TECH STARS (1006)
He is a tech entrepreneur, agriculture enthusiast, blogger, and coach. Thanks to his IT services startup, Jovan Group, he helps companies implement their digitalization projects.
Josué Vangu (photo) is a Congolese computer engineer who graduated from Unicaf University in 2022 with a master's degree in information systems management. He also holds a bachelor's degree in telecommunications and network administration from the Higher Institute of Computer Science, Programming, and Analysis (ISIPA). In 2018, he founded the IT service company Jovan Group, which he leads as a managing partner.
His service company specializes in the implementation of digital infrastructure and electronic security systems, but also provides training in information technology. It designs and develops electronic security offerings using integrated solutions that adapt to all architectures (from the simplest to the most secure) to address the specific security issues of each business sector.
"Our ambition and vision are to make life easier through technology! This means we focus on the digital transformation of businesses and upgrading the skills of students and IT professionals," said Josué in an interview with Techcabal in February 2023.
To achieve its ambitions, the company has three branches. The first is Jovan Group Academia, which offers practical training to students and a full range of information systems training to professionals, including those transitioning to new jobs, to help them improve their skills.
The second is Jovan Group Electronic Systems & Services, which is an installer and integrator of security systems. The last one is Jovan Group IT Services & Solutions, which provides network infrastructure optimization, and construction services as well as optimal hardware solutions.
In 2020, the company launched ENSOKO, a platform created, according to Josué Vangu, "to provide access to food for Congolese households in a context where Covid-19 was disrupting agricultural products' distribution/marketing chains."
Since 2014, the managing partner has been a freelance blogger. From 2013 to date, he is the IT manager of the youth organization Jeunesse Francophone Congolaise. He is also the coordinator of the Haut-Katanga branch of YPARD, an international organization of young professionals in the agricultural sector.
He started his professional career in May 2013 as a network and systems infrastructure trainer at Univers High Technology. From May to November 2013, he worked for the Canal+ Group in Congo as a part-time customer service technician (SAV). In January 2014, after leaving his job as a trainer, he was hired by StarTimes as an SAV technician. The following year, he joined RD Technologic Sarl as an IT support technician before being promoted to IT and projects manager in 2016. A year later, he was appointed delegate of the company's provincial management in Katanga, where he worked until 2021.
Melchior Koba
He is an engineer with over 13 years of experience in engineering, project management, business consulting, and entrepreneurship. He helps brands convert their visitors and occasional customers into loyal customers.
Ahmed Khairy (photo) is an Egyptian-born entrepreneur and the co-founder/CEO of Gameball, a marketing platform that enables businesses to grow and increase revenue through effective customer retention.
His startup, founded in 2019, is now the leading customer loyalty platform in the Middle East, serving more than 2,000 businesses and nearly 20 million consumers worldwide. Its Gameball solution is even available on international e-commerce platforms Shopify and WooCommerce's App Store.
On February 7, 2023, the startup announced it closed a US$3.5 million funding round to accelerate product commercialization, customer acquisition, and strategic recruitment. The round was led by 500 Global, P1 Ventures, and Launch Africa Ventures, and also included Seedra Ventures, Arzan Ventures, Propeller, and Core Vision alongside regional angel investors.
"This seed round brings on board renowned investors who will help fuel our growth, marking a critical milestone for us, as we evolve into a truly global platform," said Ahmed Khairy.
Prior to Gameball, in 2011, the entrepreneur co-founded Be Coaching, a life and business coaching and consulting company. Two years earlier he had co-founded the start-up Kite Automation to educate customers about automation technologies and how they simplify life and save energy and the environment. He was, successively, the company's technical manager and sales manager between 2009 and 2011.
In 2011, he joined Schneider Electric as a senior project engineer, where he worked until 2017. Between 2014 and 2017, he was a training partner at Jadarat International, a company specializing in training.
Melchior Koba
He is a social innovator who adapts art to medicine. Using virtual reality, he helps enhance patients' moods to accelerate healing. He has received several awards and honors for his impact on the arts in the health field.
