African Startups Shine at VivaTech: Waspito, Kubik, and Curacel Win Top Honors

From June 14 to 17, the VivaTech technology fair took place in Paris. It was during this event that the AfricaTech Awards were initiated, now in its second edition.

Waspito, Kubik, and Curacel emerged as the winners of the second edition of the AfricaTech Awards, respectively in the categories of healthtech, climate tech, and fintech. The event, held on Thursday, June 15, in Paris, as part of the VivaTech technology fair, in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), was launched last year to enable startups from the continent to build relationships in order to attract investors.

African startups

Waspito, the winner in the healthtech category, is a Cameroonian startup that connects patients with doctors for instant video consultations through its mobile application available on iOS and Android. It was founded in 2020 by Jean Lobé Lobé and has attracted investors such as Orange Ventures and Launch Africa Ventures.

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Curacel, the winner in the fintech category, is a Nigerian solution that allows companies to distribute insurance policies and process claims more quickly. Founded in 2019 by Henry Mascot and John Dada, it also has a mobile application available on iOS and Android.

As for Kubik, the winner in the climate tech category, it is a Kenyan startup founded in 2021 by Ndeye Penda Marre. It transforms hard-to-recycle plastic waste into low-carbon building materials.

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To recall, during the first edition of the AfricaTech Awards in 2022, the Kenyan Weee Centre (climate tech), the Egyptian Chefaa (healthtech), and the South African Click2sure (fintech) were crowned winners.

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