Adei Elevate Startups Pitch x AFA 2021
October 2021 ended with an opportunity for Adei Technology Hub to use our Adei Elevate platform to reach new tech startups across Francophone Africa with the Startups Pitch event held from October 25th to 27th.
The program started with over 20 applicants from 9 Francophone countries — Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, Chad, Congo, Niger & France — shortlisted to 5 promising startups over the course of 3 days of intensive training & pitches. The combined physical & virtual delivery of the program’s components made it possible to reach startups spread across multiple geographical locations.
The 5 shortlisted startups represented a range of sectors & interests, demonstrating the impact of digital technology in every aspect of our lives today and also featured 2 female startup CEOs.
- Réaliser mon Mariage presented a wedding planning app that has already started gaining some buzz in the events market. https://realisermonmariage.ci/
- Cashback Consulting brought years of experience in the debt consulting industry to the table in developing a convenient app providing debt advice, servicing & financial coaching to companies of various sizes. https://www.cashbackconsulting.com/
- Yoli Card brings some style into business networking with scannable business cards that allows professionals to share contact details & social networks with one touch. https://yoli.cards/
- Tootree’s range of applications all work to take learning for children into the virtual world and includes both parents & schools as collaborators in making this happen. https://tootreecorp.com/en/home/
- Nkwa brings a new and exciting app to encourage savings as part of the financial culture of all kinds of audiences, young to old. https://mynkwa.com/
The 3 days of intensive training included presentations & Q&A sessions on a variety of topics hosted by our mentors — Dramane Meite led the development of the program including sessions on the business model canvas & pitch deck development. Aymar Yoboue’s finance expertise from over 20 years of financial analysis & consultancy experience in New York gave participants valuable insights into business & financial modelling to meet global standards. Marcel Ngosso also mentored startups in Q & A sessions based on his wealth of experience in banking & finance.
In addition to these sessions, our panel of judges included mentors from a wide variety of backgrounds who worked together to decide on the top 2 finalists. Francois Jay, Astou Dia, Antonello Di Giulio, Aram Attar & Gaetan Philippart brought decades of combined experience in strategy, marketing, business & international development, financing and investment to the table as they assessed the startups’ pitches.
The last day of programming ended with the final decision on the 2 startups who presented the most promising ideas & pitches and showed the most growth over the course of the program — Cashback Consulting & Tootree. These tech startups from Côte d’Ivoire & Cameroon respectively continued on to join 10 peers from across Africa to participate in the Africa Virtual Accelerator program powered by Adei Institute of Technology.
Their participation in the accelerator includes more training on pitching, storytelling, presenting company financials & engaging investors and will qualify them to pitch to global investors at the 9th Angel Africa Fair (see press release on the announcement and for more on this event).