Kunle Adewale (photo) is a Nigerian social entrepreneur and visual artist. He graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University with a Bachelor's degree in Fine and Applied Arts in 2010. He also studied Civic Leadership at Tulane University, New Orleans in 2015. To gain arts in healthcare skills he also participated in related professional courses such as Arts in Health for Helping Professionals in Charlotte, Arts in Medicine at the University of Florida, and Arts in Health Research Intensive, organized by the Center for Arts in Medicine at the University of Florida in collaboration with University College London.
In 2013, he founded the social startup Tender Arts Nigeria, which he is leading as the CEO. Tender Arts Nigeria is a non-profit organization that aims to positively impact children, youth, and adults with a focus on therapeutic arts, arts education, talent development, community building, and civic engagement.
In 2016, Kunle Adewale also launched Arts in Medicine Projects, which facilitate healing through art. The program uses virtual reality to take patients on a journey, allowing them to visit their past (for elderly dementia patients), countries such as Canada, India, and the United States, among others. Patients can also participate in guided dance and meditation sessions and even swim with dolphins if they like. This process stimulates their minds, improving their mood and speeding the recovery process.
"What we noticed from our outreaches is that the opportunity for patients to walk around and see the sun is a deeply cherished experience. Because when you’re trapped within the four walls of a hospital where all you’re used to is cries, it affects your mood and recovery process," the social entrepreneur told TechCabal in February 2023.
His programs have already reached over 15,000 beneficiaries in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and the U.S. In 2021, he founded the first Mental Health Fellowship in Nigeria.
In 2014, he was nominated for the Global Teacher Prize by the Varkey Foundation (UK). He was the Nigerian recipient of the 2016 Commonwealth Youth Worker Awards (UK) and was nominated for the JCI Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Nigeria program in 2018. In 2019, then Cincinnati mayor John Cranley declared Kunle Adewale Day (August 2) to celebrate his impact on the global arts in the healthcare field.
Melchior Koba
He is a talented and determined innovator who is applying his engineering and scientific expertise to solving the agricultural challenges faced by farmers in developing countries.
Youssef Benkirane (photo) is a Moroccan entrepreneur who graduated from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne with a master's degree in engineering, management, and entrepreneurship. He also holds a master's degree in general science and strategic management from CentraleSupélec. In 2022, he co-founded the agritech startup Terraa, which he oversees as the CEO.
The startup leverages innovative technologies to source fresh produce from farmers and deliver it to retailers within hours, connecting farmers with retailers, restaurants, and service providers. Its technology platform enables farmers to earn higher incomes and ensures consistent demand for their products while providing retailers with high-quality goods at competitive prices.
It also reduces food waste and decreases greenhouse gas emissions, freshwater use, and land use, contributing to a more environmentally friendly food supply chain.
In a round led by FoodLabs, a European venture capitalist and food, sustainability, and health research studio, Terraa raised US$1.5 million in pre-seed funding on February 14, 2023. Other investors in the round included UM6P Ventures, Outlierz Ventures, Musha Ventures, and DFS Lab.
"In the next few months, we will build some collection centers in all the major agricultural cities of Morocco. We will use them to store the produce collected from the farmers for distribution to the end customers," Youssef Benkirane told TechCrunch after the funding round.
Since 2021, the tech entrepreneur is an advisor for the decentralized autonomous organization MakerDAO. His professional career started in 2014 when he joined Rolex as an industrial engineer. Concurrently, he was a software engineer for luxury goods retailer Richemont.
In 2015, he was hired by the food and beverage company Try The World as a growth and data manager. Two years later, he joined Argon & Co, a Paris-based management consulting firm, as a senior consultant. In January 2019, he was named a senior partner at the consulting firm Bain & Company, and in December of the same year, he became a consultant at the firm. From 2021 to the creation of Terraa, he was the general manager of Zapp, a grocery retail company.
Melchior Koba
He is a tech entrepreneur with a strong background in data and artificial intelligence. His startup leverages those tools to help businesses engage customers more effectively.
