Miarakap

Jiro-Ve is a pioneering company in rural electrification in Madagascar, launched in 2014.

Jiro-Ve has come up with an innovative, inclusive micro franchise model to provide affordable and healthy lighting for marginalized communities. Its business model allows the company to rent out a rechargeable LED light for a price that is cheaper than candles or kerosene. For 250 Ariary per day (≈ 0,06 €) people get a fully charged light delivered to their doorstep, both incities and remote rural areas of Madagascar.

Jiro-Ve hires local entrepreneurs and uses existing networks, supporting and developing entrepreneurship.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

Jiro Ve is managed by Rik Stamhuis, an entrepreneur of Dutch origin located in Madagascar since 2012.  He holds 48% of the company's capital.

Rik is a driven and energetic leader with years of experience working for social enterprises. Before founding Jiro-Ve, Rik worked in Kenya trying to find innovative ways of distributing renewable energy.

PARTNERSHIP WITH I&P

Thanks to funding from the program I&P Acceleration Technologies, Jiro-Ve plans to expand its activity, initially in Madagascar by distributing the new kits in larger quantities and targeting more regions.

The company aims to extend its offer to other regions of Africa later on.

EXPECTED IMPACTS

⇒ Jiro-Ve aims to eliminate poverty by helping local entrepreneurs to have a better income.

⇒ Jiro-Ve's model allows the most disadvantaged consumers to access a source of energy that is less polluting, less dangerous and less expensive than petroleum lamps.

⇒ According to the studies carried out by the company, each lamp used would avoid the emission of 0.37 tons of CO2 per year.

⇒ This energy source also has a positive impact on the health and well-being of users, by reducing the toxic fumes emitted by the candles and kerosene lamps that most target customers currently use.

About I&P Acceleration Technologies

Launched in 2019 with the support of the French Development Agency through its iniative Digital Africa, I&P Acceleration Technologies is a €2.5 million program that aims to finance and support some fifteen digital startups in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on Western Africa, Central Africa and Madagascar. Click here to read more →

About Miarakap

Miarakap is the first impact fund dedicated to the financing and support SMEs and start-ups in Madagascar. Managed by Emmanuel Cotsoyannis, Miarakap is the fourth African fund sponsored by Investisseurs & Partenaires as part of its program I&P Development 2. The network currently includes impact funds specialized in SME-financing in Niger (Sinergi Niger), Burkina Faso (Sinergi Burkina), in Senegal (Teranga Capital) and Côte d'Ivoire (Comoé Capital). Click here to visit Miarakap's website →

SmartPredict is a SaaS platform using artificial intelligence for predictive analytics that helps companies in the deployment of their projects. There are multiple uses in all sectors: consumer forecasts (industry), product recommendations (marketing), default predictions (banking and insurance), etc. With their latest tool, RetailForecastor, the company enables retail companies to predict their sales and optimize their activities by avoiding over- or underproduction.

SmartPredict has been developed since 2018 by Malagasy developers and data scientists and has required one million lines of code to date.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

SmartPredict is led by Ranto ANDRIAMBOLOLONA, a Malagasy entrepreneur in his 40s with a passion for artificial intelligence since his studies.

Graduated from ISPM (Institut Supérieur Polytechnique de Madagascar) and the University of Marne La Vallée, he has more than 10 years of experience in the ICT sector in Paris (Axway, PriceMinister, etc.). He came back to Madagascar to launch HaiRun and SmartPredict, driven by the conviction that Malagasy developers and datascientists have the skills to match those of European companies.

He quickly demonstrated his ability to lead young, ambitious and growing companies. His first company HaiRun grew from 6 to 100 employees in the space of two years and raised €250,000 through its partnership with the impact investing fund Miarakap.

Partnership with I&P and Miarakap

Miarakap has committed itself alongside the promoter in the structuring of the young company, the launch of SmartPredict and the future fundraising efforts it aims to achieve.

Thanks to the partnership between the French Development Agency (AFD), Investisseurs et Partenaires (I&P), and Miarakap within the framework of the program I&P Accélération Technologies, SmartPredict benefits from a funding notably dedicated to Research & Development, as well as commercialization.

