What can we learn from I&P Accélération Technologies?

After five years of commitment to technological innovation in Africa, I&P Accélération Technologies (IPAT) is coming to an end. Supported by Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) in collaboration with Agence Française de Développement (AFD), this initiative has enabled a number of start-ups to reach decisive stages in their development.

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A long-term impact on the entrepreneurial ecosystem

In 2020, I&P launched I&P Accélération Technologies, a sector-specific support program dedicated to the emergence of African technology start-ups. With a budget of €2.5 million, this program offered the selected companies (start-ups and/or SMEs whose activity is partly digital-related) seed financing and support in raising additional funds, as well as personalised support for general issues (strengthening accounting, marketing support, team training, etc.) and sector-specific issues facing young companies in the sector.

Key figures

The program ended in August 2024 with a number of significant results:

• 1.7 million euros disbursed in the form of a repayable advance for seed funding
•  a portfolio of 14 start-ups financed in 6 sub-Saharan African countries: Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Madagascar, Mali, Senegal and Uganda,
• an average growth rate of 113% between June 2023 and June 2024 for portfolio companies
• 7 business sectors (healthcare, fintech, energy, Saas, transport, edtech, legaltech)
• 353 jobs created and/or maintained
• +10.6 million raised by the SMEs and start-ups in the portfolio, i.e. a leverage effect 6 times greater than the amount committed

‘We were impressed by the determination and resilience of the start-ups we supported. This programme has revealed a real pool of talented entrepreneurs, many of them women, who are shaping the future of the technology sector in Africa,’ says Caty Diokhané, Program Manager (I&P).

On the strength of these lessons learnt, I&P and Agence Française de Développement are pursuing the development of sector-based programmes such as I&P Digital Energy to continue to support young companies with high potential for impact, but which, judged too young by traditional financing players and too risky by ‘traditional’ financial institutions (banks, investment funds, etc.), are therefore struggling to access the financing and skills they need to develop successfully.