The small Africa Tech stage was packed to the rafters. Many had come to listen to Amadou Coulibaly, the Ivorian Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, at the Vivatech fair in Paris on June 15. The figures are there to describe a favorable ecosystem. The message is clear: Côte d'Ivoire is back with a bang. "Our economic growth rate is 7% and 75% of our young people are under 35," says the minister.
The country's representatives came to Paris with a dozen or so showcase startups, representing the agritech, fintech, e-health and eco-ecology sectors. "We have set up a National Digitalization Committee (CNDigit) in September 2022, under the authority of the Prime Minister," with the aim of "promoting economic actors, positioning the main innovation centers, focusing on the promotion of startups and, finally, ensuring the coherence and the monitoring and evaluation of the state's digitalization initiatives."
Aim : to double contribution of digital technology to GDP
Specifically, the contribution of digital technology to GDP, estimated by the World Bank at 3%, is to be doubled to 6% by 2025. The goal is to become a completely paperless economy by 2030. An achievable goal for a country with plenty of reasons to be optimistic. With 9 million internet users and a mobile subscription penetration rate of 168%, Côte d’Ivoire has no shortage of arguments. According to the minister, an Ivorian often has several phones with as many different operators, which gives a mobile internet penetration rate of 88%.
If "electricity is to the digital revolution what coal was to the industrial revolution, we are well equipped with 80% compared to 60% in the rest of Africa". These are just some of the arguments for claiming the position of West Africa's gateway to the minister.
Côte d'Ivoire is not only relying on local expertise, but is also opening up to outside expertise. Joseph-Olivier Biley. CEO of Jool International, is a case in point. He left France to set up his smart drone precision farming startup. "A solution that allows Daniel, for example, to invest in agriculture in Côte d’Ivoire, while keeping an eye on his plantations from his apartment in Paris... And it works. We recently bought a French company," he says with satisfaction. Ambitious, he repeats his desire "to make Côte d'Ivoire a benchmark in drone technology and intelligent plantation management".
Alain Capo Chichi also came to take a look before settling down for good. "I'm originally from Benin, but thanks to the ecosystem in Côte d'Ivoire, I was able to realize my project," says the CEO of Cerco/Open. To launch the first smartphone with more than 50 African languages, including 17 Ivorian dialects, integrated via AI, he benefited from the Grand-Bassam Village of Technological Innovation (VITIB). Very often stifled by a restrictive fiscal framework, start-ups struggle to survive the first years of their life. In Côte d'Ivoire, the government has taken the lead by introducing a tax, customs and administrative incentive scheme for digital startups in January to encourage their development. This is a "law on the promotion of digital startups with an incentive scheme comprising, in particular, tax and customs benefits, as well as other administrative measures, assistance and facilitation for national digital startups, from the creation to the development phase, whatever the sector of activity".
"Encouraging young people at an early age, from primary school, to plant the seed of tech entrepreneurship"
Following in the footsteps of 2018 pioneer Tunisia, which is finalizing its Startup Act 2, the Ivorian government has now announced that it is drafting its own law. In addition to the traditional one-stop shop for tax optimization, the legal framework provides for bodies dedicated to supporting the startup ecosystem, the creation of a labelling committee and public-private partnerships. "Each institution has a role to play in each area of intervention," explains Marina Sauzet, an entrepreneur and consultant involved in the creation of the system. She cites #Ci20, the club of the country's leading companies, organized under the name "Côte d'Ivoire Innovation 20".
After generations of young people who dreamed of becoming civil servants and were held back by the crisis, the country is now determined to build generations of entrepreneurs. "Our young people have no shortage of ideas, but we need to give them a boost very early on, from primary school, to plant the seeds of tech entrepreneurship," adds Marina Sauzet. With the Youth Employment Agency and the construction or rehabilitation of dedicated infrastructure, the total budget for the government's youth program (PJGOUV 2023-2025) is $1.86 billion (1,118 billion FCFA).
Meeting the funding challenge
While ideas and needs are plentiful in Côte d'Ivoire, the crux of the problem, as in the rest of the continent, remains funding. 73% of startups are equity financed. The government has announced the creation of a seed fund and an online platform to connect startups with potential investors. Minister Amadou Coulibaly, who is visiting Paris, plans to visit the famous Station F, the largest incubator in the world, launched in 2017 by Xavier Niel, founder of Free. "We're going to take a closer look, to get inspiration".
Digitizing agriculture
As an essential link in the Ivorian economy, agriculture has not escaped the changes brought about by digital technology. The Ivorian authorities have set up the Digital Farming School at a cost of 3 billion CFA francs. The result of cooperation between Côte d'Ivoire and OCP Africa, a subsidiary of the Moroccan group OCP specializing in the processing and production of phosphates and derivatives, this school is due to open in 2024. It will be used to build a new generation of well-educated and well-equipped agritech professionals who can actively contribute to the digital transformation of African agriculture, strengthen the development of the processing industry and modernize farms. As part of an inclusive approach, the school will be open to graduates and non-graduates aged 18-35 with a passion for ICT.
