Fintech Morocco - Afrikan Heroes

Revolutionizing Morocco’s Fintech Scene: CDG Invest Launches State-of-the-Art Innovation Studio for Startups

April 7, 2023

CDG Invest, the investment branch of the CDG Group, has exciting news to share with the Moroccan Fintech community. The company’s 212Founders program has announced the launch of the Fintech Center, a studio offer dedicated to Fintechs operating in the finance and insurance sectors in Morocco.

In a press release, CDG Invest stated that the Fintech Center is part of their ongoing efforts, in collaboration with Bank Al-Maghrib, to promote financial innovation in Morocco. The Center has a triple ambition: to boost the Fintech ecosystem in Morocco, to bring out national champions, and to support their internationalization in similar markets.

This support system is designed to run over 18 months, starting from the ideation phase to the launch of the product. CDG Invest will provide pre-seed investment ranging from 2 million dirhams to 7 million dirhams to qualified candidates. To qualify, candidates must have technological experience or training in financial services or consulting, entrepreneurship, and carry an innovative, scalable, and high-value project or project idea in the fields of finance and insurance.

The Fintech Center is primarily aimed at Moroccan entrepreneurs and startups and their projects must be pre-MVP or MVP (Minimum Viable Product) targeted towards the Moroccan market. For project leaders in the banking and/or payment sectors, the program offers a privileged partnership with CIH Bank and LANA CASH (Payment institution and subsidiary of CIH Bank).

Through this partnership, project leaders will have access to three components of ambitious support. The strategic component includes studying and advising on the business model. The functional component helps to deepen the operational and regulatory model, with opportunities for Fintechs to rely on CIH Bank and/or LANA CASH for regulatory compliance of their operations. Finally, the technical aspect includes the provision of an isolated test environment that Fintechs can use to develop their digital services, imitating the production environment of banking services.

Overall, CDG Invest’s Fintech Center represents a significant opportunity for Moroccan entrepreneurs and startups to access the support and resources needed to bring their innovative financial services projects to market.

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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

Want To Launch Fintech In Morocco? Bank Al-Maghrib And CDG Invest’s New Deal Now Eases It

February 12, 2022

This is excellent news for Moroccan entrepreneurs. Bank Al-Maghrib and CDG Invest, the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (CDG) group’s investment department, have just inked a partnership agreement aimed at fostering the growth of fintech startups in Morocco.

First and foremost, the agreement covers collaboration in the development and launch of fintechs funded by the 212 Founders Program. CDG Invest established this initiative in 2019 to support and finance entrepreneurs working on innovative startup projects.

In particular, Bank Al-Maghrib will assist CDG Invest and the selected fintechs with the regulatory aspects of the 212 Founders program projects. The Central Bank will also assist CDG Invest in negotiating contracts between the sponsored fintechs and the participating institutions.

CDG Invest, for its part, will provide entrepreneurs with technical, strategic, and operational support, as well as mentorship, through 212 Founders, in order to help them build and execute a first version of their product and validate its use in the field.

Similarly, CDG Invest will make a financial investment in fintech startups that have been promoted. The agreement also calls for the two institutions to coordinate their efforts related to the growth of the fintech ecosystem, as well as the sharing of knowledge, expertise, and best practices in this area.

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Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer