After a previous edition marked by the creation of a pavilion entirely dedicated to the continent, Africa@tech, the Vivatech 2019 trade show once again showcased the continent's start-ups.
From May 16 to 19, Paris hosted the major tech and innovation event, the Vivatech 2019 trade show. On the political side, Senegalese President Macky Sall and Rwandan President Paul Kagame represented connected Africa. Together, they took the opportunity to highlight the challenges of digital technology on the continent and confirm their commitment to supporting the sector's development.
In terms of startups, the African continent was represented by 160 young companies from countries such as Rwanda, Morocco, Senegal, and the DRC, which brought together a dozen companies.
On the sidelines of the show, ten digital startups from French-speaking Africa were recognized by the World Bank.
These ten startups are involved in a program called Afrique Excelle, initiated by the World Bank. This is an acceleration program aimed at connecting fast-growing African startups with mentors and investors from the French-speaking region and the Sahel. Thanks to this program, these startups were able to benefit from international visibility by participating in both the Afrobytes conference and Vivatech during the same week.
The Senegalese company Paps, founded by Bamba Lo, is one of the startups benefiting from the program and present at the Vivatech trade show. It is the first geolocation-based delivery app in French-speaking Africa.
The business magazine Réussite, co-produced by Canal+ and Galaxie Africa, devoted one of its programs to this digital startup:
Read also: Interview with Shanti N. Selk, Director of Development at Galaxie Africa
The Digital Africa teams, led by Karim Sy, also took advantage of the Vivatech trade show to forge a new partnership with FADEV (social impact fund) to accelerate the development of SMEs and their social impact on the African continent. Digital Africa is a web platform that aims to connect African players in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in order to support the development of digital innovation on the continent.