mehdi Alaoui, who sets up various programs to support innovation and digital transformation. It offers a tailored acceleration plan for startups, regardless of their development stage (ideation, prototyping, or launch).
The tech hub helps budding entrepreneurs test their idea’s viability and make it fruitful. For those who already own a business, it assists in structuring market access, validating their proof of concept, setting up the minimum viable product (MVP), and finding financing.
La Startup Station also helps entrepreneurs develop their businesses and scale up by implementing a growth strategy that includes access to suitable financing solutions.
In addition to its acceleration programs, it has also set up La Startup School, a fully digital and free program that includes workshops, expert interventions, entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship trainers, as well as advice and best practices.
The accelerator also organizes several events, like the Global Industry 4.0 Conference on July 26, 2023. The event aims to bring together companies and actors working in the field of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, robotics, and automation.
So far, La Startup Station has supported 5,000 established startups and financed 65 startups. Thanks to its investor partners, 14 startups have already completed at least one fundraising round. The accelerator has launched more than 50 open innovation programs with large companies, raised awareness about innovation and collaboration with startups among over 100,000 employees, managers, and senior executives, and enabled the deployment of over 29 innovative digital solutions within companies.
La Startup Station’s partners include Facebook, Sanofi, Société Générale, the World Bank, GIZ, BNP Paribas, Leoni, LafargeHolcim, Bymaro, Vinci Energies, and BMCE Capital.
Melchior Koba
Many graduates end up without a job or with underpaid jobs. To tackle this issue, Ayman Bazaraa launched Sprints to guarantee that youths have decent jobs. He gives them personalized training.
Ayman Bazaraa is the co-founder and CEO of Sprints, an ed-tech company. The Egyptian studied at the University of Cairo where he obtained a Bachelor in Electronics and Communication in 2004. In 2014, he studied Leadership, Finance, and Management at the European Centre for Executive Development.
Sprints was founded in 2019 to unlock the potential of 100 million curious learners and help them develop essential skills in the AI era. The ed-tech company assesses the youth who register for its courses and offers a personalized learning path.
Once they have reached the end of the path, the startup guarantees a well-paid job in big tech companies, in Egypt and around the world. It also supports its students’ careers. With Sprints, Bazaraa was picked among the 50 finalists of Africa’s Business Heroes 2023. He also won the final qualifiers of the "El Forsa with Lamees El Hadidi" television competition for startups.
Before Sprints, Ayman Bazaraa co-founded MicroDoers in 2012, a company that provides innovative augmented reality solutions to a broad base of clients in the United States, Europe, and Asia. In 2015, he also co-founded Avelabs, a provider of integrated solutions and services for the automotive industry.
Before his entrepreneurial years, Bazaraa worked for Orange Egypt as a software engineer starting in December 2004. He joined IBM in 2005, initially as an embedded software designer, then as a team leader of over 20 software engineers. In 2011, he became the director of automotive supplier Valeo in Egypt and founded the department of software experts that now supports all the company's projects worldwide.
Melchior Koba
The computer scientist uses programming tools to find lasting solutions that will help his community and country as a whole.
Umar Bolokada Mansaray is a Sierra Leonean entrepreneur and self-taught computer scientist with expertise in front-end, mobile development, and UI/UX design. He co-founded Smart H2O in 2022.
Smart H2O aims to revolutionize water purification using computer programming tools. With his startup, Bolokada won the Community Mining Innovation Challenge the same year.
Umar Bolokada grew up in eastern Sierra Leone, a mining region with abundant natural resources. However, due to mining activities, the region was plagued with significant water pollution, and consequently, people in the area had low access to clean and safe drinking water. Bolokada, therefore, felt a deep responsibility to solve this problem and help his people.
Smart H2O works on building an advanced system using Arduino (an open-source electronic prototyping platform) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to detect and purify polluted water. By employing cutting-edge technology, the system can rapidly analyze water samples, identify contaminants, and apply appropriate purification methods. This process proves to be more efficient, cost-effective, and eco-friendly compared to conventional purification techniques.