Mutembei Kariuki (photo) is a Kenyan tech entrepreneur with a Master of Science in Information Systems from the Kobe Institute of Computing (Japan) and a Bachelor in Economics and political science from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (Kenya). He is mostly known as the co-founder and CEO of AI-as-a-service startup Fastagger.
His AI startup, Fastagger, was founded in 2019. It is an AI and blockchain platform that helps merchants and designers increase sales and build customer loyalty. In February 2023, it announced an undisclosed investment from global blockchain investor CV VC and plans to expand its cutting-edge AI and blockchain technology capabilities.
Pleased to now be working with CV VC, Mutembei Kariuki said, "Our focus is on providing innovative solutions that utilize the best of both worlds to create new opportunities for businesses and individuals. I am confident that this investment will help us to accelerate our growth and bring our vision to life. Our team is excited to work with CV VC to achieve our mission and make a real impact in the world."
The tech entrepreneur entered the professional world, in 2007, as a telemarketer for KPMG East Africa. In 2008, he joined The Pacific Institute as a facilitator before becoming the national vice president of talent management for AISEC Austria the following year. From 2010 to 2011, he was the global coordinator of Potencia Ventures. Concurrently, he was the India manager of IDEX Accelerator's Global Fellows Program.
In 2012, he oversaw the Kenyan expansion of the waste manager Shirai group. The following year, he became an associate of the global non-profit organization Acumen. From 2016 to 2017, he worked for the Kenyan training center Amani Institute as a social innovation manager. He has also been the East African regional coordinator of German Development Agency GIZ's tech entrepreneurship initiative Make-IT in Africa (between 2017 and 2019).
Melchior Koba
He is a visionary entrepreneur who focuses on quality and innovation to improve local food systems and provide healthy and affordable food to the population. He founded two start-ups that serve his goal of developing the agricultural sector in Africa.
Shikama Dioscore (photo) is a Rwandan entrepreneur who graduated from the National University of Rwanda with a bachelor's degree in plant biology and conservation in 2012. He is also the founder and CEO of the food distribution startup Food Bundles.
His startup, founded in 2020, wants to optimize the fresh distribution chain in urban areas while creating a resilient and sustainable marketplace for small-scale farmers. Its digital platform specifically connects farmers with buyers in urban areas.
In 2011, he founded AgriGo, another agritech company that helps farmers improve yields.
With an AgriGo account, farmers can access information on virtually any topic that directly affects their day-to-day business. The startup also provides a management platform for agricultural cooperatives that have to manage thousands of farmers. Using its platform, financial institutions can also inform farmers of financing opportunities.
Shikama is one of the founding members of Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF), a forum that aims at "promoting and advocating the business of youth who are involved in farming." From 2016 to 2022, he headed the forum's Information and Communication Technology for Agriculture (ICT4Ag) cluster. As such, his work included " engaging the right partners to stimulate the use of ICT4Ag, and develop the youth who are creating technology solutions to boost farming and the agriculture value chain in general."
The Alibaba eFunders fellow (2017) was one of the founding members of the Rwanda Young ICT Entrepreneurs Association, which aimed to inspire "tech Entrepreneurship among young Rwandans, develop strong business and interpersonal skills, and thus facilitate the creation of jobs in Rwanda’s Technology space." He remained a member of the association from 2012 to 2021. Between 2011 and 2012, he was a reporter and Kinyarwanda translator for the Rwandan multimedia company IGIHE.
Melchior Koba
He is a chartered accountant whose professional career includes positions at multinational corporations. He founded the fintech company Lulalend to allow access to quick and transparent business funding for SMBs.
Trevor Gosling (photo) is a South African chartered accountant who graduated from the University of Pretoria, where he studied from 2000 to 2004. He is also a tech entrepreneur. In 2014, he co-founded the financial technology startup Lulalend, which provides South African businesses with the funds they need to grow.
His startup offers up to US$280,000 in business financing to businesses that have been in operation for at least a year and have monthly sales of about US$2,200. The startup has developed a system that uses various data points to analyze loan applicants' financial health, business model, and cash flow potential to enable sound credit decisions.