Expected Impacts

⇒ Promoting a Malagasy company that performs in the technological and innovative sector of artificial intelligence

⇒ Creation of qualified and well-paid jobs for Malagasy developers and "data scientists", whose retention in Madagascar is a challenge.

About I&P Acceleration Technologies

Launched in 2019 with the support of the French Development Agency through its iniative Digital Africa, I&P Acceleration Technologies is a €2.5 million program that aims to finance and support some fifteen digital startups in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on Western Africa, Central Africa and Madagascar. Cick here to read more →

About Miarakap

Miarakap is the first impact fund dedicated to the financing and support SMEs and start-ups in Madagascar. Managed by Emmanuel Cotsoyannis, Miarakap is the fourth African fund sponsored by Investisseurs & Partenaires as part of its program I&P Development 2. The network currently includes impact funds specialized in SME-financing in Niger (Sinergi Niger), Burkina Faso (Sinergi Burkina), in Senegal (Teranga Capital) and Côte d'Ivoire (Comoé Capital). Click here to visit Miarakap's website →

Created in 2017, HaiRun Technology, is a DSC (Digital Services Company) based in Madagascar, specialized in the conception and development of specific high-level projects, and currently operating on the international market.

The digital company today has a solid foundation with more than 60 employees (Management, Technical, Sales and Marketing) and more than 20 projects carried out for large companies such as Share.Place, Ewattch, Laza-Adina, Super U. In addition, HaiRun has set up an artificial intelligence platform « SmartPredict » which will be accessible to the general public in 2020. Moreover, HaiRun was a winner of the « AI for Good 2018 » Artificial Intelligence Competition organized by France AI and the French Red Cross.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

Ranto ANDRIAMBOLOLONA studied in Madagascar. First at the EPP (Public Primary School) of Antsiranana, then at the Zafy Albert High School of Diégo-Suarez before obtaining his BACC in 1997 and starting his engineering cycle in 1998 at the ISPM (Institut Supérieur Polytechnique de Madagascar). After immigrating to France, where he finished his studies, he worked in IT for 15 years (Priceminister, Boursorama, etc.), notably in the ideation and design of innovative products for French software publishers. In 2017, he created HaiRun Technology with only 5 employees at the start.

Interview with Ranto ANDRIAMBOLOLONA and Chantal RAZAFIMAHATRATRA

PARTNERSHIP WITH MIARAKAP

Miarakap's investment in HaiRun Technology aims to:

• Provide strategic and operational support

•  Support HaiRun in its hyper-growth at the international level

•  Finalize and market the SmartPredict platform

EXPECTED IMPACTS 

• Creation of well-paying jobs for qualified Malagasy IT developers, whose retention in the country is an issue

• Increasing the competence of the development teams

• Madagascar's visibility on the global IT development scene

• Strengthening the supply of quality digital services in Madagascar (an opening to the local market is planned)

• Full formalization of the company, both at the tax level and in terms of company management (organization of steering communities, board of directors, implementation of reporting to manage the company

• Integration of ecological considerations (CO2 cost control) into product design

APEM PAIQ is a microfinance institution for small urban entrepreneurs, mainly located in Antananarivo and the surrounding area. It offers loans, with an average amount of MGA 1.2 million (EUR 300), as well as complementary non-financial services such as health insurance and training.

With Miarakap's funding and support, APEM PAIQ aims to triple its level of activity between 2019 and 2023 by opening a dozen additional offices in Antananarivo and adjacent municipalities.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

The Projet d'Appui aux Initiatives de Quartier (PAIQ - Neighbourhood Initiatives Support Project) is a project initiated by the French Cooperation in 1998. The project was carried out in Antananarivo by the Association pour la Promotion de l'Entreprise à Madagascar (APEM - Association for Entreprise Promotion in Madagascar) as a project manager. At the end of the French Cooperation funding, the APEM continued the project by financing it from its own funds and transforming it into a public limited company in 2010.