The turning point in Bolokada's journey came in late 2022 when he “was introduced to the Orange Fab lab through a supportive friend and mentor.” This incubation by Orange Fab proved to be a game-changer, “providing vital resources, mentorship, and access to a wide network of experts and investors,” he revealed. This support accelerated Smart H2O's development, enabling Bolokada and his team to refine their algorithms, conduct real-world tests, and expand their research in regions facing water contamination challenges.
Though at its infancy stage currently, Bolokada “aims to reach many communities and expand beyond Sierra Leone in the coming years.”
Before founding Smart H2O, Bolokada had launched another startup called Kam Rent Ya in 2020, which aimed to simplify the rental process for housing seekers. Available on the web and mobile, the solution helps users find and rent properties remotely.
Beyond his entrepreneurial ventures, Bolokada worked as a UI engineer for Women Power Africa, an organization advocating for gender equality, in 2020. The following year, he founded Her Choice, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering women and girls. Umar Bolokada Mansaray exhibits genuine leadership and innovation, poised to drive substantial transformation in the domains he operates within.
Hikmatu Bilali
Andrew Takyi-Appiah has worked in the world of finance for more than 15 years. He has expertise in the field of banking and mobile payments. The company he heads strives to improve financial inclusion in Africa.
Andrew Takyi-Appiah is a Ghanaian entrepreneur and business leader who obtained a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Hull in 2002. He also holds a postgraduate degree in Management obtained in 2005 at UCLA. In 2021, he obtained the same degree in fintech at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. Talyi-Appiah is the Co-founder and Managing Director of Zeepay.
Founded in 2016, Zeepay is a fintech startup that aims to improve financial inclusion and make the world a better place to live. Leveraging partnerships with money transfer operators, the startup allows international fund transfers and ATM cash withdrawals.
Also, it allows holders of prepaid or debit VISA cards to receive money directly onto their cards within minutes. Zeepay has already conducted over 1,000,000 transactions across 23 countries in Europe, North America, and Africa and will soon be launched in Côte d'Ivoire.
In March 2023, Andrew Takyi-Appiah received the Fintech Leader of the Year in Africa award at the CEO Summit for the second consecutive time, highlighting his critical role in the growth and advancement of sub-Saharan Africa's economic landscape. More recently, he was selected among the 50 finalists of Africa’s Business Heroes.
"At Zeepay, we are ready to provide our support and advice and invest in any innovative fintech idea that has a lot of potential and aims to benefit the ordinary African. Zeepay is for Africa, and we look forward to growing with Africa. We will continue to harness African human resources and innovations to drive growth," said the entrepreneur in 2022.
Before launching Zeepay, he worked in several financial institutions like GTBank, where he was in charge of corporate banking in 2007, and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated from 2007 to 2011. Between 2011 and 2013, he worked at PwC, and between 2013 and 2016, he was at UT Bank Ghana.
Melchior Koba
Benin, like most African countries, considers the digital economy as an important component of its development. One of the actors advancing technological innovation in the country is EtriLabs hub.
EtriLabs is both an innovation ecosystem and a community of individuals keen to co-create and collaborate on projects aimed at solving major problems at the national and international levels.
Founded in 2009 by Senam Beheton, its CEO, Etrilabs’s vision is to foster an entrepreneurial culture focused on innovation, creativity, and sharing, by creating an environment conducive to the emergence of world-class solutions.
Like most innovation centers, EtriLabs offers a well-equipped co-working space for entrepreneurs, designers, developers, and marketing specialists.
The hub is based in Benin and Senegal. In the former, it has two centers in Cotonou (South) and one in Parakou (North). In the latter, it has one center in Dakar, the capital. Its three areas of intervention are ecosystem development, enterprise acceleration and incubation, and digital innovation. As part of ecosystem development, it provides several digital training programs, such as the Learn2Code camp which trains children in computer programming and graphics.
With EtriStars, which regroups all its acceleration programs, EtriLabs meets the needs of young companies and helps them overcome the challenges they face by providing them with support and access to essential resources.
EtriLabs also offers tailored solutions to businesses, individuals, non-governmental organizations, and governments. Whether it's developing a brand image, introducing an innovation strategy within the institution, or integrating new digital technologies, the center helps its trainees achieve their goals.