In February 2023, the startup completed a US$35 million Series B funding round. The financial resources are expected to help expand its operations in South Africa and commercialize new products to improve access to financing for more than 2 million formal and informal small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
" With this additional capital available, and the support of our investors, we are now better placed than ever to deliver on our vision of driving financial inclusion and acting as a catalyst for growth across the SME sector. […] I’m incredibly excited about the future of Lulalend and the positive impact we can have on South Africa’s SMEs, which as we know are so crucial to the nation’s economic development," Trevor Gosling said.
Before Lulalend, in 2012, Trevor founded 5 ounces, an e-commerce platform specializing in wine and gourmet products. The platform was acquired by Naspers Group in May 2013 but the founder remained its CEO until 2014.
His professional career started in 2005, at KPMG which employed him as a senior accountant. In 2008, he joined Rand Merchant Bank as an investment banker. In the following years, he assumed the same position at Goldman Sachs before returning to Rand Merchant Bank, in 2010, as a structured finance specialist.
Melchior Koba
After years of studying and then working in North America, he returned home to solve energy access problems by introducing renewable energies. With SunFi, he offers attractive payment plans and better services to clean energy consumers.
Rotimi Thomas (photo) is one of the co-founders and CEO of the fintech company SunFi. The Nigerian entrepreneur is a business administration and environmental management graduate from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and Nicholas School of the Environment in North Carolina.
The fintech startup he oversees, SunFI, was founded in 2021. It "connects people who want solar energy access to payment plans that match their needs." By leveraging technology, it matches its subscribers' needs "to the right energy solution and solar installers."
Recently, in February 2023, the startup raised US$2.325 million in seed funding with Nairobi-based Factor[e] and SCM Capital Asset Management as lead investors. Participating investors included Voltron Capital, Norrsken Impact Accelerator, Ventures Platform, and Sovereign Capital.
In an interview with TechCrunch, Rotimi Thomas explained that the financial resources would help SunFi expand operations and improve its ability to match subscribers with the best and most affordable systems.
Before SunFi, in 2019, the CEO took part in the creation of Aspire Power Solutions, a solar installer that completed over 500 solar projects in Nigeria. His professional career really started in 2005, when he joined the financial services corporation TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. as an investment representative.
About three years later, he joined the financial firm PTC Accounting & Finance as a recruiter before returning to TD Waterhouse in 2009 as a senior investment representative. In 2011, he was hired by The Walt Disney Company as a renewable energy consultant.
In 2012, he was a leadership development intern and risk analyst at Constellation Energy. He was then recruited by the energy company Siemens as a senior associate controller and commercial project manager. In 2014, he was promoted to performance assurance manager for the company's Smart Generation Solutions portfolio in Germany.
The following year, he was appointed head of finance and strategy for Siemens Microgrids USA and, in 2016 he became the investment manager for the company's development fund in Africa. From 2017 to 2018, he was the market development manager for Siemens Power Generation's Gas 2 Power project in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Melchior Koba
As a digital architect, he develops and supervises digital spaces. He was introduced to programming at 10 and started working for Google at 13. His professional experience includes working with American celebrities like Nipsey Hussle and Kanye West.
Iddris Sandu (photo) is a Ghanaian-born digital architect living in the U.S. He is the founder and CEO of Spatial Labs, a California-based tech infrastructure company that develops Web3 hardware and software.
On its website, Spatial Labs (founded in 2020) presents itself as "a technology infrastructure company that is powering the next generation of Augmented Reality, Blockchain, Omni-channel, and Immersive Experiences - collectively known as the Metaverse." Its LNQ One chip allows brands to integrate loyalty benefits, authentication and tracking services into their products.
On January 26, 2023, it announced the closing of a US$10 million seed round led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from Marcy Venture Partners, a VC firm co-founded by U.S. rapper Jay-Z.
"The metaverse to us is not a virtual space that people go to spend time in. It’s a world in which we can add more context to your real world and make your real world more enjoyable. [...] We’re going to be responsible for catalyzing a completely new generation to be more conscious of their environment; more conscious of how they spend and how they buy," Iddris Sandu told Techcrunch at the time.
