La Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Region I vient de lancer la 3^e édition de son challenge destiné aux start-up innovantes proposant des solutions de mobilité et d'assistance prometteuses.

Le FIA start-up challenge donne aux start-up une chance particulière de tester leurs idées, d'obtenir un retour d'information valable et d'accéder à de grands marchés. La Région I de la FIA comprend l'Europe, le Moyen-Orient et l'Afrique, ce qui donne aux start-up ambitieuses un large espace pour se développer.

Les candidatures sont ouvertes jusqu'au 31 mars à l’adresse : https://www.fiastartup.eu/

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Starlink, the satellite constellation operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX, launched its satellite internet services in Nigeria yesterday, January 31. Its aim is to provide a fast and reliable internet connection to users.

On Twitter, the company announced that Nigeria is the first African country to be able to use SpaceX's network. It also indicated that the service will launch, this year, in several other African countries, including Mozambique, Kenya, and Angola. South Africa was also supposed to welcome the satellite internet services this year but, in August 2022, SpaceX dashed the hopes by updating its rollout plan.

La plateforme de comptabilité pour petites et moyennes entreprises Wafeq a annoncé, mercredi 25 janvier, la réussite d’un tour de table d’un montant de 3 millions $. Le cycle de financement a été dirigé par Raed Ventures avec la participation de Wanda Capital. L’objectif de la fintech est d’investir le marché égyptien et de renforcer sa présence en Arabie saoudite et aux Emirats arabes unis.

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Gebeya, la plateforme qui permet aux petites et moyennes entreprises africaines de s’offrir plus facilement des compétences dans le domaine du digital, a annoncé le vendredi 13 janvier l’obtention d’un financement de pré-série A non divulgué de la part d'une société de capital-risque japonaise.

La start-up, basée en Ethiopie, prévoit d'utiliser ces fonds pour passer d'une simple place de marché biface pour les talents technologiques à un fournisseur de places de marché selon un modèle « Marketplace-as-a-Service ». 

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Charles Kouame is the senior manager in charge of the deployment of telecom group Orange's Djoliba, a fiber-optic network that will interconnect West African countries and even more countries outside the region. With We Are Tech, he discusses the advancement of the project and its prospects.

In 2020, Orange announced Djoliba, its fiber optic network that will connect West African countries. What is the status of the project?

We have already connected six countries namely Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana, and Nigeria. Connection is ongoing in two countries; Liberia and Guinea. We aim to build a network infrastructure that will interconnect most West African countries like the Djoliba river which irrigates a large part of the sub-region. The project was initiated because of the growing demand for broadband connections in Africa.

When Djoliba was launched in 2020, Orange invested a little over EUR 8 million. In 2022, the network, which was already congested of being greatly overrun was upgraded. To improve its capabilities, Orange made an additional investment in the Djoliba project.

Djoliba greatly contributes to the development of connectivity in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea-Bissau. The infrastructure enabled many firms, notably banks operating in the sub-region, to easily interconnect with their headquarters based in Dakar or Abidjan.

The system's capacity is infinite. It can be increased by adding the appropriate equipment. To date, its equipped capacity is 300 gigabytes. The initial capacity was 100 gigabytes but an additional 200 gigabytes have been added this year.   

Why was such a large project initiated just for the West African region?

West Africa hosts the largest number of Orange subsidiaries. It was thus selected to host phase 1 which targets eight countries. The second phase will target Central African countries like Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The project will also target countries like Morroco, Niger, Mauritania, Togo, Benin, and Sierra Leone. Later, around 2025, we will even consider expanding the network to South Africa, Botswana, and Kenya.  The aim is to connect the major capital cities where there is greater internet traffic even in countries where Orange is not present. With Orange group's point of presence on every continent, the Djoliba network, which is interconnected with those points of presence, gives our clients round-the-world reach.

Specifically, what will this infrastructure be used for?

Orange aims to popularize broadband connection by making major investments, which will help offer quality but most affordable internet. In under a year, for instance, Djoliba allowed the Malian subsidiary to make unlimited offers. Djoliba also helps meet the needs of subscribed operators, internet service providers, and firms.

We all noticed that the coronavirus pandemic caused a surge in telecommuting. Some of our lifestyle habits have virtually changed. To improve their operational efficiency, businesses need some online tools and quality broadband is required to access those tools.