Besides training programs, EtriLabs offers workshops and seminars on various topics. It also organizes events to promote networking, product and service demonstrations, and fundraising.
With the help of its partners, EtriLabs has supported more than 1,000 entrepreneurs in 14 sectors of activity. Among the companies it has supported are fintech FedaPay, Ylomi which connects artisans with potential clients, and healthtech Rema.
Melchior Koba
After he completed his master's degree in energy economics in France, he returned to his home country where many people still struggle to have electricity. There, he founded ARESS, an innovative solution that solves this issue through solar energy.
Léonide Michael Sinsin (pictured) is a doctor in energy economics, who graduated from the Paris Dauphine University. He completed his whole schooling in France, and in 2012 during a trip to Benin, his country, he founded with Paul Berthomieu, a classmate who went with him, African Renewable Energy System Solutions (ARESS). Sinsin had just completed his Master’s. He is ARESS’ CEO.
ARESS is a small and medium enterprise (SME) specializing in the field of renewable energies. Active in Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, and Senegal, ARESS sells solar equipment, sets up solar installations, and provides energy audit and maintenance services.
At first, the business was selling energy equipment but quickly realized that rural customers had issues making the payments, despite having the capacity to pay in installments spread over months.
Sinsin and Berthomieu, however, found a way around this challenge. They set up a system that automatically deactivates the equipment in case of non-payment. Buyers could still pay in installments over 36 months.
In 2016, the new startup, MyJouleBox, which develops equipment, software, and economic and social solutions to innovate in solar development, was born from this Pay As You Go model. In 2022, the company was part of the top 45 most innovative startups in Africa at the AfricaTech Awards.
Since 2022, Léonide Michael Sinsin has also been the president of the Interprofessional Association of Renewable Energy Specialists of Benin (AISER-Benin), which promotes and defends the interests of actors in the renewable energy sectors. Between 2012 and 2015, he worked as a senior technical writer for the pan-African think tank "L'Afrique des Idées".
Melchior Koba
Hive Colab, Uganda’s first tech hub, is developing incubation and acceleration programs with the help of its partners to encourage and support digital innovation in the country.
Hive Colab is an innovation and incubation center, a collaborative workspace for the business and technology community in Uganda. Founded in 2010 by Barbara Mutabazi, Daniel Stern, Jon Gosier, and Marieme Jamme, its co-working center provides entrepreneurs with internet access, a professional and calm working environment to develop their ideas, host events, and collaborate.
As Uganda's first tech hub, it aims to encourage tech lovers from current and future generations to create and develop applications that address the country's development issues. It also fosters creativity and innovation in the youth, pushing them to develop world-renowned tech products.
The hub supports actors operating in the following sectors: education, finance, health, governance, and agriculture. It offers several incubation programs, including the Youth Startup Academy Uganda (YSAU) project, its flagship program. The latter aims to incubate 1,000 young entrepreneurs by 2024. The registration phase for the program's third cohort ended on July 15th.
The innovation center also offers acceleration programs such as the University Acceleration program, which aims to generate new startups or innovations that address society's daily challenges. The solutions will then be developed and scaled by the students themselves, with the support of Hive Colab, transforming their ideas into businesses.
The hub has already incubated several companies, including Easy Matatu, a mobility startup, and ChapChap, which helps MSMEs have more productive networks and expand their distribution area.
Hive Colab is supported by various companies and organizations, like The Indigo Trust, UNICEF, Microsoft, Seacom, AfriLabs, Village Capital, and Startup Uganda.
Melchior Koba
Ghana Tech Lab firmly believes in Africa's development through emerging technological innovations. Through its unique programs and courses, the Lab supports budding entrepreneurs, from the idea stage to the creation of a profitable business.
Ghana Tech Lab is a technology innovation center aiming to become a major platform for digital innovations in Africa and beyond. Established in 2018, it has set up an open collaboration space for digital skills training, initiating innovations, and growing startups.
The innovation center offers free digital skills training, startup incubation services, seed funding for innovative ideas, and startup growth. Its team of experts also create solutions to meet the needs of various industries.
