During a recent visit to the Czech Republic, Yacine El-Mahdi Oualid, Algeria’s Minister of Knowledge Economy, Startups, and Microenterprises, announced that Algeria has made substantial investments in startups since the passage of a new law in 2021. The funding initiative has injected over $6 million or 900M dinar directly into certified startups across the country, demonstrating Algeria’s commitment to fostering a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Asides the funding, the country has also established other supportive measures for startups, including the enactment of a law on self-entrepreneurship, the introduction of simplified joint-stock companies, the establishment of the National Labeling Committee, the Algerian Startup Fund, the “Algeria Venture” startup accelerator, and the “startup.dz” platform.

Earlier this year, Oualid revealed that his department has identified over 5,000 start-ups, out of which 1,100 have been awarded the “Startup” or “Innovative Project” label. This exceptional progress was acknowledged during the Government-Walis meeting, presided over by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

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The Minister highlighted the significant rise in the number of incubators, which has increased from 14 to 60. Additionally, the national fund for financing start-ups has received additional investments of 58 billion dinars (approximately $540 million) at the wilaya level. This injection of funds, at a rate of 1 billion dinars per wilaya, will substantially increase investments in start-ups. Notably, the fund typically invests between 5 and 150 million Algerian dinars per project.

Algeria’s focus on the knowledge economy aims to increase spending and development in this sector from the current 1% of GDP to 3% within five years. The Minister emphasized the inclusion of highly incentivized measures for research, development, and innovation in the 2023 finance law to accomplish this goal.

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

A framework agreement covering the costs of registering patents from the Algerian the Startup Fund is in the works, according to Yacine El-Mahdi Oualid, the country’s Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister in charge of the Knowledge Economy and Startups.

As a result, beginning next week, the ministry will work on a framework that will enable the Startup Support Fund to cover the expenses of registering invention patents, designs, and other intellectual property on a national and international level.

According to the minister, the goal of this initiative is to encourage the registration and protection of inventions and innovations in Algeria, and it should result in an increase in the number of patent registrations by startups and innovative project leaders, particularly patents that have a national economic and industrial impact.

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In this regard, the Minister explained, a meeting was held between the heads of his department, those of the Ministry of Industry, and the directors general of the Algerian National Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI) and the National Copyright Office (ONDA).

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“A framework agreement for the Start-up Fund is currently being prepared to cover all patent registration costs, both nationally (INAPI and ONDA) and internationally, at the level of the World Intellectual Property Organization (OMPI),” the minister added, adding that this should “allow Algeria to improve its world ranking in intellectual property.”

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 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