Since its first edition in 2017, VivaTech has offered us the AfricaTech programme, highlighting the most influential African startups. This year, we had the pleasure of attending the first edition of the AfricaTech Awards, a pan-African initiative developed to recognise and support startups impacting three key sectors: ClimateTech, HealthTech and FinTech.
In Mauritania, the digital training programme Digitelles is contributing to the empowerment of women, turning them into outstanding business leaders. The initiative is part of a wider movement to bridge the digital divide and encourage women's independence.
Agrix Tech, an app created in Cameroon, was made to diagnose plant diseases and suggest appropriate treatments. It operates offline and is available in Cameroon's national language. The designers of this app have also developed others that enable agricultural risks to be studied from the outset of the project.
Umojja is the first social network invented by Africans for Africans. Behind this innovative creation are Charles Muleka Kitwa, Djo Kyadi (DRC), and Temilade Oduwalo (Nigeria). Available in web and mobile versions since July 2023, Umojja, which means "unity" in Kiswahili, is an app aiming to convey messages of peace and promote discussion related to the continent's development issues.
In Africa, specifically Cameroon and the Republic of Congo, young people are turning to engineering education to acquire the knowledge and tools to meet the continent's energy, agricultural and cyber security challenges. Our correspondent in Douala, Cameroon, Maxime Farrell, had the pleasure of meeting these young engineers who want to contribute to the development of green energy in Africa and are working on drone projects, storage software and data protection.
RMobility is a carpooling platform that is revolutionising urban transport in Benin by bringing together several modes of transportation; motorbikes, cars, intercity taxis and buses. This collaborative platform was launched in April 2021 by Raynald Ballo, the head of Raynis, a company specialising in digital solutions in the field of mobility. Today, it has over 10,000 users and employs seven people in Abomey-Calavi. The company is actively preparing to raise funds in Benin and France to Africanise the platform and make it a truly continental application to create the new African Blablacar.
Fadima Diawara is a young Guinean entrepreneur who heads a company that makes phones adapted to African realities, Kunfabo. Kunfabo, of Malinké origin, means to be in contact, have news, and satisfy one's curiosity. This smartphone puts technology at the service of health and African gastronomy and allows users to have access to the 100% African social network, Dikalo.
