The participants of the Bridge Africa Summit which closed on May 8 in Morocco extended their interventions until May 10 as part of another Summit: DeepTech, organized by the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P). Yassine Laghzioui, the general director of the UM6P Ventures investment fund, discusses in this interview the obstacles to the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the involvement of women in innovation and the power of disruptive technologies for the development of cities more sustainable in Africa.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi: The Bridge Africa Summit closed on May 8 and gave way to the DeepTech Summit, still organized by the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P). This meeting is being held until May 10 with the acceleration of innovative solutions as a backdrop. What role does UM6P Ventures play in this approach?
Yassine Laghzioui: UM6P Ventures is UM6P’s venture capital fund. We are backed by a research and development (R&D) organization with the mission of investing in the best start-ups that develop disruptive innovations and, more broadly, of supporting start-up companies to develop; especially since in Africa, the ecosystem is very recent. This means we are taking the first step despite the positive growth in recent years. And we need actors who can initially give a good signal to our start-ups and entrepreneurs. Then, support them with access to the network, access to the market and the structuring of their businesses.
More and more Africans in Morocco are choosing Ben Guerir in particular because of “Startgate” which is considered the American-style start-up campus. What is the connection between you and Startgate? And what nationalities are found there?
There are many venture capital funds in Africa. Sometimes, the managers of these funds have difficulty finding the right start-ups in which to invest. And then startuppers and entrepreneurs also complain about a lack of “cash”. In fact, the concern is at the level of development, maturation, etc.
Here we welcome project leaders, even when they have not yet reached a certain level of maturity, so that we can prepare them for a possible investment. So Startgate which is the university’s campus-start-up constitutes with other initiatives such as the Fab Labs, the experimental farm, the research laboratories, the 1337 and the Green Energy Park, the biotope of the UM6P Ventures . In other words, UM6P Ventures is the incubator for future start-ups that will succeed in raising funds.
On campus at Stargate, there are Cameroonians, Nigerians and even Ethiopians who actually come on acceleration and incubation programs. Some even call it the Silicon Valley of Africa, I call it the phosphate of the valleys of Africa. This universe is conducive to networking and mentoring.
What place do women occupy in this world of innovation?
We are very proud to announce that on the student part we now exceed 50% women and 30% on the entrepreneurship part. Personally, the objective is to have half of the start-ups led by women or at least a female co-founder. Today, we are starting to see more and more women who consider entrepreneurship as a serious career. Quite simply because women have access to education in Africa compared to yesterday.
The rigor and diversity brought by women are the strength of our entrepreneurial ecosystem.
You have launched a call for applications to select start-up companies specifically in agritech, health and greentech. How does the process work and what support is provided for selected candidates?
We actually launched this call for applications to send the message that there is a venture capital fund which believes in the potential of Africa, which believes that the continent can position itself on the world stage of advanced technology and breakup. Behind, there is financial support through an investment ticket which can go up to 7 million Moroccan dirhams (more than 700,000 euros) depending on the level of maturity. Despite the tight criteria, we notice incredible enthusiasm around the applications.
Managing a DeepTech start-up is very different from managing a traditional digital start-up. Clearly, a DeepTech entrepreneur needs to recruit, to have access to a better network of experts in very specific, very specialized fields. He needs access to a network of mentors and cutting-edge laboratories where he can mature his product. He also needs support on the business side.
In your opinion, what are the main obstacles to the development of the start-up ecosystem in Africa? How to cure it ?
The economic development of the whole world cannot happen without Africa. So today, there is an evolution in terms of awareness of this. Among the major obstacles for our start-ups on the continent is the difficulty of taking advantage of the depth of the African market. Africa is four times the market of the United States of America. In a few years, we will have a billion and a half inhabitants, a huge market, but which is not activated because it is hyper fragmented.
It is therefore time to create free trade zones, simplify legislative approaches to allow these start-ups to work in synergy for a collective and powerful result.
The second challenge is the gap between talent and the needs of start-ups. Today, 60% of the African population is considered very young, particularly with young people under 25 years old. Which represents an enormous workforce, but which is not necessarily well trained to meet the needs of start-ups, on the technological aspect, on business and commercial aspects, etc. So there is a real need to approve our educational systems to allow these young people to find work in start-ups. They also need it to ensure their growth. We don’t have to have universities everywhere, but we can use the magic of e-learning and digitalization platforms to meet this challenge.
The third challenge that is currently slowing down the growth of African start-ups is the lack of infrastructure, whether in terms of logistics infrastructure, electrification, laboratories or cutting-edge research. Indeed, there is a huge impact when researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs are provided with adequate resources. What they can produce in this case is much more important than when they don’t have it. One of the keys is to open up to the international capital market since any dollar invested in Africa will have an impactful investment return.
Technologies are almost essential today and are present in all sectors of the economy. Do you think that they are an essential lever for the resilience of territories with regard to the fight against climate change?
Climate change is a scourge that cannot be addressed without the intervention of technology and disruptive technologies, whether digital technologies. This is why there are billions of dollars invested every year. On the green Tech side, we are focusing on the development of new sources of green energy. In terms of water Tech, we are exploring unconventional sources, notably wastewater treatment because nowadays the stakes are much greater than simple traditional investments which would make it possible to resolve these problems. We fundamentally integrate the fact that a production plant needs advanced technologies to be able to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Regarding agriculture, digital technologies are essential to be able to sequester and capture carbon and we have several start-ups dedicated to this.
Name one
For example, there is Atarec which is developing a green energy generation system. via the mechanical energy of waves. It is a very advanced technology with a team that will be able to export its know-how internationally.
While the local policies of certain cities are almost powerless in the face of economic and environmental challenges, do you think it is still possible and thanks to African start-ups to turn the situation around?
Yes. Innovation startups have a big role to play in the implementation of effective and efficient territorial policies, which make it possible to support the exponential acceleration of urbanization in Africa. This rapid urbanization (the urban population is expected to triple in Africa by 2050, Editor’s note) cannot be managed without using advanced technologies, without having cities that are connected, without using digital platforms, etc. The UM6P firmly believes in this.
What about smart cities?
One of the first programs we launched was focused on the smart city. This has made it possible to bring out some very good start-ups including “We go” which uses an integrated platform to allow citizens of a territorial area to have access to an integrated transport solution, i.e. to go from point A to point B in a large city. The platform allows you to know what the route is, what technology, what means of transport you are going to use. It is already operational in the towns of Nador and Safi. The project will very soon move to urban centers (in Morocco) which are a little larger and more strategic before being exported to other cities in Africa.
Which Moroccan city fascinates you?
The city that I love most in Morocco is Marrakech (less than an hour and a half from Ben Guerir, editor’s note). If we make an analogy, I would say that Marrakech is a beautiful metropolis where tradition meets evolution, where the spirit of Africa meets technological development and avant-garde. This is important in my opinion, because Africa cannot develop without its roots. When we talk about DeepTech, it is in no way a question of abandoning our culture, but of mixing it with a little modernity. Without roots, a tree cannot survive.
Comments collected by Benoit-Ivan Wansi, special envoy to Morocco
