African Unicorns - The Award Winners of the First Edition

Africans Unicorns
From right to left: Nigeria's ambassador Mansur Nuhu Bamalli who received the Grand Prize awarded to Moove, with Alia Sahaly, Director EMEA Orange Digital Center, sponsor of the event and Mehdi El Alj, Founder and organizer Alia Sahaly of Africans Unicorns.
2 May 2023
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35Nord (Paris)

In partnership with Orange, BCG X, CGEM and Royal Air Maroc, Africa Unicorns celebrated at the ceremony of the first edition, in Casablanca, on April 27, the African startups that have all the qualities to become the future African unicorns. The African Unicorns jury awarded the Grand Prize to Moove, the Nigerian fintech. In addition, trophies were awarded to startups in 7 categories: Trella, MaxAB, Solarize Africa, Gro Intelligence, Cap Bio Pharms, Gozem.

Before presenting the trophies, the first African Unicorns ceremony featured three round tables. This was an opportunity to talk about AfricaTech, which continues to structure itself and surprise the world with its dynamism and effervescence. In the first panel, Bassem Belganche, Director of Consulting at Onepoint, Kenza Lahlou, Co-founder and General Partner of Outlierz Ventures, Aziza Inoubli, Head of Research and Analysis at Briter and Emeka Ajene, Founder and Editor at Afridigest debated on the theme of identifying the next big opportunities on African markets.

Then, Cyril Chiche, Co-founder and CEO of Lydia, and Olu Akanmu, President and Co-CEO of OPay-Nigeria discussed the steps to becoming a unicorn. Finally, Professor Rachid Oumlill, founder of the non-profit organization, ARCID, Omar Sefiani CEO & Co-founder of Obrus, and Nomsa Nteleko, serial entrepreneur and CEO of Amathuba AI, concluded the debates by looking at the impact that African Medtech can have on Medtech worldwide.

Then, the jury, around its President, Ilan Benhaim, Co-founder & Partner of Veepee, revealed the names of the winners. From a selection of 40 startups, identified by BCG X, the winners were rewarded in 7 categories - BioTech & MedTech, E-commerce & Services, Fintech & InsurTech, GreenTech & Energy, Mobility & Logistics, SAAS, AI, Big Data - and an ESG trophy.

In parallel to these award-winning startups, the jury awarded a Grand Prize to Moove, the Nigerian fintech that aims to solve the challenge of lack of access to vehicle financing faced by more than 2 million African mobility entrepreneurs. Moove also received a Trophée in the Fintech category.

On learning of his trophy, the first Grand Prize awarded by the African Unicorns, Ladi Delano, co- founder and CEO of Moove said: « We thank African Unicorns for this prestigious moment of recognition. The establishment of the African Unicorns initiative is a welcomed and positive addition to the burgeoning start-up ecosystem in Africa.

These awards reinforce our belief that a good idea can come from anywhere. Moove is just one example of an African born startup that is solving not just an African problem but also a global one.This recognition isn't just for us; it is for all the African start-ups which have and will continue to make a difference on the world stage. We thank all Moovers around the world for their hard work and commitment to Moove's vision - to democratize access to financial services for mobility entrepreneurs globally. »

Mehdi El Alj, Founder and organiser of the Africans Unicorns, concluded on a note of boldness and recognition: « This first edition has exceeded my expectations. I am very proud of this first list of awards. With this Grand Prize, for Moove, we are rewarding a start-up that will certainly become a unicorn very soon.

The quality of the speakers' ideas laid the foundations for a reflection on the future of tech in Africa. The inspiring feedback from two of the world's leading tech players, Lydia and O Pay, showed the similarities in the challenges faced by a start-up whether in Lagos or Paris. And finally, this event has shown the African tech world that Morocco will play an important role in the months and years to come. This country has the talent and the means to achieve this ambition. Thank you all.»

The award winners of the African Unicorns 2023 are:

  • In the Mobility & Logistics category: Trella

Trella is a platform that connects shippers to carriers, with the aim of creating transparency, efficiency, and reliability, empowering carriers to find regular work with a multitude of shippers. while allowing shippers to book affordable loads, minimize matching time and have greater visibility on their shipments.

Country: Egypt

Website: https://www.trella.app/

  • In the E-commerce & Services category: MaxAB

MaxAB, a startup based out of Cairo, is re-engineering the retail market using proprietary technologies, innovative supply chains, and embedded finance solutions designed to empower both retailers and suppliers.

Country: Egypt

Website : https://www.maxab.io/

  • In the Greentech & Energy category: Solarize Africa

Solarise Africa is a pan-African Energy-as-a-Service company. It provides reliable and affordable decentralized energy solutions energy for businesses in Africa. Through its smart financing solutions, Solarize Africa unlocks possibilities and empowers its partners to thrive and actively drive Africa's progress.

Country: South Africa

Website : http://solariseafrica.com/

  • In the Saas, IA & Big Data category: Gro Intelligence
    Gro Intelligence is a platform that aggregates, normalizes and models complex data to illuminate the inter-relationships between food, climate, trade, agriculture, and macroeconomic conditions.

Country: Kenya

Website : https://www.gro-intelligence.com/

  • In the Biotech & Medtech category: Cape Bio Pharms

Cape Bio Pharms, founded in 2018, is the holding company for the group of Cape Biologix Technologies companies; Cape Biologix Technologies (SA) and Cape Biologix Technologies (Mauritius). Cape Bio Pharms drives innovation for the group by conducting product and process research, developing and owning the group's intellectual property in plant transient expression of recombinant proteins.

Country: South Africa

Website : https://www.capebiopharms.com/

  • In the Fintech & Assurtech category: Moove

Moove, is a Nigerian-born which was founded in response to the challenge faced by over 2 million African mobility entrepreneurs: the lack of access to vehicle financing.

Country: Nigéria

Website : https://www.moove.io/

  • In the ESG category: Gozem

Gozem is the application that not only connects passengers with different transport service providers, but also allows them to order products and have them delivered to their homes. It is operational in Togo and Benin and will soon offer its services throughout Central and West Africa.

Country: Togo

Website : https://gozem.co/fr/

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