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Newsletter n°27 | November 2019

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IN THIS NEWSLETTER

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Mamadou Sanankoua
CEO of Conergies | President of the African Club of Entrepreneurs

While I&P is publishing a report on the formalization of African SMEs, Mamadou Sanankoua, newly elected President of the African Club of Entrepreneurs, reviews the content of the report and the advocacy role of the Club as a promoter of entrepreneurship in Africa

Formalizing one' s enterprise: a challenge for the entrepreneur and his/her team
The report published by I&P provides a pragmatic analysis of the advantages and constraints of formalization. Formalizing an African SME is indeed not an easy task. This requires both the full willingness of the entrepreneur and the commitment of his/her employees. These entrepreneurs and employees are at the heart of the report, providing key testimonies that any organization working directly or indirectly with African SMEs should take into account !

The messages addressed to African governments are essential. Too often, the formalization process is not completed for fear of the complexities that can arise. It's time for a change!

A strong advocacy tool for the African Club of Entrepreneurs
Founded in 2016, the African Club of Entrepreneurs brings together about a hundred entrepreneurs accompanied by I&P, operating in various sectors and countries.

The Club is a pan-African association dedicated to the promotion of entrepreneurship and is therefore strongly involved in advocacy actions with entrepreneurial ecosystems in Sub-Saharan Africa (governments, entrepreneurs, incubators, banks, etc.). The publication and dissemination of reports such as I&P' s report on formalization is essential to improve these ecosystems and open up new opportunities for African entrepreneurs!

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The entrepreneurs supported by Afrique Créative have been selected
and were gathered in Burkina Faso their first bootcamp

Following a call for applications, the Afrique Créative acceleration programme has identified nine cultural and creative entrepreneurs from Burkina Faso, Morocco, Senegal and Uganda, who will benefit from funding and personalised support to accelerate the growth of their projects.

The programme started with a residential bootcamp held from 21 to 24 October in Burkina Faso. Development of a business model, marketing, investment tools, intellectual property... the topics covered were varied and helped to strengthen the capacities of these entrepreneurs dedicated to the cultural and creative sector in Africa.

Constant Kouamé-Kra joined I&P in September 2019 as Director of Investments for the programme I&P Education to Employment, presented last July and currently in the fundraising phase.
More info

Vivian Tchatchueng sets up in the Douala office (Cameroon) to monitor I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs (IPAE 1 and IPAE 2) portfolio in Central Africa. He replaces Raphaël Dumont, who joins the IPDEV 2 team in Paris. For more info

I&P has opened a new office in Washington D.C. to develop its advocacy and institutional relations activities, under the direction of Emilie Debled, Executive Director - Strategic Development.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ PORTRAIT ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Eric GENETRE & Mathias PAPET
Co-founders of Coin Afrique

Created in 2015, CoinAfrique is a mobile community platform designed to buy and sell products. It currently exceeds 1.4 million downloads and has approximately 500,000 active monthly users.

The company is now entering a new phase of development, led by its two co-founders and a pan-African team operating in Senegal, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon.

Matthias Papet & Eric Genêtre © Coin Afrique

Since the arrival of I&P, we have really structured our middle management. We also have a presence in each country in which we operate. Every quarter, we bring the team together for three days in Dakar to work on the company's development strategy. We are convinced that it is essential to invest in our human capital, and that is why we invest a lot in training"

Read the interview

▬▬▬▬ NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS ▬▬▬▬

From the 9th to 11th of October, was held the 8th training seminar for entrepreneurs, which brough together nearly 60 entrepreneurs from 12 different African countries. Theme of this year: "leading change"
Read more

Le Monde dedicates an article to Madani Diallo, Director of Carrières et Chaux du Mali, and to how he responded to the multiple crises that Mali has experienced over the past 30 years. Read more (in French)

AMI, specialized in professional training, is launching for the first time two new programs in French-speaking Africa and is also changing its look, presented in a new article on its website.

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Blog Entreprenante Afrique : focus on education in sub-Saharan Africa

► While I&P has partnered with the Government of Monaco to launch a fund dedicated to education and vocational training, the article "Support education in Africa : towards a new partnership approach" looks at the support that investors can have for impact in this specific sector, driven by a vibrant entrepreneurial dynamic.

► The article "Entrepreneurship for a better tommorow in Guinea" focuses on the Horizons d'Afrique iniative, an NGO founded in 2017 by Kouramoudou Magassouba that works in schools and universities to train the Guinean youth in social entrepreneurship.

Formalization of African SMEs: a subject of current international interest

I&P just published a summary report on the challenges and impacts of formalization of SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa, based on its concrete experience as an investor.

This report follows two field studies conducted in Senegal and in Madagascar with several portfolio companies and more than 500 employees.

The topic of formalization was the focus of a panel discussion at the ANDE annual conference. The CIPE (Center for Private Enterprise), an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce, and New Markets Labs, a center for innovation in law and economic development, both presented their work on formalization issues.

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In the press

► Jean-Michel Severino discusses the launch of the I&P Education to Employment programme in an interview for Agence Ecofin.

► In a report of Le Monde on "Africa facing the employment challenge", Jean-Michel Severino is interviewed on the difficulties faced by Africans SMEs and their crucial role on the continent's employment and growth.

► MicroCapital reviews the presentation made by Sébastien Boyé, Deputy Managing Director of Investments, during the African Microfinance Week, held from 21 to 25 October 2019.

► Nouss Bih, Investment Manager based in Côte d'Ivoire, participated in the radio program Le Débat Africain on RFI on November 3: "African SMEs: condemned to subcontracting?"

Agenda

► The Hague, 5 November: Samuel Monteiro participates to the 15th annual conference of EVPA, reuniting more than 1000 participants.

► Paris, 13 November: Samuel Monteiro will speak at the workshop organized by FERDI on the socio-economic impact of off-grid electridication.

► Doha, 19-21 November: Constant Kouamé-Kra will attend the WISE Summit 2019, a benchmark event for international education stakeholders.

► Marseille, 30 November-5 December: I&P team will be present on the bootcamp of the SIBC 2019, and will lead the training on "How to conduct the fundraising of your company".

► Marseille, 3-5 December: J.-M. Severino will be present at Emerging Valley, an event focusing on the digital relations between Europe and Africa.

► Johannesburg, 5 December: Nouss Bih will participate to the Forum Seedstars Africa.

▬▬▬▬▬ WHAT'S NEW AT I&P? ▬▬▬▬▬

Vivian Tchatchueng sets up in the Douala office (Cameroon) to monitor I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs (IPAE 1 and IPAE 2) portfolio in Central Africa. He replaces Raphaël Dumont, who joins the IPDEV 2 team in Paris. For more info

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In the press

Agenda