Culture

Afroto is a Niger-based industrialized production company for premium visuals, based on a networked community and present in 15 African countries for the benefit of institutional clients. The company offers international organizations and institutions photo and video coverage of their events. The ambition of this young SME is to create the leading community of photographers and videographers in Africa.

The entrepreneur

Afroto was founded by Alexandre Bonneau, a young entrepreneur passionate about photography. Holder of a Master of Science in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from SKEMA Business School (France), he started photography at the age of 14 and  through feedback from meetings with photographers/videographers before enrolling in master classes and other training courses

Partnership with I&P and Sinergi

Afroto is supported by Sinergi and I&P through I&P Acceleration in Sahel. This partnership aims to :

• Recruit 2 junior developers
• Recruit a Business Developer/Sale Key Accounts
• Recruit a Business Developer/Sale Medium and Small Accounts
• Recruit an Administrative and Accounting Assistant

More information

Visit company's website

OKALOU, a company specializing in events and entertainment, was founded by a Malagasy couple, Andy and Seheno Rasoanarivo in 2012. 

The company employs 38 staff and works part-time with over 150 people. 

OKALOU manages children's playgrounds in shopping centers, and also operates the Antanimena Skate Park in Antananarivo. 

In the space of 10 years, the company has established its reputation in the sector by organizing major innovative and entertaining annual events (LOKORACE, MAZAVAL'RUN), and by creating and developing its own playgrounds.

Partnership with Miarakap

The company is financed by Miarakap, I&P's partner in Madagascar.

Miarakap's investment will enable OKALOU to launch its project to create a multi-purpose venue, capable of hosting corporate and private events; to create a sales, marketing and communications division; to set up new services within the Antanimena Skate Park, but above all to structure and formalize the company.

Visit Miarakap's website to read more

 Massaka is a media and communication consulting company in Burkina Faso offering communication to national and international institutions, NGOs and associations. It also offers a service of media coverage and advertorial, online training via its web platform named “Agribusiness TV” whose vocation is to promote agricultural innovations and youth entrepreneurship.

The entrepreneurs

Massaka was created by 2 young entrepreneurs passionate about rural development issues:

• Inoussa MAIGA : President of the company, and in charge of the coordination of the communication for development branch of activities. He holds a master’s degree in information and communication technology, option communication for development from the Joseph KI-ZERBO University and an international master’s degree in media management from the Ecole Supérieur de Journalisme de Lille. He has more than 10 years of experience in the field of information and communication.
• Nawsheen Bibi HOSENALLY : Co-manager and in charge of the coordination of the activity branch Agribusiness TV. She holds an MSc in Management and Information Systems (Change and Development) from the University of Manchester, and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Mauritius in Agriculture, option Vulgarisation Agricole. She has over 10 years of experience in communication and media management.

Partnership with Sinergi Burkina and I&P

Massaka is supported by I&P and Sinergi Burkina through I&P Accelération in Sahel. This partnership aims at :

• Strengthen the organization and structuring of the Agribusiness TV platform (access to a premium space, online training, instructional manuals, networking, etc.)
• Develop editorial projects to increase the audience of Agribusiness TV and build loyalty
• Acquire production and reporting equipment (journalist kits)
• Strengthen the company’s structure and management system

Expected impacts

• Consolidation of 13 existing jobs and creation of 8 new permanent full-time jobs
• Contribution to the promotion of agriculture and youth entrepreneurship
• Improve the structuration and organization of the company
• Contribution to the national economy through the payment of taxes to the tax authorities

Based in Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso), Riaskyne owns an attraction park (Andréa Magicland) with several playgrounds (carousel, gyroscope, giant slide, giant trampoline, bouncy castle, bumper cars, mini golf course, train circuit, green spaces for relaxation, etc.),a restaurant "Akadi Foods & drinks", a day care center and a souvenir store.

The entrepreneurs

Riaskyne is the initiative of a couple of doctors, specialists in public health, Hugues and Youl Traoré. Hugues Traoré is a former senior international official of the United Nations and has significant experience in health and development, in management, monitoring and evaluation of health projects.

