According to the Algerian ministry responsible for the knowledge economy and startups that reports to the Prime Minister, the Algerian Startup Fund has signed an agreement with the country’s General Directorate of the Treasury and accountant general’s office for the exploitation of the country’s regional (wilaya) investment funds, which have a combined value of 58 billion dinars ($411M), for the benefit of young entrepreneurs through all the wilayas as part of the implementation of the Government’s Action Plan
The total value of these investment funds is 58 billion dinars, or one billion dinars ($7M) for each region, according to Okba Hanachi, the new director of the Algerian Startup Fund.
Hanachi emphasised that the Startup Fund will have access to these funds “for investment in startups, with financing of up to 150 million DA per project ($1M)”
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According to Mr. Hanachi, “This new phase launched by the National Fund for Financing Startups, the first of its type in Algeria, is expected to improve the ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation in the nation.”
The Algeria Startup Fund (ASF) was established by the President of the Republic of Algeria, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, in October 2020 during the first edition of “ALGERIA DISRUPT”.
The fund will enable entrepreneurs of innovative projects to start their businesses without the bureaucratic restrictions of conventional financing mechanisms by utilising venture capital as a new method of financing startups.
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According to the same source, the ASF has funded several initiatives dubbed “Startup” or “Innovative Projects” since its founding and encourages the funding of companies and their startup costs, as well as the possible dangers they may encounter. The ASF’s capital stands at 1.2 billion / DA.
The startup ecosystem in Algeria has been experiencing significant activity recently, especially in light of reforms and new legal frameworks, and as a result of this agreement, the fund will be able to raise the amount of investments required.
Since December 18, 2019, Algeria has been split into 58 wilayas (provinces). There were 48 provinces as of December 18, 2019. There are 1,541 baladiyahs, or divisions of the 58 provinces (municipalities).
A Youthful Minister Of Startups Has Been Instrumental In Influencing Policies Affecting Startups In Algeria
Aged only 27, Yacine Oualid became Algeria’s new Minister of Startups — a newly created ministry under the newly elected President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s administration — on January 02, 2020.
He studied at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Sidi Bel Abbès.
Prior to becoming Algeria’s Minister of Startups, in June 2016 Yacine Oualid created SSH, a company specializing in cloud solutions for businesses, which would later become the first private web host in Algeria. In September 2019, he and his partner founded Smart Ways3, a startup in the field of logistics and geolocation. In December of the same year, he founded Bright Solutions, a leading IT company providing IT solutions and services, headquartered in England.
“If I have to sum it up, I would say that the New World Economy is taking shape, and that Algeria wishes, and will, become a major player. My goal, with all the players in the sector, is to participate in this transformation of the largest country in Africa,” Yacine said upon assumption of office.
“In a more practical way, my role is first of all to set up a legal framework which is favorable to startups. Once set up, this legal framework will facilitate the creation of startups and their financing. The goal is to see materialise in a few months’ time, Algerian champions, who will be able to offer their services all over the world. Algeria is determined to become an African pillar of innovation and we want to offer our entrepreneurs the best framework for entrepreneurship and innovation,” he added.
Apart from influencing the enactment of startup-friendly policies, Oualid has been instrumental in activism against ‘bad regulations’ against startups in the North African country. For instance, his intervention ensured that Algeria’s first taxi service solely for women, Moov Services, re-launched its operations just three months after its activities were banned in Blida, Algeria’s northwestern province.
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Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh