As an active member of the diasporas, and promoter of African technology, Rodrigue Fouafou, a Cameroonian by birth and a Canadian by adoption, has been travelling for several years across the 5 continents in order to connect together international investors and startups made in Africa.
In order to understand what is at stake for the continent, and the needs of African tech-ecosystem, and to build a high-potential startups system at the same time, the young man undertook an African tour. Therefore, after visiting Benin, Rodrigue gave an appointment to his peers in Rwanda for an Afro Tech Talk.
By DBM, in Kigali
It is January 30th, 6pm and dusk is everywhere, a group of young people listen studiously to the story of Patrick Ngabonziza who is the founder and the president of Mbicash. An African success story. “In 2007, I was in Johannesburg, and one Saturday, my life stopped.”
I had financial problems, the bills were piling up, I had problems with my bank, and the house’s drafts …All of a sudden I found myself homeless. I was a 60 year-old man, you can imagine what was in my head then” said the entrepreneur with a serenity that captured the audience’s attention. But something told me don’t give up, keep moving. Eventually, I turned into a golden boy, I made my own building, and I took over the business…I rose from the dead; I was reborn!”
« It was a simple idea, I had zero experience in economics or banking but I wondered what I could do for the sake of humanity?”
A renaissance would be witnessed in a sector when a person who is trained as a computer engineer, while he is a total beginner. We’re operating in an anti-social system, » he says. When you have money, the banks are cheering for you, on the contrary, when you have no money, banks slam the door in your face.” While Africa is characterized by a predominantly economy present in the informal, Patrick has a conviction: we must build another system. “It was a simple idea, I had zero experience in economics or banking but I wondered what I could do for the sake of humanity” This is what makes the Mobicash solution so special and successful; a model that knows no boundaries, no limits, adaptable to any ecosystem.
« I started with Burundi. You know about the problems between Rwanda and Burundi. However, finally I got my first license. Stone by stone, the adventure started in 2009.” As a result, a company that now collects 80% of Rwanda’s mutual health insurance, has 400 agents throughout the country, and millions of consumers.
Patrick Ngabonziza, fondateur et président de Mobicash
Patience is the little secret of the pioneer who will invite his young audience to dream big. And this is precisely the objective of the Afro Tech Talk which is held on January 30th in Kigali. Organized by Rodrigue Fouafou and African Startups Ecosystem Builder, the exchange which brought together, in addition to Patrick Ngabonziza, Claire Tuyisenge, Akika-Hive Project Manager, gave young Rwandan budding entrepreneurs the keys to entrepreneurial success, through a series of successful experiences.
« A way to popularize tech activities in African cities »
« Afro Teck Talk is an initiative that I started in January, as I began my African journey that took me to 4 countries of the continent.” Said Rodrigue Fouafou, who is a Cameroonian by birth and Canadian by adoption, and who has been travelling for several years across 5 continents to connect international investors and startups made in Africa.
I thought it would be better, as part of my panafrican approach, to organize tech & networking meetings where we could talk about what is at stake, the local issues, the strength of each ecosystem. And to figure out how we can provide solutions and collaborate, as diasporas and as investors. It is a way of popularizing tech activities in African cities. By doing so, for example, every year the Africa Tech Summit is held however those who do not have the opportunity to travel to Kigali to participate in the event do not have access to the data exchanged at this summit. So it’s all about bringing tech. The tech talks to different cities across the continent.”
Thus, after Benin, it is strategically, and quite naturally, that it is time for Rwandan edition, the appointment was given in the premises of KLab, the famous pre-incubator, a major player in the Rwandan tech ecosystem. “Abidjan is the next step, in mid-February, followed by Ethiopia. The objective is 4 countries per month. It is an opportunity to build a network in each country so that when investors call me to find out which Gabonese startups are in need of funding, I have already built a network within the Gabonese tech ecosystem.”
« We need to be in control of our data, to provide solutions, and to catalyze diaspora input into both mentoring and investment. »
That’s the challenge that Rodrigue has set. While 70% of the tech ecosystem in Africa is carried by the outside world, he deplored during the meeting, he is counting on the diaspora to provide the necessary funds to achieve the rise of the African tech ecosystem. « We need to be in control of our data, to provide solutions, and to catalyze diaspora input into both mentoring and investment. »