Companies in the banking, mining, and telecom industries among others have bought Djoliba's fiber capacities to improve their collaboration with their headquarters and their access to information technologies. Djoliba is also useful for mobile operators. The pan-African network was launched to improve digital inclusion in Africa.

With the advent of Djoliba, affordable broadband connectivity has supported the development of content creation in several countries. Influencers can now give more visibility to their activities. The fiber optic network is also a great opportunity for online services because, with poor or inaccessible internet, their clients cannot buy their online services.

Is Djoliba different from similar projects like 2Africa, where Orange is also committed?

Djoliba is a network built from terrestrial and submarine fiber optic cables. When commissioned, 2Africa will be integrated into Djoliba. Djoliba's current submarine routes include the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE), South Africa Transit 3 (SAT3), or the West Africa Cable System (WACS). We have terrestrial routes secured by submarine routes. We are waiting for the arrival of the 2Africa cable to integrate it into the network and offer our customers a resilient network system. Djoliba will also help offer a secured terrestrial extension to the capacities of the 2Africa cable.

The World Bank estimates that hundreds of millions of Africans still live more than 50 km away from a fiber optic network. How does Orange intend to improve access (offer and cost) for populations with a growing need for very high-speed broadband?

Through its subsidiaries, Orange heavily invests in the development of fiber optic networks in its markets. Some of those markets, like Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea, are virtually virgin territories. Therefore, the investments made by Orange are huge. In the major cities of those markets, Orange is investing heavily to fulfill the strong commitment made by Orange Middle East and Africa. The aim is to bring fiber optics closer to populations and households. The various Orange Middle East and Africa subsidiaries are deploying their fiber optic infrastructure and Djoliba will allow them access to more internet capacities thanks to its network of subsea cables whose international traffic it carries. When 2Africa lands in Dakar and Abidjan, Burkina Faso and Mali will access its capacities through Djoliba, which is a secured transport system.

What is Orange's plan to meet the growing broadband connectivity demand in rural areas?

Orange wants to popularize broadband in the Middle East and Africa. It is therefore making huge investments in domestic pan-African and subsea fiber optic networks. Despite the investments made, some rural areas still have no access to broadband. To meet the demand in those areas, our state can also deploy fiber optic networks in remote areas through universal service funds.

In recent years, Niger has taken several actions to improve its internet coverage. The government also plans to create a legal framework for effective digital transformation.  

Niger has adopted a new National Cybercrime Strategy to strengthen the country's digital transformation, a statement released after the December 27, 2022, Ministerial council informs.  

According to the statement, the initiative aims at “ensuring a sustainable and effective digital transformation in Niger.” It also aims at "consolidating both investors and the public’s  confidence in information and communication technologies.” The strategy will enter its implementation phase in 2023 and run for four years. 

It will focus on four axes. The first is the enhancement of legislative, regulatory and institutional frameworks to protect users. The second is the protection and securitization of critical national infrastructure by building the capacity of operational institutions and boosting their human resources.  The third axis is the development of mechanisms to prevent, detect and repress cyberattacks to improve security and build users’ confidence in ICT tools. The last axis is the promotion of public-private and public-public cybersecurity partnership by strengthening national, regional and international cooperation. 

The program comes one year after the Internet development study launched by the government in October 2021. The objective was to allow Nigerien authorities to concretely understand the ecosystem and the national laws governing the use of the internet, assess the digital ecosystem and identify the gaps to be filled to make the Internet a tool for development.

Since 2018, the World Bank is committed to helping Niger develop Internet access, both in urban and rural areas, and to make connectivity a tool for socio-economic growth.

Jean-Marc Gogbeu

Elle cumule plus de 20 ans d’expérience en tant qu’entrepreneur et cadre dans les sociétés de technologies et les médias numériques. Elle a reçu de prestigieux prix et sa dernière start-up est plébiscitée en Afrique et à l’international.

Birame Sock (photo) est la lauréate du MEST Africa Challenge 2022, une initiative du programme de formation d’entrepreneurs technologiques en Afrique MEST, qui est aussi un fonds d’amorçage et un incubateur. La tech entrepreneure en série sénégalaise a donc obtenu une somme de 50 000 dollars pour poursuivre le développement de la start-up Kwely, dont elle est la fondatrice et la présidente-directrice générale.