Ghana Tech Lab provides entrepreneurs and innovators with technology innovation spaces such as the Makerspace, the creative space, the AI Lab, the Blockchain Lab, the Robotics Lab, the Cybersecurity Lab, the IoT Lab, and the VR/AR lab.
Ghana Tech Lab's core program, which is also its flagship, prepares individuals to think and create new digital solutions. It lasts three months and is divided into two sub-programs. The first is a one-month digital skills training, and the second is a two-month intensive incubation program intended for the top trainees spotted during the training.
The center offers grants to new companies created during and after their incubation. This is to help them turn their ideas into world-class startups. Through its partners, Ghana Tech Lab offers its trainees internship programs, to help them hone their newly-acquired skills.
Since launching, Ghana Tech Lab has trained 3,972 people, created 401 jobs, and incubated 31 startups. The center’s partners include the World Bank, Ghana's Ministry of Communications, the Mastercard Foundation, Kumasi Hive, Innohub, and the Accra Digital Centre.
Melchior Koba
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From Banking to Digital Health: Joelle Itoua Owona's Journey in Fostering Global Medical Connections
A Cameroonian native, Joelle Itoua Owona worked in France and the US for many years. She, however, returned to Africa, to the Republic of Congo precisely where she founded an e-health startup.
Joelle Itoua Owona is a banker who moved into e-health. This Cameroonian native founded and is the CEO of AfriWell Health, a medical technology startup, active in the Republic of Congo.
Founded in 2022, the startup provides a digital platform that connects, rapidly and efficiently, patients in Congo with health professionals worldwide. In its first five years of activity, the company aims to create 500,000 patient-doctor connections.
AfriWell Health offers multiple diverse features. It provides services such as online appointment booking and video consultation. It also allows for doctor reviews and online access to medical history. All of these services are aimed at helping Congolese people better manage their health.
The startup is in partnership with several international hospitals, including Euracare in Ghana and Nigeria, the Zaghouan clinic in Tunisia, Memorial and Dent-Health in Turkey, and Narayana Health in India. It is one of the startups selected to take part in the 2023 cohort of the Google For Startups: Women Founders program.
Owona is a graduate of ESCP Business School and the MIT Sloan School of Management. In the former, she earned a master's degree in 2008, and in the latter, she obtained an MBA in Finance in 2016. Prior to venturing into the e-health sector, she worked for several financial institutions in Europe and the US.
In 2008, she worked for Crédit Agricole CIB in France as a junior analyst. In 2009, she joined the HSBC banking group as an international manager in New York, USA. She also worked for Bank of America Merril Lynch from 2016 to 2023 as an investment banker covering healthcare.
Melchior Koba
Fintech is one of the sectors that has grown the most in Africa in recent years. And one of the entrepreneurs who contributed to this growth is Danielle Ekambi Soppo, who strives to advance financial inclusion.
Cameroonian entrepreneur and investor, Danielle Ekambi Soppo, co-founded and heads SuiTch. This is a startup that helps people who have low access to conventional banking solutions, by leveraging digital financial services.
Ekambi Soppo graduated from the Paris Dauphine-PSL University. Between 2007 and 2008, she completed her studies in economic studies and corporate strategies. And in 2011 and 2012, she studied financial engineering, corporate finance, private equity, treasury management, and mergers and acquisitions.
In 2010, she worked as a wealth management consultant at Elite Investment Group, in China. That same year, she went back to Cameroon and worked at the National Shippers' Council of Cameroon (CNCC), as a project financing analyst. She worked there for about a year.
Between 2012 and 2013, she worked at ESSCA Angers business school in banking and risk management. She has also worked as an investment analyst at several investment companies such as Argos Soditic and Platina Partners LLP.
Two years later, in 2015, Danielle Ekambi Soppo founded SuiTch. The startup’s mission is to give people the means to fully tap into the digital economy, enabling them to grow and grow their businesses. The businesswoman offers non-bancarized Cameroonians a mobile payment solution that allows for simple, fast, and secure financial transactions.
SuiTch’s partner companies can grant salary advances to their employees. The startup also gives microcredits, going up to 500,000 FCFA (about $840) to micro and small businesses that use the application.
