Entrepreneurship in French-speaking Africa is experiencing rapid growth and growing interest among young people in African countries.
Riding this wave, a wealth of content has been added to the few TV shows that already existed.
Podcasts and videos on YouTube or Daily Motion featuring profiles and interviews with CEOs, entrepreneurs, and business leaders have proliferated in recent years.
These formats, in French, analyze the journeys of these entrepreneurs, the challenges they face, and the strategies for success in Africa.
They are aimed at a young and dynamic audience, both on the continent and in the diaspora.
Here is a non-exhaustive but already very comprehensive list
Entrepreneur State of Africa, hosted by Kahi Lumumba and Moulaye Tabouré, has already produced more than 150 podcasts available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
ESA interviews African tech leaders, with notable episodes such as the interview with Americo Lemos, who recounts his journey from Cameroon to France to the USA.
Afriveille highlights African Business Talks from the African Business Club, available on Spotify. This podcast features profiles of members of the diaspora, such as Moulaye Tabouré and William Elong (Cameroonian tech entrepreneur), focusing on concrete examples of success.
Portrait d’Entrepreneurs, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, shares the personal trials and triumphs of French-speaking entrepreneurs in an intimate and motivating tone.
Equity Conversations by Louis Soris, hosted on Ausha and Spotify, discusses startups and private equity, such as the episode with Cédric Mangaud from M Studio, who details the creation of more than 10 startups per year in French-speaking Africa.
Investir au Pays by Philippe Simo, available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, breaks down investing in uncertain times through firsthand accounts. Investir au Pays has a total of 370k subscribers on YouTube.
Also on YouTube, AfriqEntrepreneur by Ouro-Adoyi Tchagnaou compiles interviews and African entrepreneurial experiences, ideal for discovering opportunities in e-commerce and agribusiness.
Haera Talks by Yasmine highlights women entrepreneurs in beauty and digital, such as Renée Mariame on the realities in Abidjan.
Landry Cyrille's Futur Entrepreneur Africain offers mindset coaching for the diaspora, with short, powerful videos.
Rodrigue Folly's Mon Business à l'Africaine offers immersive documentaries on small and medium-sized businesses, filmed on real farms and in real workshops.
"Cash et Vérité," recently launched, received 20,000 views on YouTube from Walid Sultan Midani and Ayité Ajavon, an entrepreneur who decided to leave a well-paid job to compete with Nestlé's famous Maggi cube.
Brut Afrique perfectly completes the picture with its short videos such as Brut.talk – Entreprendre en Afrique (Doing Business in Africa), interviewing Mossadeck Bally (Azalai) and Taslim Ngom (Sertem) about their careers.
Television channels and radio stations started the movement more than 10 years ago with economic programs featuring interviews with business leaders, and they are helping to amplify it further with numerous new programs.
- CANAL+ Afrique was one of the pioneers in this field with its program Réussite, launched in January 2014, and Start up, launched in 2022.
- RTI was also one of the first African public broadcasters to venture into this field with its program Made in Africa, produced with Elephant et Cie in 2015. It also offers Entrepreneurs & Partners and RTI Money.
- More recently, TV5MONDE launched Les Nouveaux Boss, a pan-African competition in partnership with APF, with a jury including Elizabeth Tchoungui (Orange) and profiles of French-speaking winners (youtube.com/@TV5MONDEAfrique).
- Life TV launched Jeunes Mansa and Angels In my life, which feature young entrepreneurs or creators seeking funding.
- RFI also has a strong presence in this niche with 8 Billion Neighbors – Doing Business in Africa, in which every month coach Didier Acouetey, president of AfricSearch, advises a young entrepreneur on the challenges they face.
In just a few years, content about entrepreneurship in French-speaking Africa has undergone a profound transformation, evolving from a handful of pioneering economic programs to a galaxy of podcasts, YouTube channels, video formats, and TV programs dedicated to the journeys of business leaders and creators.
This content, carried by both international platforms and local media outlets, gives African entrepreneurs a voice to talk about their realities, doubts, and successes, in a language and context that speaks directly to the public, especially young people.
They are a source of inspiration for young people looking for role models and a veritable toolbox for those who want to follow in their footsteps. They help shape a collective imagination in which African entrepreneurs are no longer the exception, but central figures in media narratives about the continent.