« Gagner le MEST Africa Challenge signifie vraiment beaucoup pour moi et pour l’équipe Kwely. Le parcours d’un entrepreneur n’est jamais facile, mais c’est vraiment une passion qui me tient à cœur. Cette reconnaissance nous donne l’impulsion et la confiance dont nous avons besoin pour aller de l’avant. Lorsque les choses deviennent difficiles, il est important de se rappeler que nous avons un réseau de personnes extraordinaires autour de nous qui nous soutiennent », a déclaré Birame Sock, après avoir remporté le prix en début décembre 2022.

Fondé en 2019, Kwely est une plateforme de commerce électronique business to business (B2B). Grâce à elle, les acheteurs du monde ont accès à des produits de qualité fabriqués en Afrique, qui respectent les normes internationales et offrent des solutions personnalisées et en marque blanche en fonction de leurs besoins. Plus tôt, en avril 2022, la start-up a levé 700 000 dollars pour compléter sa ronde de démarrage d’un million de dollars.

Birame Sock a fait ses études à l’université de Miami en radiodiffusion et en informatique entre 1993 et 1997. Elle a commencé son parcours entrepreneurial aux Etats-Unis et y a développé plusieurs entreprises numériques qui ont eu du succès. La première est Musicphone, une solution de reconnaissance musicale fondée en 2002 et connue aujourd’hui sous le nom de Shazam dans le monde entier.

En 2013, elle a fondé Third Solutions, une entreprise technologique américaine devenue TS Investment Holding plus tard. La société a développé MyReceipts, une application de reçus numériques, avant de devenir une filiale détenue majoritairement par SPINS LLC en 2013. Sa troisième start-up est Upscan, une entreprise de communication digitale fondée en 2014.

En 2015, elle a fondé VOO Media Group, un média basé en Floride. En 2019, elle a lancé Founder 5 qui, en janvier 2022, a fusionné avec Haskè Ventures, un fonds de capital-risque axé sur le développement et le soutien aux start-up d’Afrique francophone.

Actuellement, membre du conseil d’administration de l’école internationale de Dakar et défenseuse de l’initiative eTrade for Women dans la zone Afrique francophone de Conférence des Nations unies sur le commerce et le développement (CNUCED), sa carrière professionnelle a commencé en 1999 en tant qu’analyste programmeuse de Nortel Networks. En 2000, elle travaille pour la société technologique SetNet Corporation au poste de vice-présidente chargée des ventes techniques.

Administratrice indépendante de CKX Inc pendant un an à partir de 2005, elle est embauchée par 19 Entertainment en tant qu’experte des médias numériques. En 2013, elle devient administratrice indépendante de Draft Day Fantasy Sports, anciennement Viggle Inc. En 2016, elle est nommée présidente de Function(x) Inc. De 2018 à 2020, elle siège au conseil d’administration de Techbridge Girls.

Lauréate des Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards de l’Amérique du Nord en 2010, elle est membre du jury de la même compétition pour la zone Afrique francophone depuis mai 2022. Elle avait déjà été membre du jury de la compétition dans la zone Amérique du Nord de 2017 à 2020.

Melchior Koba

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The solution was developed to, among other things, ease access to health products for the more than 50% of French-speaking African patients who are still buying drugs on street corners.  

Meditect is an e-health solution developed by an Ivorian eponymous start-up. It allows access to quality health products, helps locate the nearest pharmacies, and verifies the authenticity of products they purchase. The start-up, founded in 2018 by Arnaud Pourredon and Romain Renard, aims to digitalize the drug distribution chain in Côte d'Ivoire.

According to Arnaud Pourredon, Meditect was created to help Africa, which is experiencing an unprecedented demographic explosion, address challenges preventing access to quality medicines with digitalization. 

Thanks to its mobile app -available for Android and iOS devices, the solution helps users access information on the health products they are prescribed. Provided they are logged in or signed in, they can easily check the prices of the products and the pharmacies where they are available. 

The solution also requires pharmacists to create accounts before submitting their pharmacies. To avoid data loss in case of unforeseen events, the startup stores data both locally and on the cloud. Currently, it operates in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, claiming more than 50,000 patients and 1,200 pharmacies. It also partners with local and customs authorities to combat counterfeit drugs. It has for instance helped seize more than 3,000 drugs. Play Store data show its Android app has been downloaded more than 10,000 times. In September 2022, the healthtech startup was selected to take part in the pan-African Investing in Innovation (i3). 

Adoni Conrad Quenum

« La photographie nourrit son homme », selon Léandre Siby, photographe professionnel.