The tech enthusiast was introduced to programming at 10. At 11, a Google designer who spotted him at a library offered him an internship position with the Mountainview company. Two years later, he signed his first professional contract with the giant, working on several projects such as Google Plus, a defunct social network. At 15, he designed an app that allowed Narbonne High School (his high school)'s students to easily find their classrooms. For that innovation, former U.S. President Barack Obama awarded him a commendation certificate.
After high school, he declined an MIT offer and instead focused on internships to gain more experience. Between 2014 and 2015, he interned at Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon. In 2016, he was contracted as a consultant for Snap Inc. In January 2017, he joined Uber where he created the Autonomous Collision Detection Interface, a driver activity recognition system.
In 2018, he founded ethosDNA and Hakt Labs, respectively design and software development companies.
As a cultural programmer, he worked with U.S. rapper Nipsey Hussle to create The Marathon Clothing, a smart clothing store where he served as the chief technology officer between 2017 and 2018. He also worked as a design and tech consultant for Kanye West's Yeezy LLC. In August 2019, he also worked as an independent contractor for Beautycon Media. Months earlier, he was a mixed reality specialist for Innocean USA.
He has built a tech literacy school in Ghana and implemented several educational programs in California. From 2020 to 2022, he was an internal/external partner for Facebook (now Meta). He has received several awards, including a US$100,000 scholarship from the Peter Thiel foundation.
Melchior Koba
The serial entrepreneur has launched and sold several companies. He is focused on the fintech segment, developing solutions that dynamize the sector. With Fyatu, he allows businesses to generate virtual credit cards when needed.
Felix Maroy (photo) is a Congolese entrepreneur and the founder-CEO of fintech startup Fyatu.
Fyatu, founded in 2020, is a modern platform and simple application programming interface developed for innovators who want to issue virtual debit cards. With Fyatu, they can instantaneously create cards to be used for online payments and purchases from over six million websites. The cards come with 3D secure technology to avoid fraudulent use, and advanced and simple card management tools.
"We developed this solution to address the need for electronic payments in the Congolese and African markets, where there are still several businesses and individuals who do not have access to modern and secure payment methods," Felix told TechCabal.
His platform currently boasts over 158,000 active users, with more than 3,000 cards generated monthly and 48 countries covered. In 2016, the entrepreneur launched STREAMZEN, a free music and movie streaming app. With over two million downloads, the app was sold about a year after its creation.
In 2017, he also co-founded Pesapay, an online payment platform. The following year, he launched MerciPro, a software development business he ran until 2020.
Melchior Koba
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He is a passionate tech entrepreneur who wants to leverage technologies to build a better Africa. Through his startup Clio, he provides businesses with the infrastructure needed to efficiently manage their teams.
Joshua Oguntade (photo) is a Nigerian impact entrepreneur and the founder-CEO of software development firm Clio.
Formerly known as Onboardly, Clio was founded in 2021. It provides fast-growing companies with best-in-class tools to manage employees and build great company cultures. It aims to help companies put their employees first by providing a platform that helps them take care of the tasks necessary for an efficient work experience.
It was launched after Joshua Oguntade and his teams noticed companies were still using fragmented processes and tools in their operations, wasting time and money.
The tech entrepreneur thus developed a modern human resources management infrastructure that manages recruitment, payroll, benefits, integration, HR, and IT tasks. Several notable companies, including Bumpa, Float, and Mono, use Clio's solution and appreciate its efficiency.
In 2018, Joshua had already co-founded Pennysmart, a convenient and automated online/offline savings and wealth management service for Africans. He entered the professional world in 2015, joining the SMS delivery platform as a software engineer.
From 2016 to 2018, he completed an entrepreneurship program developed by MEST Africa, and in 2020, he worked as a product and compliance manager for Flutterwave, a fintech company that builds payment infrastructures to connect Africa to the global economy.
Melchior Koba
The young computer scientist founded his fintech startup Gwala, in 2022, after his studies at the University of Stanford. With that startup, he helps firms boost productivity and retain talent.
