The Great Debate: Why Côte d’Ivoire may be the Best Country to Launch and Scale Your Tech Startup!

This post was created by Vickie Remoe, Emerging Markets PR & Communications Expert for the MEST Africa Challenge.

The Great Debate

How do African countries rank when it comes to creating the enabling environment for technology startups to thrive? Do tech entrepreneurs fare better in the West, East, or South of the continent? If a founder is looking to launch a tech venture, in which African country can one find a startup ecosystem with the right balance to jump-start startup success? This is the Great Debate!

The Ivorian edition of the Great Debate is part of a larger series of articles that explore startup ecosystems in the nine 2020 MEST Africa Challenge markets, also including Ethiopia, Senegal, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa. These African countries have some of the most developed tech startup ecosystems on the continent. Where some markets have the right culture and mature capital markets, others can leverage stronger networks and ICT infrastructure. Check out the entire series and decide which African country you think is the best market for tech startups!

Why Startup in Côte d’Ivoire

There are several reasons why Côte d’Ivoire’s nascent startup ecosystem is one of the most promising. In just three years, the number of hubs and accelerators has more than doubled from just five to 13, providing the necessary network needed for local startups to launch and scale.

Mobile operators here provide a much-needed boost to startups leveraging their ICT infrastructure to allow startups to access seed funding and wider markets. In 2015, Orange Côte d’Ivoire used its mobile payment system, Orange Collecte, to allow startups to gain access to finance through Crowdfunding. In 2017, MTN Côte d’Ivoire launched “Y’ello Startup” for entrepreneurs building innovative digital solutions. Beyond mentorship, seed funding, and co-working spaces, startups also gain access to MTN’s USSD, SMS, and mobile money APIs — an unprecedented opportunity for entrepreneurs to access larger consumer markets. Promising startups like Coliba, Keiwa, and Chez Nous have all come through Y’ello Startup.

While access to financing is still a challenge for startups in CIV, this is fast improving. In 2018 tech startups attracted $2 million, placing CIV amongst the top 20 leading investment destinations on the continent. Today it has the sixth highest-ranked startup ecosystem in West Africa.

“The Ivorian tech ecosystem is very young — we’re working on it. While I agree that we should be looking at scaling globally as a goal, I think local, Africa-focused businesses are extremely important, too,” said Fred Zamble, CEO & Co-Founder of Seekewa, an Ivorian agritech startup and country finalist of the 2019 MEST Africa Challenge

Ecosystem Players

Côte d’Ivoire’s startup ecosystem has a variety of stakeholders that offer mentoring, training, and co-working spaces. Key ecosystem players in this market include Make Sense Africa, JokkoLabs, Incub’Ivoire, Royal Work Club, and Janngo.

Make Sense Africa is a hub for social impact innovators and entrepreneurs. They offer online and onsite training for startups, workshops, and networking.

JokkoLabs is a network of hubs across La Francophonie. In Abidjan, the hub offers networking and co-working spaces for startup and entrepreneur members.

Incub’Ivoire is an incubator for innovators, researchers, and entrepreneurs. They offer co-working spaces, networking, and coaching. They work in close collaboration with other stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and external partners.

Royal Work Club is an upscale coworking and business club and co-working space for professionals, business travelers, and entrepreneurs.

Janngo builds digital ecosystems in high growth sectors by providing business support and digital platforms allowing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to scale and contribute to the economic empowerment of youth and women through job creation and capacity building

Investors

For financial services — smart money for startup growth in CIV, entrepreneurs have access to grants, angel investors, pre-seed, debt, and equity investment. Some investors in this market include Comoe Capital, Chanzo Capital, MEST, and Janngo Capital Startup Fund.

Comoe Capital makes equity investments of €30,000 — €450,000 in startups and SMEs that are too young or too small for traditional investment funds.

Chanzo Capital is a VC that invests in high tech startups and scaleups leading Africa’s digital economy. They make seed investments through to Series A to C from $500,000 — $5 Million.

GreenTech Capital Partners makes equity invests in African start-ups focused on agriculture, digitalization, and sustainable resources. Investment size and structure varies as per the needs of each venture.

MEST offers Africa-wide technology entrepreneur training, internal seed funding, and a network of hubs providing incubation for technology startups in Africa. Founded in Ghana in 2008, MEST provides critical skills training, funding, and support in software development, business, and communications to Africa’s tech entrepreneurs. Hubs are located in Accra, Ghana; Lagos, Nigeria; Cape Town, South Africa; and Nairobi, Kenya. MEST is funded by the Meltwater Foundation, the non-profit arm of Meltwater, a global leader in media intelligence and Outside Insight.

Janngo Capital Startup Fund is a €60m venture fund making seed, early-stage venture, and late-stage venture investments into tech-enabled social startups.

Startups to Watch

A shining example of how startups are thriving in Côte d’Ivoire is Seekewa. Founded by brothers Serge and Fred Zamblé, Seekewa is an agritech crowdfunding mobile application that connects farmers with investors. Seekewa’s solution gives farmers access to financing, financial exclusion, mitigating for the risks of post-harvest loss, and gender inequality. Last year, Seekawa was the Ivorian finalist at the 2019 MEST Africa Challenge.

MEST Africa Challenge Country Finals: Côte d’Ivoire

Join MEST and Microsoft on June 17th, 2020, for the online Côte d’Ivoire Country Finals of the MEST Africa Challenge. Startup finalists will pitch their business ventures virtually to a panel of expert judges made up of leaders, investors, and ecosystem partners. The best from the Côte d’Ivoire finals will go on to compete against winners from eight other countries including Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Rwanda for $50,000 in equity investment and a chance to join MEST’s Africa-wide startup support network. Register to join here.