Danielle Ekambi Soppo currently is the president of the circle of young leaders of Cameroon’s Inter-employer Group (GICAM), which represents the country’s private sector actors. She has also been, since 2014, the managing director of Malaïka Investment Partners, an investment club that supports micro-enterprises with equity and quasi-equity in Cameroon.
SuiTch is presently among Cameroon’s top 7 promising startups. It is also one of the 15 companies picked to join the 2023 cohort of Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders.
Melchior Koba
As the continent experiences a technological revolution, new startups keep emerging in Africa, in every sector. AfricArena, in this context, plays a vital role as a catalyst for technological innovation and entrepreneurship on the continent.
Based in Cape Town, South Africa, AfricArena is a startup accelerator founded in 2017 by entrepreneur and investor Christophe Viarnaud, who also serves as its CEO. The startup promotes collaboration between the key players in Africa's technological ecosystem and helps startups expand by making them more visible and providing them with funding opportunities.
The accelerator aims to connect African startups with investors, businesses, and potential partners worldwide. Each year, it organizes regional and international summits that bring together all stakeholders in Africa's tech sector, providing a platform for continental startups to showcase their ideas, build valuable connections, and access funding opportunities. The accelerator is set to hold its next regional summit in Nairobi, Kenya, on September 6. AfricArena organizes regional events throughout the year, thus creating opportunities for startups from different African regions to connect with local and international investors.
Since its inception, the accelerator has launched several open innovation challenges for Africa's top tech startups. Whether for businesses specializing in deep tech, logistics, mobility, health tech, artificial intelligence, agritech, edtech, or fintech, these challenges allow founders to demonstrate their entrepreneurial talent and innovative technology to investors, businesses, and the pan-African tech ecosystem.
AfricArena is a staunch advocate of diversity and inclusion in the tech sector. It strives to promote equal opportunities by supporting female entrepreneurs and encouraging the participation of young African talents through initiatives such as the Fem-Tech Startup Innovation Challenge, organized in partnership with Amazon Web Services.
The accelerator collaborates with various national and international institutions, including Bpifrance, Hello Tomorrow, Vinci Energies, Sanofi, energy company Engie, La French Tech, Viva Technology, Air France KLM Group, and Wesgro, and many more.
Melchior Koba
She is an internationally renowned entrepreneur and business leader. She co-founded and heads Kwara, a startup that helps financial cooperatives better manage their operations using technology.
Cynthia Wandia, a Kenyan electrical engineer and entrepreneur, founded the start-up Kwara with David Hwan in 2018. Kwara, which she steers as CEO, offers financial cooperatives and their members a secure, enjoyable, and affordable online and mobile banking experience.
Based in Kenya, Kwara's mission is to enable the 3 billion under-served people worldwide to become financially stable and balanced. To achieve this, the start-up is modernizing and equipping savings and credit cooperatives with a banking services platform that updates and improves their back-office operations.
In January 2023, the startup, which already serves over 100,000 members, raised $3 million in seed capital and signed an exclusive digital solutions distribution agreement with the Kenyan Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (Kuscco), representing over 4,000 savings and credit cooperatives (Saccos) in Kenya.
"We believe that we have barely scratched the surface of the Kenyan market. That's why we're going to invest in products and services that will allow us to deepen our relationships here," said Cynthia Wandia.
"The logic of the agreement is clear: it's an opportunity to generate leads and distribute our core product as quickly as possible, and to deepen our competitive edge," she added.
Cynthia Wandia holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, obtained in 2009 from Yale University. In 2014, she co-founded ASTRA Innovations, an energy company where she served as CEO until 2017.
Before founding Kwara, she worked for several companies. In 2010, she served for six months as a business development consultant for the Mexican business accelerators network Aceleradora de Empresas ITESM. Between 2012 and 2014, she worked at E.ON Climate & Renewables, successively as a fleet performance analyst and director of special projects. In 2017, she joined Finparx, a business creation studio, as a project developer.
In 2018, the Kenyan newspaper Business Daily Africa named Wandia one of the country's 40 most influential women under 40.