Secteurs clés : Les jeunes pousses émergentes se concentrent sur les choices de paiement numérique, les suppliers bancaires mobiles et l’edtech pour élargir l’accès (en particulier dans les zones rurales). D’autres domaines incluent une agriculture connectée (capabilities reliant agriculteurs et marchés) et la logistique mobile.
Au centre de l’écosystème, l’API-An (Agence de Promotion des Investissements et des Exportations) joue un rôle moteur : incubation, guichet distinctive pour startups, promotion vigorous de l’entrepreneuriat. Divers hubs d’innovation numérique, soutenus par l’API-An et le Ministère du Développement du Numérique, accélèrent les startups en TIC, formation et accompagnement.
À l’image de Singapour ou du Rwanda, le Bénin se prépare à boxer dans une catégorie supérieure :
● Plus de 560 suppliers publics ont été numérisés, du registre du commerce aux licences et déclarations fiscales. Les frictions qui ralentissent les startups ailleurs ? Éliminées. Grâce à la plateforme Beninnovation, les fondateurs peuvent créer et gérer leur entreprise sans jamais mettre les pieds dans un bureau gouvernemental.
● L’API-An n’est pas une agence de façade : elle pilote incubateurs, pipelines de financement, appui à l’export, et gère la loi “Startup Label” qui offre exonérations fiscales, réductions de droits de douane et procédures simplifiées aux jeunes entreprises.
● Sèmè Metropolis, le quartier d’innovation du Bénin, héberge incubateur, laboratoires tech et centres de R&D avec des partenaires comme la Sorbonne et l’African School of Economics. Un Digital Transformation Center cofinancé avec l’Allemagne s’y investit dans la civic-tech et l’entrepreneuriat.
● Plus de comptes de mobile money que d’adultes : 1,104 pour 1,000. Plus de 75% du PIB transite par mobile, mettant le Bénin dans le prime continental.
● Des initiatives comme École 229 forment les jeunes au code et outils numériques sans exiger de diplôme, financées par Blolab et d’autres.
● L’écosystème est sous-financé aux stades avancés mais l’intérêt monte. Par exemple, Spiro a levé 50M$ en série B pour déployer sa mobilité électrique au Bénin et en Afrique de l’Ouest.
Le label “startup” officiel, décerné en mai à 15 PME de secteurs variés, offre exonérations fiscales, accompagnement, et visibilité sur trois ans — une avancée majeure pour l’innovation béninoise (Décret n° 2023-095 du 22 mars 2023).
● Selon un rapport de mars 2025, le Bénin (+6 pts à 39%) et le Sénégal (+10 pts à 36%) affichent la plus forte improvement africaine en résilience Net, renforçant l’accès aux suppliers éducatifs, de santé et économiques.
En résumé : Le Bénin devient un des environnements startups les plus organisés et pragmatiques d’Afrique de l’Ouest : mobilisation gouvernementale authentique, systèmes digital-first, custom tech naissante. L’écosystème est jeune, le capital reste limité, mais pour les bâtisseurs en quête de stabilité et de réactivité, le Bénin est de moins en moins contournable.
Le Maroc, enterprise tout courtroom — à Casablanca, Rabat, Fès, Marrakech ou Tanger
Ici, l’écosystème ne débute plus : il accélère. Le Maroc affiche l’écosystème le plus mature et capitalisé de la zone francophone.
Stress du VC institutionnel
● Digital Fund et UM6P Ventures investissent plusieurs dizaines de hundreds and hundreds dans les startups santé, agro, industrie, avec une montée prévue de 7M$ à 50M$ pour UM6P.
● CDG Make investments by means of 212 Founders, Innov Make investments (Banque Mondiale), and so forth., couvrent le pré-seed/seed.
Événements, IA & transformation
● Conférences IA à Rabat, engagement des ministères et agences. L’axe : IA, données, numérisation = piliers centraux de la stratégie économique.
● DeepLeaf (vainqueur de GITEX Africa), pionniers agritech IA, ambitionnent l’progress hors du continent.
Momentum du financement 2024
● 94,96M$ levés par les startups marocaines (contre 33,26M$ en 2023 ; ×3).
● #6 africain pour le montant levé (aux côtés du Ghana, Tanzanie).
● TravelTech (53%), Fintech (# de presents), Agritech, DeepTech (10%).
● 65% des fonds captés par 3 startups : risque de focus.
● Peu d’investisseurs Sequence A+, seulement 4 exits majeurs en 3 ans vs. 20+ en Égypte.
● Sous-financement flagrant des fondatrices.
Alignement public-privé
● “Morocco Digital 2030” : 24M$ pour créer 1,000 startups d’ici 2026, 3,000 en 2030 ; label startup, simplification administrative.
● Morocco Fintech Center, consortium de 15 banques, guichet distinctive fintech.
Tender vitality & ouverture mondiale
● Allier la customized (montagnes, surf, custom) à la tech séduit investisseurs/abilities mondiaux. Casablanca Finance Metropolis héberge 240+ entreprises multinationales, pôle financier #1 en Afrique.
● Technoparks à Rabat, Tanger, Benguerir (Inexperienced Energy Park) : labs deeptech & renouvelables. Taux de pénétration Net 74%, fort déploiement fibre/5G.
Croissance et chiffres
● Investissement VC passé de 17M$ (2023) à 95M$ (2024), certains chiffres évoquent 177M$. 9e écosystème africain, 88e mondial.
● Exemples d’exits : Chari (valorisation 100M$), DabaDoc, WaystoCap… Parmi les startups en vue : AUTO24.ma, Nuitée, ENAKL, Mubawab, Talaty, Colis.ma, and so forth.
Visibilité et connectivité
● GITEX Africa à Marrakech : 400+ investisseurs, 250B$ sous gestion.
● Nouvelle filière gaming : 26M$ investis à Rabat Gaming Metropolis, formation/expo dédiées.
● Casablanca +42 places dans le classement mondiale startup (StartupBlink).
Résumé : Le Maroc se distingue par sa profondeur de capital, son ouverture internationale et ses infrastructures. Porte d’entrée des investisseurs globaux en Afrique francophone, son écosystème accélère. Mais “grandir” signifiera débloquer le financement Sequence A/B, fluidifier la réglementation, et élargir le soutien hors des métropoles majeures.
N’hésitez pas à demander une traduction encore plus adaptée à votre public cible francophone ou des ajustements stylistiques!
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Revue des principaux titres
Hello there👋,
Welcome to the third model of the The Subsequent Wave Francophone Africa e-newsletter the place we share the biggest insider insights and analysis of the realm’s experience panorama. That’s twice-monthly e-newsletter, rely on the next dispatch on August twelfth. Enroll proper right here and be the first to know.
In our closing dispatch, we explored how Algeria and Cameroon
are pitching themselves
as Africa’s subsequent innovation hub.
Proper this second’s model continues on that wave with one ecosystem pitching itself as Africa’s subsequent innovation hub, and one different ecosystem that presents itself as earlier the proving half.
Let’s get into at current’s dispatch!
Benin: A Lean Innovation Powerhouse
Key sectors: Rising startups are specializing in digital payment choices, mobile banking suppliers, and ed-tech platforms geared towards rising entry in rural areas. Completely different key areas embody technology-driven agriculture (e.g., apps connecting farmers to markets) and logistics startups leveraging mobile tech.
On the core of establishing and strengthening the ecosystem, there would be the API-An (Agence de Promotion des Investissements et des Exportations), which is the nationwide funding firm that runs incubation packages, offers one-stop assist for startups, and actively promotes entrepreneurship. There are a selection of digital innovation hubs which could be working with backing from corporations like API-An and the Ministry of Digital Development, specializing in ICT, experience teaching, and startup acceleration.
Like we’ve seen with Singapore or Rwanda, Benin is positioning itself for a battle above its weight.
Digitally native governance:
Benin has digitised over 560 authorities suppliers, from enterprise registration to licensing and tax submitting. Friction that slows down startups elsewhere? It’s been engineered out. By way of the Beninnovation platform, founders can launch and performance companies with out stepping proper right into a single authorities office.
Protection reform with tooth:
The Agence de Promotion des Investissements et des Exportations (API-An) shouldn’t be a conceit firm. It runs precise packages—incubators, funding pipelines, export assist and manages the nation’s Startup Label regulation, which offers tax holidays, import accountability reductions, and simplified procedures for early-stage corporations.
Flagship infrastructure:
Sèmè Metropolis, Benin’s state-backed innovation district, is bigger than a tech park. It hosts the Sèmè One incubator, tech labs, and R&D amenities in partnership with institutions identical to the Sorbonne and African School of Economics. GIZ and the German authorities have prepare a Digital Transformation Center correct inside it, focused on civic tech and entrepreneurship.