Mossaab Abaouz (photo) is a Moroccan entrepreneur and alumnus of the University of Stanford where he studied computer science. In 2022, when he returned home after his studies, he founded Gwala, a fintech startup, which he is leading as the CEO.
His fintech startup aims to drive financial wellness by revolutionizing salary payment and helping companies increase employee productivity, retain talent, maintain healthy cash flow, and reduce human resource workloads.
Before launching Gwala, he co-founded several D2C e-commerce platforms between 2016 and 2018. From February 2020 to January 2021, he worked as an instructor and recruiter for Addictest, an ed-tech platform that helps students get admission into international universities, in the U.S mostly.
In 2021, the tech entrepreneur made a stint, as a research assistant, at the University of Stanford. He notably "developed an original algorithm that fused multiple Convolutional Neural Networks to increase the accuracy of image classification models by an average of 3%."
Recently, his startup secured an undisclosed amount of pre-seed financing from several investors including Ingressive Capital's Maya Morgan Famodu. The financing will be used to further develop Gwala and hire new talents to support growth.
"We’re thrilled to close this pre-seed funding round and to have the support of such a passionate group of investors. This investment will enable us to continue our mission of empowering Moroccans with the financial freedom they deserve and to build the future of work in Morocco," Abaouz said.
Melchior Koba
He is an IT consultant with over 20 years of experience working with multinationals like Google and Cosine Communications. As the General Partner of Partech Africa, he has invested in several African startups.
Tidjane Deme is a Senegalese investor and computer scientist. The Math-Physics and computer science graduate is one of the general partners of Partech Africa.
He was appointed to that position in 2016. Since then, he has overseen Partech's investments and strategic support to African startups that leverage technology to address key issues in emerging markets.
Some of the startups currently in the VC firm's portfolio are TradeDepot, Yoco, Wave, Nomba (ex-Kudi), Gebeya, ChatDesk, Reliance Health, MoneyFellows, TerraPay, Tugende, and Almentor.
Apart from being an investor, Tidjane is also an entrepreneur. In 2002, he co-founded CommonSys, an IT project management, and strategic consultancy firm he led, as the CEO, till 2008.
He gained international fame in 2009 when Google recruited him as its Francophone African Lead. In 2014, he was promoted to the position of head of business development in Africa. In that position, he worked on Project Link, a project that aimed to boost access to affordable broadband internet by deploying the needed infrastructure.
He is the initiator of several programs to advance internet use in Senegal. They include "Tablette Cafe" (an internet cafe where only computer tablets are used) in Dakar and Journal Rappé, a Youtube channel whose news presenters "rap the news."
His professional career started in 1999 when he joined the IT company Capgemini as a junior consultant (later senior consultant) in the telecom and media sectors. In 2002, he was recruited by Silicon Valley startup Cosine Communications, as a consultant.
Melchior Koba
He is an IT professional with extensive experience in growth management, policy formulation, IT operations, and digital transformation. Above all, he has earned the trust of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Kashifu Inuwa (photo) is a Nigerian tech expert. The Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University graduate is the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
He was reappointed to that position in February 2023, after a first 4-year term that started in 2019. The renewed confidence shown by President Muhammadu Buhari is the result of the successful actions he carried out during his first term.
During that term, Kashifu Inuwa successfully implemented various digital transformations, talent development, digital innovation, entrepreneurship and regulation development, and emerging technologies' exploration of indigenous IT content promotion programs, among others. When he joined the NITDA in 2017, he was the technical assistant to the then-director general. In that position, he was actively involved in the designing, planning, coordination, and execution of the agency's activities.
His professional career began in 2005 at Galaxy Information Technology & Telecommunication Ltd. where he was a network engineer and designed the Abuja wireless network that was serving over 50 clients. He also provided first and second-level support to over 1000 users.
In 2007, he joined Galaxy Backbone as an IP network field engineer before being promoted to senior network engineer (2009) and senior solution architect (2011). With his team, he designed more than 10 national IT systems that have helped promote the rollout of e-government platforms in Nigeria.
In 2014, he was hired by the Central Bank of Nigeria as a technology architect.
Melchior Koba