Ms. Youl Traoré also has more than 10 years of professional experience in management positions at the Ministry of Health. In addition to her basic training as a physician, she has been trained in several areas (business communication, sales techniques, e-procurement and leadership)

Partnership with I&P and Sinergi Burkina

Riaskyne is supported by Sinergi Burkina through I&P Acceleration program in Sahel. The main objective of this partnership is to :

• Strengthen the quality of the company's service through capacity building actions for technical staff (animators, playground manager, etc.)
• Strengthen the capacity of the daycare center through the rental and development of a new and larger space
• Implement "Akadi Foods and Drinks" restaurant model in a gas station
• Strengthen the structure and management system

About Sinergi Burkina

Created in 2014, Sinergi Burkina is the first impact investment fund dedicated to financing and supporting SMEs and start-ups in Burkina Faso. Headed by Job Zongo, Sinergi Burkina is the second investment fund sponsored by Investisseurs & Partenaires as part of the I&P Développement 2 fund. The fund network currently includes a fund in Niger (Sinergi Niger), Côte d'Ivoire (Comoé Capital), Senegal (Teranga Capital) and Madagascar (Miarakap).  → To learn more about Sinergi Burkina​

Launched in 2017, StarNews is a network of mobile video channels that gives access to quality content thanks to strong distribution and marketing partnerships with pan-African mobile operators such as MTN, Orange and Moov.

StarNews is positioning itself in a unique market, specifically adapted to the African context to unlock the potential of the creation of mobile video content on the continent.

StarNews was designed as a digital platform for creating, producing and distributing video content to mobile subscribers on various themes (celebrities, culture, cuisine, sport, humor, religion, beauty, events, etc.). The company started out collaborating with local and international African celebrities such as Fally Ipupa, Serge Beynaud, Lady Ponce or Davido and has been focusing since 2019 on the development of new themes.

StarNews has established partnerships with large pan-African mobile operators such as MTN and Orange in order to distribute exclusive and quality video content directly to users who can subscribe through their mobile to the various channels offered.

The company now operates in Ivory Coast, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa

THE ENTREPRENEUR

Guy Kamgaing, founder and director of the company, has over 20 years of experience in the mobile phone industry.

This Cameroonian entrepreneur began his career some 20 years ago by supplying network equipment to cell phone operators. He then entered the service sector and was a pioneer of mobile navigation by SMS ( jokes, quizzes, horoscopes, etc...) in Africa, before the widespread use of smartphones and mobile internet. He observed then that value-added service offers are usually not Africanized and even when they are, the content comes only from international players.

He therefore decided in 2015 to work on the creation of a platform to deliver African content at an affordable price to consumers. He launched StarNews in 2017, and after only 9 months of pilot deployment in Côte d'Ivoire in partnership with the operators MTN and Moov, StarNews Mobile reached over one million subscribers.

PARTNERSHIP WITH I&P

StarNews carries out a first fundraising campaign with Investisseurs & Partenaires through its I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs 2 fund.

The partnership between StarNews and I&P aims to:

• Building the skills of local teams (Abidjan, Douala, Johannesburg, Lagos)

• Developing value-added content for users

"We are proud to support a talented and experienced African entrepreneur who demonstrates a real commitment to deploy a pan-African and innovative solution. We share StarNews’ ambition to showcase African artists and to produce a greater diversity of quality local content with high added value for end users"

Nouss Bih, Investment Manager at I&P, based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

EXPECTED IMPACTS

• Generating new sources of income for African artists and various creators of content

• Supporting the development of an information platform with increasingly impactful content (health, employment, etc.).

Africa Radio aims to launch a pan-African independent radio based on the African continent.

Africa Radio will broadcast news, sports and cultural programs, as well as dedicated music programs to highlight the richness and diversity of African music.

The project relies on the experience of Africa N°1, a pan-African radio created in 1981. Africa N°1 Paris, primarily aimed at the African diaspora, reaches about 980 000 listeners.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

Dominique Guihot worked as a radio journalist for France Inter, RFI and RMC and is the CEO of Africa Media SA. He manages Africa N°1 Paris for fifteen years.

Dominique Guihot is the founder and manager of Africa Média SA, a communication company specialized in Franco-African projects. He also works as treasurer and administrator of the SIRTI, the Union of Independent Radios and Televisions. He is member of the African Press Organization’s international committee.

Dominique has demonstrated a great interest for Africa and the African media over the course of his career. With the project Africa Radio, he intends to pursue the work accomplished with Africa N°1 and launch a true African radio, based on the continent and mostly composed of African journalists.

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EXPECTED IMPACTS  

• Reinforce the domestic market

• Favor the freedom of information in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa