Five African startups, five innovative realities ready to grow with their products and solutions, five entrepreneurs who have been able to present themselves with capacity and conviction, with concrete numbers and plans. This is the most important item in the achievement of the 2024 edition of the Startup Africa Roadshow that brought the 5 winning startups of the Next Generation Africa 2023-2024 program to Italy.
Organized by the nonprofit BeEntrepreneurs APS in collaboration with the Italian Embassy in Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, the roadshow took place June 8-16 between Milan and Bologna, consolidating relations between the Italian and African innovation ecosystems. The 5 winning startups, selected from more than 330 applications turned out to be Ecoplastile, Luna, Shambapro, SLS Energy and Ubuntu Education, participated in a series of events, meetings and training sessions with the goal of expanding their network and finding potential investors.
The highlight of the roadshow was the Startup Africa Day on June 11, hosted at the Cariplo Factory headquarters in Milan, an event where startups presented their innovations and business projects to more than 120 participants including investors, market players, accelerators, associations, large Italian and international companies and players in the innovation ecosystem. From June 13 to June 15, the startups participated in We Make Future, an innovation festival in Bologna, where they had an exhibition space and took part in events, panels and the Startup Competition, which saw one of the startups, Shambapro, among the four finalists of the Global Impact Challenge and the eventual winner of the coveted 50,000 euro prize. Also of note, a company visit to Maserati and Reinova labs for startup SLS Energy and a welcome foray by comedian Paolo Cevoli, who interviewed volunteers and entrepreneurs for the upcoming edition of the web series CapoLavori.
“I am extremely proud of the results achieved in this edition of the Next Generation Africa program,” says Andrea Censoni, co-founder and president of BeEntrepreneurs. This second roadshow of ours represents a concrete bridge between African and Italian innovation, showing how vibrant and promising startups from East Africa are. Our goal has always been to create lasting connections and synergies between the two ecosystems, and this year’s successes confirm the validity of this mission. We are grateful to our partners for their support and excited about the future opportunities that are emerging for our startups.”
Startups
Ecoplastile (Uganda): environmental sustainability and recycling, collects plastic waste, remunerating the local community through an app, and turns it into eco-friendly, lightweight, high-performance roofing tiles. The idea stems from a personal experience of CEO & founder Franc Kamugyisha in the Bwaise slum in Kampala. Peron Nateisa, impact & communications lead of the startup, also attended. Franc Kamugyisha says, “Presenting Ecoplastile during the roadshow, hearing ideas from other startups, and participating in discussions about creating scalable technology solutions in Africa were all valuable. I am convinced that Africa needs new markets, partnerships and investments to support its brightest entrepreneurs in creating local solutions to global challenges.”
Luna (Rwanda): business with focus on women’s empowerment and health. This is a femtech startup that offers a protected space to discuss intimate and sensitive issues with the possibility of seeking online counseling (doctors, psychologists, etc.). Aline Joyce Berabose (CEO & co-founder) and Chibudu Nyiro (chief operations officer & co-founder) participated in the roadshow. Aline Joyce Berabose comments on her experience in Itali: “The roadshow was an exceptional experience on a personal and professional level. Learning and connecting with investors and the BeEntrepreneurs team made us better entrepreneurs. I look forward to seeing what we will accomplish for our startup after this program, which I would recommend to other startups.”
Shambapro (Rwanda): innovation serving those who work the land. This is an agritech startup that has developed an app to support small farmers by digitizing some administrative processes, producing data and reports useful for managing their activities. Kelvin Odoobo is CEO & founder: “The Next Generation Africa program has been Shambapro’s most valuable supporter over the past year, providing us with ongoing personalized support, advice and mentorship. During the roadshow, we met with numerous venture capitalists, business angels, companies and startups, with whom we established strong relationships that will allow us to explore the potential for new partnerships.”
SLS Energy (Rwanda): a second life for used batteries, the startup has developed a system for recovering still-working cells from end-of-life battery packs to create backup and energy storage devices for telecom towers. Attended by Mercy Hirwa (business development manager) and Patrick Ntwari (co-founder and director of hardware engineering), Hirwa says, “Our week in Italy was extraordinary. We made valuable connections between the African and Italian innovation ecosystems. Personally, I discovered and deeply appreciated the vibrant culture of Italian startups. This trip marks a significant step toward empowering African entrepreneurs and fostering global collaboration.”
Ubuntu Education (Rwanda): training, professional development and innovation. It is an edtech startup, which provides teachers with training content, access to growth opportunities, and collaborates with schools and local communities to foster development. David Marriott (CEO and co-founder) and Jess King (chief operations officer and co-founder) attended, saying, “The roadshow week exceeded our expectations because of the excellent organization and invaluable networking opportunities. The mentorship and support we received was unparalleled. We at Ubuntu Education are thrilled to have been part of this project and to share it with other African startups.”
Startup Africa Day, in addition to startup presentations, featured a panel discussion, coordinated by Startupbusiness, in which Gianluca Dettori, chairman and general partner of Primo Ventures; Cristina Toscano, Fondazione Cariplo’s program manager for initiatives in Africa; Michele Raggio, founder and project leader of SeedScience, which helps the African school teachers to better train on STEM subjects, Domenica Surace, head of impact, assesment, monitoring and reporting fi Joule, Eni’s school for enterprise, and Francesca Oliva, energy and social entrepreneurship at Fondazione Avsi, highlighted, also referring to their professional experiences in Africa how the five startups represent a crystal-clear example of the maturation of entrepreneurial culture both at the level of innovation and business management. In particular, it emerged how more and more we are witnessing a step change that has taken Africa from being a destination for projects from outside to a place where Africans themselves are proposing, developing, and consolidating initiatives that look with increasing attention to the opportunities offered by not only innovation but also international relations. Training is a key element in all of this, but so is the role of European companies with a presence in Africa in opening up specific partnerships with local startups. There is still a long way to go of course but the direction is marked and the concreteness with which the five startups in the BeEntrepreneurs program show it starkly by placing emphasis on how there is certainly no lack of capacity and will and above all how the African continent is now to be seen as the true home of the future.
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