Category Archives: ideaexchange

Stanchart opens eXellerator Lab in Nairobi

Standard Chartered Bank today announced the opening of an innovation lab in Nairobi, its first in Africa.  Run by Standard Chartered Ventures (SC ventures), the eXellerator lab will work with clients, staff, and local fintech companies on banking solutions for the future. This will be the fifth such lab after the first in Singapore, then Hong Kong, San Francisco, Bangalore, London and now Nairobi.

Stanchart Kenya CEO Ngari Kariuki CEO said that SC ventures, launched in March 2018, had a mission to invest in disruption and come up with new business models by partnering with fintechs in Asia, Middle East And Africa, scaling little ideas, giving them a global platform and investing in the companies. Kennedy Mubita the Africa Regional Head for SC Ventures said that the eXellerator was based on principles of human-centred, design, having a lean startup mentality, embracing an entrepreneurial spirit  (enabling staff of the bank to suggest ideas and develop them into products with rewards) and that the bank would also invest in local companies through a $100 million innovation fund. So far they are developing ten ventures drawn from 1,500 ideas submitted globally, with a notable one being Credit Card Buddy from Indonesia.

At a Q&A after the launch, It was queried what pipeline of projects Stanchart would target given that there were very few companies able to absorb series B funding here. The bank will have a country venture challenge, one of three in Africa, and will seek to work with companies to address payment gaps and trust gaps in value chains across all sectors.

Like with the video banking launch, tried and tested in Asia, Nairobi is the launchpad for the eXellerator lab program in Africa. Other banks with innovation labs in Nairobi include KCB with its Vooma Lab and I&M bank, which has a digital factory, called iCube.

TEF 2019 class unveiled

The fifth cycle of beneficiaries of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) entrepreneurs program was unveiled on Friday, March 22 in Abuja, Nigeria.

This year 216,000 applied to join (up from 151,000 in 2018), with 90,000 being women during the window that opened on January 1. After an extensive shortlisting process, 3,050 entrepreneurs, from 54 African countries, were selected to receive $5,000 capital for their business ventures, 12 weeks of tailored training, and the opportunity to attend the annual TEF Forum in July 2019.

Over the years, more strategic partners have come forward to assist the Tony Elumelu Foundation to expand the impact of their ten-year $100 million program that aims to empower 10,000 entrepreneurs and create 1 million jobs and in 2019, partners are providing funding support for 2,500 entrepreneurs.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is sponsoring 1,000 entrepreneurs (a commitment worth $5 million) and matching the support of the Tony Elumelu Foundation this year. Also, the United National Development Program (UNDP) is sponsoring 754 from 45 countries, while the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is sponsoring 180 entrepreneurs from conflict-hit countries. Others are Seme City (from the Federal Republic of Benin), the US Consulate in Lagos (sponsoring 20), the Anambra State Government, Indorama, and the Government of Botswana (sponsoring 20).

Present at the unveiling, that was livestreamed around the world, was Aisha Buhari, the First Lady of Nigeria, and Tony Elumelu, who founded the Program. Others were the Foundation CEO Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, her predecessor Parminder Vir, TEF partner representatives, and the media.

Also at the event, a team of evaluators from Accenture explained the selection and short-list process they had done since the application deadline of March 1 2019. They also provided a breakdown of applications by country, gender, business stage, and business industry, with the highest number of applicants for 2019 engaged in agriculture, ICT and education sectors. They also highlighted trends in the program over the years including the overall increase in the number of female applicants.

All the applicants are now part of TEF Connect, which, with over 600,000 members, is the largest social network of African entrepreneurs. On the Connect platform, they can chat with fellow business owners in different African countries, access mentors, learning materials and network and share business ideas.

Update for 2020: The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme Cycle which opened on January 1 will feature new changes that are vastly different from previous years. This year applicants will now receive instant feedback on their application and if they can proceed to the next stage to receive business training.

They will then be notified on if they can proceed to the mentorship stage and in June 2020, there will be pitching sessions to determine who the final beneficiaries of the $5,000 seed capital will be.

Idea Exchange: Anzisha, Obama, Elumelu, HEVA

EDIT The African Banker Awards that will take place during the African Development Bank Annual Meetings on 11th June in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea are now accepting entries for the awards of African Bank of the Year, African Banker of the Year, Investment Bank of the Year, Best Regional Bank in Africa, Best Retail Bank in Africa, Innovation in Banking, Infrastructure Deal of the Year, Deal of the Year (Debt), Deal of the Year (Equity), Award for Financial Inclusion, and Socially Responsible Bank of the Year. All financial institutions (banks, micro-financiers, investment banks, DFIs and others) are invited to compete. Completed entry forms should be submitted by Monday 1st of April.

Edit Africa CEO Forum Awards recognizes outstanding business leaders and this year includes a  “Gender Leader of the Year” prize and “Disrupter of the Year” award to go with other existing awards for CEO of the Year, African Champion of the Year, and International Company. Some nominees include Mohamed El Kettani – Attijariwafa bank and Tewolde Gebremariam – Ethiopian Airlines for “CEO of the year”, Banque Centrale Populaire, Ethiopian Airlines, OCP Group and Royal Air Maroc for “company of the year”, Absa Group, Access Bank, First Bank of Nigeria and Unilever for “gender leader” and Africa’s Talking, Baobab+, InTouch, Jumia and Kobo360 for the “disruptor” award. The awards will be given during the 7th Africa CEO Forum on 25 – 26 March 2019 in Kigali, Rwanda.

Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI) will officially open its call for applications starting from the 27th of March 2019. The ANPI is a US$10 million Prize competition for African entrepreneurs, founded by the Jack Ma Foundation, where ten finalists from across the continent will compete for US$1 million in total prize money. Deadline for applications is 30th June 2019

EDIT Class 5 of the Alibaba Global Initiatives eFounders fellowship is open to founders/co-founders of digital ventures from Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, Kenya, Rwanda, or Uganda. It is jointly organized by Alibaba Business School and UNCTAD and the deadline is March 17. Note that the fellowship does not cover air tickets and transportation/pick-up services to and from Hangzhou, China.

The Anzisha Prize is Africa’s biggest award for her youngest entrepreneurs and hands out over USD $100,000 every year in funding to entrepreneurs from all over the continent.  Details here.

EDIT  The British Council Future Leaders Connect, is a global network for emerging policy leaders seeking to connect to a long-term network of emerging leaders from around the globe, who want to change the world through policy making. To take part you must be aged 18-35 and live in one of our participating countries – Canada, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Tunisia, UK and USA. Applications from Egypt and the USA are by invitation only. Applications close on Monday 6 May 2019.

EDIT Cities Alliance a global partnership supporting cities to deliver sustainable development, hosted by the United Nations United Nations Office for Projects Services (UNOPS), is offering grants up to USD 50,000 to people working on innovative and accessible solutions for improving tenure security and land and property rights in any African country. It is open to Innovators, microenterprises, social entrepreneurs, community-based organisations, and national and local NGOs working in African cities.  Deadline to apply for the Cities Alliance is  March 14, 2019.

Edit Coca-Cola Beverages Africa and PETCO have launched an innovation challenge, dubbed the Beyond Baling Innovation Challenge (BBIC), that aims to provide innovative solutions to bale post-consumer PET plastic in order to ease their transportation for recycling and manufacturing.

DRC Innovation for Financial Services 2019:  The Central Bank of Congo, in partnership with FSDA Africa and Elan DRC, has launched Innovation for Financial Services 2019, a competition for businesses and entrepreneurs aimed at promoting the development of innovative and relevant financial services and payment solutions in the DRC. The winner of each category will then have access to FSD Africa’s investment process with the possibility of raising up to US$130,000.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation, the leading African-funded and founded philanthropy committed to empowering African entrepreneurs, has announced its last call for applications into its prestigious 2019 Entrepreneurship Programme. Selected beneficiaries will join 4,470 current alumni and will receive $5,000 seed capital, access to mentors, bespoke training and numerous opportunities to impact policies at the local and global level.

The programs is a 10-year, $100 million commitment to identify, train, mentor and fund 10,000 African entrepreneurs, the Programme’s objective is to generate at least 1,000,000 new jobs and create at least $10 billion in new business revenue across Africa. Applicants can apply on TEFConnect, the largest digital networking platform for African entrepreneurs by March 1.

HEVA Fund: HEVA has launched a Growth Fund in collaboration with Agence Française de Développement (AFD), targeting mature businesses in the creative economy – fashion, apparel and accessories; live cultural events (music, shows, venues, festivals); and digital media content production and distribution. – that have been in operation for at least 5 years, with annual revenues exceeding KES 10 million. The targeted businesses are in the following creative economy value chains:  HEVA will be investing a minimum of KES 5 million and a maximum of KES 10 million in each successful enterprise. Deadline is 13th March 2019. HEVA is also receiving applications for its Cultural Heritage Fund and for a Young Women in Creative Enterprise Fund.

The Inter Region Economic Network (IREN) has launched the IREN Technologies and Innovations Platform 2019 (ITIC 2019) to promote the best mix of technology and innovation to processes along the agribusiness value chains. Innovators are expected to address the region’s challenges in value addition, energy, storage, logistics and marketing. The Lake region is known for fish, grain, vegetable, cash crop, dairy and livestock production. IREN welcomes Institutions and established companies to participate in the final ITIP 2019 Trade Fair to be held later in November 2019.

Edit MEST: Five promising start-ups from across Africa have been chosen as regional winners in MEST Africa’s annual Pan-African pitch competition, moving one step closer to winning $50,000 in equity investment, a place in the MEST Africa incubator of their choice and global mentorship to help their company scale. The winners who were chosen from over 1,000 applicants are AMPZ.TV – a ‘LinkedIn for Sports’ (Nigeria), OZÉ – a financial data insights company (Ghana), Snode – real-time cyber security (South Africa),  WayaWaya – a fintech company (Kenya) and Seekewa – an agricultural financing platform (Cote d’Ivoire).

Obama Founder Leaders Africa Applications are live for the Obama Foundation Leaders Africa Program which aims to identify a group of emerging African leaders from all sectors—government, civil society, and entrepreneurs—who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing the common good. Apply by February 28, 2019.

Edit  Pivot East: East Africa’s premier entrepreneurs’ program is back for its 6th year after a two year break with a call for applications opening on 11th March 2019 and the startups pitching competition and conference event happening on 27th June 2019. Applicants can be in software and hardware in five categories of finance, enterprise, entertainment, social Impact and utilities.

Sanofi, the global pharmaceutical company, extended the registration deadline for entries to this year’s edition of the VivaTech innovation conference. 17 Kenyan start-ups have registered so far and are expected to participate in the conference.

Twitter Business Voices from every African Country

Compiling a list of African voices on @Twitter who write about business with a bias to residents who live in the countries and actively tweet or write about finance, economics, investments, technology and other similar business topics.

Diaspora (marked as ‘d’), and government (marked as ‘govt’) writers are included and marked accordingly, but this is not to de-emphasise their ability to create authentic unique local content. There is also a  bias for people who tweet in English, and for individuals, not media or financial organizations, but these are not criterions for selection or exclusion. Feel free to suggest other names in the comments, by country, and to complete the gaps.

  • Algeria @omarelmohri (d), @eTabib3
  • Angola @CaipLounge @isabelaangola @MwangoBrain
  • Benin @yacinebtchane @ariahouansou
  • Botswana  @Emma_Wareus @SiyandaWrites @BogoloKenewendo (govt), @JacoBank, @MapulaTThema
  • Burkina Faso @bachirismael (govt), @ocomar @D_REAUX
  • Burundi @ThierryU(d) @mKabeya
  • Cabo Verde @pedrolopesCV @tonedepina
  • Cameroon @africatechie @mankangwafo @dibussi @Mimimefo237 @dibussi
  • Central African Republic @harleymckenson
  • Chad @andreaskoumato
  • Comoros
  • The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) @congofriends (d), @Ley_Uwera @Noellacc @sindika_dokolo @Bizzoly @AxamFaysal
  • Congo @officialHanifa
  • Cote d’Ivoire @nnenna? @nanaspio? @Laureenolsson @edithbrou @VictorOladokun @CandaceNkoth @kajenny @fayelle1 @ourmaninafrica @Naboufall
  • Djibouti @Ilyasdawaleh (govt), @samabdiosman
  • Egypt @Gsquare86 @tchibota_fleur @G_Hammouda @Ibrahimsagna @naglarzk
  • Equatorial Guinea @GabrielObiang (govt), @Ameugn @CesarAbogo(govt) @OscarBerniko @NchasoOscar
  • Eritrea @MesMehary(d), @MagdaBerheJ @tekerebanelim
  • Ethiopia @Zemedeneh @Kalkidafrique @deldeyoch @Mekmz @PreciseConsult @addisale @BethlehemAlemu @MuradAIssa @addis_fortune @GetachewSS ‏@EleniGabre @FlawlessinET @betelhem_dessie @iCog_Labs
  • Gabon @Isdimak @caro_enilorac @prjeanping  @agueminia @mays_kinga @gloriamika @LenhSean
  • Gambia @fatimaj_j, @TheJamaJack @haddijatoujonga @Fatushow @maimuhyai
  • Ghana @MacJordaN @ekbensah(d) @EFYA_Nokturnal @ethelcofie(d)  @anasglobal @ragyare
  • Guinea @diene_keita @MohamedKagnass1
  • Guinea-Bissau @raulcabr @Aimonia_2
  • Kenya @alykhansatchu @coldtusker @RookieKE @MainaT
  • Lesotho @mpolo_masenkane @BillyNtaote @charlesfogelman @Frank_Mothibe @Sthunya
  • Liberia @AxelAddy @kenyakate
  • Libya @MaryFitzger
  • Madagascar @lrakoto
  • Malawi @chiume @rachelsibande
  • Mali @KamissaCamara (govt), @Si_Duchatelet
  • Mauritania @azizachom @ahmed8687
  • Mauritius @mosesharding @azizachom
  • Morocco @bidrissi @Startup_Morocco @MarieMarieNelly @helenranger
  • Mozambique @clubOmozambique @Casa_Barry @sandragaveta
  • Namibia @KalondoMonica @Nashilongo @estelletjipuka @Dillish_lishy
  • Niger @Aalyel @AmindehBlaise @SouleyMoutari
  • Nigeria @PaulWallace123 @NaijaFlyingDr @eggheader @toluogunlesi @tosinolaseinde @JasonNjoku @nonso2 @chikaoduah @elnathan_john @venerableladyB @OlufemiAwoyemi @BankyW @markessien @DrJoeAbah @LindaIkeji @toluogunlesi ‏@NuhuRibadu @eggheader @biolaa1 @rolakeakinkugbe @_yemia
  • Rwanda @LucyMbabazi @cakamanzi @DKarusisi @YolandeMakolo @RwandAnFlyer(d) @Fionambabazi1 @YvonneMakolo @Julio_Bizimungu @Contact_Makeda @mwasa @kayizarica  @TravelRwanda @MichaellaRu. Also President @PaulKagame, and in Rwanda, virtually all top government officials tweet as well.
  • Sao Tome and Principe
  • Senegal @AliouneSambGR(d), @gayeadama000, @babacarjdiop(d), @MameKharyDIENE1 @kadediha @YannLeBeux @SSowsp
  • Seychelles President @DannyFaure (govt), @ronny_jumeau @FinesseMf @SeychellesTrade @BarryFaure (govt), @SeyInvest
  • Sierra Leone @UmaruFofana @IamIshaSesay(d) @memuna @VickieRemoe @KYumkella @dsengeh (gov), @sherriphie
  • Somalia @Fatumaabdulahi, @DrBeileh (govt), @omar_degan
  • South Africa @MichaelJordaan @alechogg @RanjeniM ‏@TheSoloWandera @PhutiMahanyele @ThuliMadonsela3 @Sentletse @ElanaAfrika @christopherM @rafiq @thando_mgqo @aishapandor
  • South Sudan @siinchol
  • Sudan @NesrineMalik (d), @YousraElbagir (d), @MagnusGTaylor (d)
  • Swaziland / Eswatini @LeendorM, @MantoeP, @AmogelangMbatha
  • Tanzania @CRBarretto @joachimm3 @moodewji @Arden_Kitomari @zittokabwe @Makambas (d), @carolinekere, @iMashibe @AnnieTANZANIA @MsigwaGerson (govt), @JMakamba (govt) @MikocheniReport @aeyakuze
  • Togo @Farida_N, @cinalawson(govt), @CarlManlan @sename_
  • Tunisia @benyeoma @Rana_J01 @nanaspio @SultanWalid
  • Uganda @KigoziMaggie @UgInsomniac @whthome @echwalu @ssanyaug @tufre80 @whthome @RosebellK @jssozi @Ruthaine
  • Zambia @Muloongo @MissZambia @mulumba @missbwalya @monicamusonda @GNdhlovu @ictjournalist @cholamukanga @lukonga
  • Zimbabwe @TrevorNcube, @MthuliNcube (govt), @SirNige @VascoDaGappah @elishabuffet

