Startups Morocco - Afrikan Heroes

Moroccan Startups Have a New Path to Investment, Backed by the IFC

December 20, 2023

In a bid to bolster North Africa’s burgeoning tech start-up sector, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is joining forces with Moroccan public finance institution TAMWILCOM. The partnership aims to provide advisory support to a Moroccan start-up accelerator, selected collaboratively by IFC and TAMWILCOM, fostering an environment conducive to attracting both local and international investments. This initiative is a crucial step towards addressing the stark disparity in funding, with Morocco currently capturing less than 1% of the record-breaking $5.4 billion African tech start-up investment in 2022.

The agreement, signed today, builds upon The World Bank’s earlier commitment to fund TAMWILCOM, empowering the institution to establish a financing program dedicated to supporting Morocco’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. This collaborative effort signifies a strategic move to bridge the financial and technical support gap, essential for sustaining and amplifying Morocco’s vibrant start-up scene.

Tamwilcom, having recently announced the launch of the Innov Invest Fund (F2I) in July 2023, demonstrates its steadfast commitment to nurturing innovation and supporting startups. The F2I initiative aims to financially back 800 innovative projects and startups over a five-year period, showcasing a comprehensive approach to cultivating a supportive environment.

As part of this initiative, Tamwilcom has initiated a campaign to identify and label support structures responsible for implementing a new range of financing products targeting innovative entrepreneurs. The Call for Expression of Interest (EOI), open from June 28th to July 17th, seeks to select up to twenty support structures operating in various stages, including “ideation,” “incubation,” and “pre-acceleration.” These structures are expected to present clear value propositions catering to one or more of these segments, aiming to enhance the success rate of supported startups and generate employment opportunities.

The comprehensive approach extends to the “acceleration” segment, which will be addressed subsequently through a dedicated offering. Tamwilcom’s commitment to providing a continuum of support reflects in its strategy to facilitate the growth of startups, enabling them to secure independent funding through fundraising activities.

To maximize the impact of the new offering, Tamwilcom plans to establish partnerships with key stakeholders within the ecosystem. These partnerships will be selected through a competitive process based on calls for expression of interest. Additionally, the institution intends to develop synergies with other public and private initiatives, emphasizing the importance of strong demand from startups and the diversification of their innovative strategies for the success of these endeavors.

The launch of the Innov Invest Fund marks the commencement of Tamwilcom’s strategic plan from 2023 to 2026. The institution envisions adapting its financing offering to meet the evolving needs of the ecosystem while ensuring the continuity of support for startups through appropriate guidance, accelerating the maturation of innovative projects. This collaborative effort by IFC and TAMWILCOM signifies a crucial step towards unlocking the full potential of Morocco’s dynamic start-up landscape.

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Remittance Flows Continue to Grow in 2023 Albeit at Slower Pace

AfDB-backed Souk At-Tanmia Is Sweeping For And Funding Startups In Morocco In An Aggressive Way

March 23, 2021

Startups in Morocco have been busy seeking the attention of the African Development Bank, through the Souk At-tanmia (SAT) program as the bank continues the process of selecting startups and very small and medium-sized enterprises (TPME) in the three target regions of Morocco, namely Guelmim-Oued Noun , Darâa-Tafilelt and Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceima. Launched in 2019 with funding from the Dano-Arab Partnership Program (DAPP), Souk At-Tanmia supports project leaders with technical and financial support.

Here Is What You Need To Know

The program which started Thursday, March 11, is training and giving support to shortlisted candidates with a team of high-level experts, in partnership with public institutions, incubators and actors supporting entrepreneurship in all the three regions.

A total of 540 applications, including 89 startups and 451 small business projects have been registered since the launch, on January 5, 2021, of the calls for applications.

Nearly 521 start-up and small business projects were selected, including 200 in the creation phase and 321 in the ideation phase, most of them being led by young people aged 20 to 35, with nearly 22% promoted by women entrepreneurs.

The preselections were made by the partners and experts of the project management unit, who evaluated each project according to the scoring grid of the SAT Morocco program.

Souk At-tanmia aims to support 850 entrepreneurs in starting a business. 250 of the most deserving projects will thus benefit from post-creation technical support as well as financial support.

The program wishes to strengthen the entrepreneurial dynamic by providing, on the one hand, better visibility of the actors and, on the other hand, by improving and supplementing the offer through the coordination of an entrepreneurial ecosystem for better effectiveness and efficiency.

Souk At-Tanmia is a program that mobilizes local actors, incubators and public institutions for public-private-NGO partnerships. These cooperation models aim to inspire, at the local level, the development of a dynamic of integrated support with, ultimately, the deployment of regional platforms for the coordination of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

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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

Leading Logistics Company Dislog Group Launches A $1 Million Fund For Startups In Morocco

September 19, 2020

Dislog Group, a major player in distribution and logistics in Morocco, has announced the creation of its own foundation dedicated to supporting startups in the North African country. Endowed with 10 million dirhams ($1m), this new structure has given itself the mission of supporting the promoters of Moroccan projects in the realization of their ideas whatever their stage of advancement.

*Moncef Belkhayat, president of Dislog Group*

“All types of digital projects are accepted with, however, a preference for start-ups in relation to the businesses of the Dislog group: distribution, logistics, transport, merchandising, industry, media, digital advertising …”, the group said in a press release.

Here Is What You Need To Know

Through its startup incubation and acceleration program, the Dislog foundation aims to support Moroccan startups in the realization of their projects by providing them with an ecosystem conducive to their development.

“I am very proud to launch the Dislog foundation. This foundation will consist in helping young Moroccan entrepreneurs to launch their startup around the ecosystem of trades and the value chain of Dislog group ”, says Moncef Belkhayat, president of Dislog Group. “This foundation will put in place the necessary means for the success of our CSR policy because, as a large group, it is important for us to support and provide assistance to Moroccan youth,” he added.

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How The Fund Will Work

Project leaders interested in the fund must apply online on the foundation’s website.

Applications are already open, said the group, specifying that the projects in question must be digital and innovative.

The same source indicates that applicants will be advised free of charge for one day by the foundation’s analysts, adding that the selected projects will benefit from support in the implementation of this advice for a period of up to two years, but also funding ranging from 100,000 to 500,000 DH.

Offices will also be made available free of charge by the Dislog Foundation.

“We are going to structure ourselves by providing young Moroccan entrepreneurs with offices, coaching, internet, computers and also funds to be able to help them implement their good ideas”, confirms Moncef Belkhayat.

And that’s not all! The foundation has also set up an ecosystem of partners allowing selected entrepreneurs to benefit from a one-stop shop for the development of their projects, which is made up in particular of Endeavor, Wib.co Start up Studio, Burj Finance and firm Boughaleb et associés.

Note that it is already possible to apply online on the foundation’s website: www.fondationdislog.com

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