Startup traction in precise sectors:
Founders listed beneath are fixing precise points with lean, mobile-first fashions:
● Kea Medicals: Digitizing hospitals and pharmacies
● Ze’xpress: Native logistics with built-in mobile funds
● PreciAgri: Connecting smallholder farmers with markets
● Exportunity: Serving to SMEs faucet into regional commerce corridors
Cell money maturity:
Benin has additional mobile money accounts than adults, over 1104 per 1000 people. That means the rails for e-commerce, digital finance, and scale are already in place. Cell transactions account for higher than 75% of GDP, putting it in elite companies continent-wide.
Experience pipeline with out gatekeeping:
Grassroots initiatives like École 229 follow youthful people in coding, app enchancment, and digital devices, no diploma required. Funded by Blolab, it’s part of a broader movement to assemble an space workforce ready for startup work from day one.
AI and the next frontier:
Benin launched its Nationwide AI Method in 2023. It’s already operational:
● A government-developed approved chatbot expert on Benin’s authorized pointers
● Nationwide dataset assortment in Fon and completely different native languages
● AI governance buildings and regional partnerships in progress
Capital urge for meals rising:
Certain, there’s nonetheless a funding gap significantly for growth-stage companies. Nonetheless the curiosity is rising. Pan-African participant Spiro raised $50M in a Sequence B spherical to scale its electrical mobility operations all through Benin and West Africa.
Right categorization of enterprises is essential in guaranteeing they get the best assist and taxation. This has been an issue to implement all through Francophone Africa. In Might, the Authorities of Benin awarded an official “startup” label to fifteen native micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises for 3 years, marking a major milestone in its innovation promotion method. These companies have been chosen from capabilities all through a lot of sectors like digital tech, effectively being, tourism, agriculture, and vitality. Established by Decree No. 2023-095 of March 22, 2023, this labeling grants benefits similar to tax exemptions—along with firm tax and payroll contributions for the first two years and a 50% low cost inside the third—and enhances credibility for trying to find funding. The chosen startups will even acquire technical assist, structured mentoring, and higher visibility domestically and internationally. This initiative shows Benin’s ambition to assemble a dynamic digital ecosystem and place itself as a key innovation hub in West Africa.
Enhance in Net resilience is crucial for guaranteeing reliable entry to educational, healthcare, and monetary suppliers, thereby supporting inclusive digital enchancment all through the continent. A March 2025 report from the Net Society highlights that Benin and Senegal achieved Africa’s strongest enhancements in Net resilience between 2022 and 2023, with Benin leaping six share components to 39% and Senegal leaping ten components to 36%. In Benin, stronger foundations have been constructed for digital suppliers—spanning administration, commerce, and daily life—by the use of on-line platforms that in the meanwhile are merely accessible.
Summary
Benin is quietly becoming definitely certainly one of West Africa’s most organised and policy-driven startup environments. It’s not flashy, nevertheless it certainly’s focused. With precise authorities engagement, digital-first strategies, and an rising tech custom, the foundations are robust. Certain, capital stays to be restricted and the ecosystem is youthful, nonetheless for builders trying to find stability, responsiveness, and room to develop, Benin is increasingly exhausting to ignore.
Morocco Means Enterprise, Whether or not or not it’s in Casablanca, Rabat, Fez, Marrakech, or Tangier
Morocco’s ecosystem isn’t rising, it’s scaling. The nation is pulling ahead as a result of the Francophone space’s most mature and capital-rich startup ecosystem.
Institutional VC vitality
The Digital Fund & UM6P Ventures have injected tens of hundreds and hundreds into effectively being, agri, and {{industry}} startups, with UM6P alone planning to scale from $7 M to $50 M in new commitments over the approaching years.
CDG Make investments’s 212 Founders is complemented by funds similar to Innov Make investments (World Monetary establishment–backed), specializing in pre-seed and seed rounds to bridge early-stage capital gaps.
Events identical to the Nationwide Conference on Artificial Intelligence, held at UM6P in Rabat, underscore Morocco’s dedication to digital transformation. Leaders similar to Amal El Fallah – Seghrouchni (Minister Delegate for Digital Transition), representatives from the Moroccan Funding and Export Development Firm (AMDIE), and senior executives from N+ONE Datacenters are driving this momentum. Their imaginative and prescient is clear: AI, information, and digitalisation aren’t buzzwords, they’re foundational pillars of Morocco’s monetary method.