WEF Davos 2019

The annual meetings of the World Economic Forum (WEF) take place in Davos Switzerland this week. The 2019 event will feature over 3,500 attendees from 115 “economies” (according to WEF) of who 118 are from Africa. Among this number, 57 are from South Africa, 16 from Nigeria, 13 from Kenya, 9 from Egypt, 6 each from Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, 5 Rwanda, 4 Cote d’Ivoire and 3 from Morocco.

This year Qz has drilled down the attendees by continent, and listed under Kenya are Jesse Moore (M-Kopa), Katie Hill (Liquid Telecom), Mohammed Hassan (Kakuma Refugee Camp), Patrick Njoroge (Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya), Dr. Githinji Gitahi (CEO, AMREF) Agnes Kalibata (AGRA President), Paul Okumu (AfricaPlatform), Peter Munya (the Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry for Trade, Industry and Cooperatives), Liz Muange and Kanini Mutooni (both of USAID), Kennedy Odede (CEO Shining Hope), Mohamed Al-Beity (Savannah Fund) and Winnie Byanyima (Executive Director Oxfam).

 

Other familiar attendees from the continent include Tony Elumelu (Chairman of UBA Group), Ahmed Heikal (Qalaa), Cyril Ramaphosa (President, South Africa), Abiy Ahmed (Prime Minister, Ethiopia) Yoweri Museveni (President, Uganda), Moussa Mahamat (Chairperson African Union Commission), Akinwumi Adesina (President, African Development Bank), and Paul Kagame (President, Rwanda), Elizabeth Rossiello (CEO BitPesa – now in Senegal), and Emmerson Mnangagwa (President, Zimbabwe) who may have withdrawn to deal with the latest chapter in the country’s economic crisis.

Others are Mthuli Ncube (Finance Minister, Zimbabwe), from Botswana President Eric Masisi and Investment Minister Bogolo Kenewendo, Kamissa Camara (Foreign Affairs Minister Mali) and from the DRC is Denis Mukwege, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018.  Qz notes that the youngest attendee at Davos this year is the 16-year-old photographer Skye Meaker from South Africa. 

Also on the list is William Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital, a now frequent attendee at Davos. In his fascinating book, “Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice”, he writes of his first visit to Davos – where in 1996, he gatecrashed the town of Davos with an investment banking friend. They did not have an innovation to the $50,000 annual summit, “an A-list party of the business world,” in which all hotel rooms are booked a year in advance. But they did mingle around the town and met a former finance minister of Russia in a group where they had an eerie conversation about investing in Russia.

“Don’t worry about the election, Yeltsin is going to win for sure.”
“How can you say that? His approval rating is barely 6%”
“These guys will fix that”