The institution is now directed by Rihatiana Rasonarivo, a 40-year-old Malagasy woman. The Executive Director of APEM PAIQ is a graduate of INSCAE in Accounting and Control and holds a Master's degree in Management from the University of Antananarivo. She held positions as internal controller and then administrative and financial manager before joining APEM PAIQ in 2011.

PARTNERSHIP WITH MIARAKAP

Miarakap has committed to APEM PAIQ to:

• Enable the opening of new neighbourhood offices and their computerization

• Strengthen corporate governance by actively participating in strategic decisions

• Strengthen the capacities of managerial and operational staff through technical assistance missions

MAIN IMPACTS

The development plan includes:

• More than 50 formal jobs created or maintained

• Access to financial services for more than 5,000 small urban entrepreneurs in Antananarivo by 2023

• The training of more than 100 entrepreneurs per year

• The development of a social performance policy

VATEL is a higher education school of Tourism and Hotel Management, a subsidiary of the Vatel group, created in 2014 by Falihery Ramakavelo and his wife Hanitra Ramakavelo. Vatel provides a Bachelor's level training in 3 years, and since 2018 a Master's level training (Bac+5) in 2 years, including a final year of specialization in Ecotourism, which will be launched in October 2019. Today, it counts 67 graduates (from the 2014 and 2015 classes) and 167 students in training. The main site is located in Ambatoroka, Antananarivo, and a new campus will be opened in October 2019 in Morondava to welcome the students of the Master Ecotourism.

With Miarakap funding, the promoters want to make Vatel a leading higher education group in the field of hotel and tourism in Madagascar, through:

- The strengthening and consolidation of the existing structure,

- The opening of a campus in Morondava to welcome students in the Ecotourism Master's degree, students from the local population in vocational training (partnership with UNESCO), and eventually an application ecolodge.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

Vatel is run by a couple: Falihery Ramakavelo, a graduate of ENA and the Special Military School of Saint-Cyr (France), he has several years of experience in Malagasy and French civil administration and as a senior manager of several Malagasy companies (BFV-SG, MAERSK, SIPROMAD); and his wife Hanitra Ramakavelo, graduate from the University of Angers (France) in Economic and Social Administration.

PARTNERSHIP WITH MIARAKAP

Miarakap's support mainly concerns:

• Funding for the renovation of the site in Morondava to accommodate the Master's degree in ecotourism,

• The financing of a technical assistance mission on project management for the construction works

• Support for the establishment of partnerships with NGOs specialized in Tourism and biodiversity conservation

MAIN IMPACTS

• Awareness and education on environmental issues, particularly biodiversity conservation,

• Strengthening the training offer on a priority sector in Madagascar

• Access to quality training for isolated rural populations (Morondava) through partnerships with international organizations such as UNESCO

• Environmental footprint management: solar installation on site

• Establishment of partnerships with professionals in tourism, education, crafts, etc.

• Establishment of socio-educational partnerships with funders

Chicky is a fast food company specializing in chicken. It aims to become a major player in the sector in Madagascar. Chicky was launched in 2017 by Yohann Cattiau, a French entrepreneur based in Madagascar, who is now in charge of its management. The company now has 3 restaurants: the first restaurant opened in June 2017 in the busy Behoririka district, the second in January 2018 in the heart of the city in Analakely, and the third in October 2018 in the Urbania Gallery in Analakely.

With Miarakap's financing and support, Chicky aims to become a reference in the field of fast food, meeting international quality standards, while remaining accessible to the greatest number of people.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

Chicky is led by Yohann Cattiau, who graduated in 2004 from Kedge Business School. He moves to Madagascar in 2016. Yohann worked for 10 years in investment fund management companies in Luxembourg and then held a position as a financial analyst in the Finance Department of the Axian Group in Madagascar from July 2017 to June 2018, in parallel with Chicky's management.

PARTNERSHIP WITH MIARAKAP

Miarakap's support for Chicky is materialized by:

• The financing of technical assistance missions allowing the skills development of the operational teams

• The structuring and formalization of the company: declared employees and company subject to VAT

• Assistance in setting up accounting and control procedures

MAIN IMPACTS

• Complete formalization of the company and all jobs

• Support for the formalization of small chicken suppliers