Startups like DeepLeaf—winners of GITEX Africa pitch rivals—characterize Morocco’s innovation in agritech AI. The startup ecosystem shouldn’t be solely rising, it’s fixing real-world points all through Africa, with the potential to develop previous the continent.
New 2024 Funding Momentum
Based mostly on the 2024 Morocco Startup Ecosystem Report:
● Moroccan startups raised $94.96 M in 2024, up from $33.26 M in 2023 — nearly 3× progress.
● Morocco is now #6 in Africa for startup funding, alongside Ghana and Tanzania.
● TravelTech led one of the simplest ways (53% of complete funding), adopted by Fintech (most presents), Agritech (a rising nationwide priority), and DeepTech, which accounted for 10% of deal amount.
● However, 65% of capital went to solely 3 startups, highlighting a spotlight hazard.
● The nation nonetheless lacks ample Sequence A+ consumers, with solely 4 predominant exits in 3 years compared with over 20 in Egypt.
● Female-led startups keep significantly underfunded.
Public-private alignment
Morocco Digital 2030 is backed by a $24 M public fund with targets to create 1,000 startups by 2026 and three,000 by 2030, supported by incentives like a Moroccan Startup Label and regulatory streamlining.
The initiative moreover incorporates a Morocco Fintech Center, a financial-industry consortium comprising 15 banks and institutions, performing as a one-stop retailer for fintech startups.
Crucially, Morocco’s digital ambition is matched by its cultural depth and worldwide positioning. As one participant described it: a country the place you might summit 4,000-meter mountains and surf Atlantic waves inside hours, whereas concurrently establishing a digitally-led future that locations Africa on the guts. This synthesis of customized and tech is part of Morocco’s clean vitality in attracting worldwide consumers and experience.
Casablanca Finance Metropolis & technoparks
CFC hosts 240+ multinational corporations (Huawei, Schneider Electrical), employs 7,000+, and serves as Africa’s prime financial hub, score 4th inside the MEA space; Moroccan funding all through Africa surged from $100M in 2014 to $2.8B in 2024.
Technoparks in Rabat, Tangier, and the Inexperienced Energy Park (Benguerir) assist deep tech, sustainability, and photograph voltaic/renewables evaluation, with UM6P’s infrastructure driving startup-to-lab innovation transitions.
Funding & progress
VC funding rose from $17 M in 2023 to $95 M in 2024, and consistent with some research, even reached $177 M, making Morocco the Ninth-largest startup ecosystem in Africa (88th globally).
Notable exits: Chari reached a $100 M valuation in 2022; others like DabaDoc, WaystoCap, Terraa have pulled in pre-seed/seed rounds exceeding $1 M.
Standout funded companies embody: AUTO24.ma, Nuitée, ENAKL, Yakeey, Mubawab, Jobzyn Maroc, Talaty, ToumAI, Colis.ma, Agenz, ORA Utilized sciences, Logidoo, Yola Up to date, PayTic.
Ecosystem visibility & connectivity
GITEX Africa, held in Marrakesh is now a premier continental tech showcase; for 2025 it attracted 400+ consumers managing over $250 B in belongings.
Morocco is establishing a on-line sport startup sector with a $26 M Rabat Gaming Metropolis, teaching hubs, and the Morocco Gaming Expo, elements of a deliberate push to diversify youth employment.
Broadband rollout is strong (74% net penetration), 5G progress is underway, and regulation favours digital experience: Morocco is ranked 88th globally in StartupBlink, with Casablanca leaping 42 places to 317th.
Summary
Morocco leads in capital depth, worldwide visibility, and high-quality infrastructure. It’s the gateway for worldwide consumers stepping into Francophone Africa and it’s solely getting faster. Nonetheless maturity comes with new challenges. Whereas early-stage assist has grown significantly, the nation nonetheless faces a funding bottleneck on the Sequence A and B ranges. Startup founders moreover cite regulatory delays and a slow-moving banking sector when making an attempt to scale previous MVP. And no matter strong digital infrastructure in predominant cities, second-tier areas like Agadir or Oujda keep underdeveloped by means of startup assist and funding entry. Briefly: Morocco has the momentum and the gear—nonetheless its subsequent leap will depend on whether or not or not that assist system expands previous the identical previous amenities of gravity.
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