{"id":94352,"date":"2023-12-11T21:08:11","date_gmt":"2023-12-11T20:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jazairhope.org\/?p=94352"},"modified":"2023-12-11T21:08:11","modified_gmt":"2023-12-11T20:08:11","slug":"dispatch-from-algeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jazairhope.org\/en\/dispatch-from-algeria\/","title":{"rendered":"Dispatch from Algeria"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hey there!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

TechCabal travelled to Algeria to cover this year\u2019s African Startup Conference. The conference has been running from December 5 to December 7.<\/p>\n

About 10,000 people are attending and the venue, CIC Algiers, is the biggest international conference centre in Africa. <\/p>\n

We are sending you this newsletter to give you all you need to know about Algeria\u2019s tech ecosystem and the crucial conversations happening at the conference.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Dispatch from Algeria<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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\"<\/a>African Startup Conference in AlgeriaSeventeen hours after we hopped on a flight from Lagos, we were finally at an immigration desk in Algiers. Despite the big names in town for the second edition of the African Startup Conference, the immigration officials seemed to be hearing about the conference for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should visit Algeria again, but for tourism,\u201d the official tells us as she waves us on.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one of the few times I hear anyone speak English at the airport. Arabic and Berber are Algeria\u2019s official languages. Before now, if anyone had asked me about Algeria, I\u2019d definitely have drawn a blank.<\/p>\n

Algeria is what\u00a0that friend on Twitter who never shuts up about being an introvert<\/em>\u00a0thinks he is. This country has largely \u201ckept to itself and deliberately avoided outside attention,\u201d one investor born and raised in Algeria told me.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Some of the people at the conferenceBut it\u2019s 2023, and not much can be achieved if a country insists on being an \u201como get inside\u201d. So Algeria is attempting to build a new persona as it attempts to diversify its economy and attract foreign investment. One way to meet that second goal is by growing its tech ecosystem,\u00a0ranked 114th globally<\/a>\u00a0by Startup Blink.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s edition of the African Startup conference\u2014the first edition was held in 2022\u2014is a way to kickstart that growth. From December 5 to December 7, TechCabal will cover the conference and speak to African ministers of technology and innovation, investors, and some of the early builders in Algeria.<\/p>\n

Two conference officials told us there are about 10,000 people attending this event and the venue, CIC Algiers, is the biggest international conference centre in Africa.<\/p>\n

A key part of our Algeria visit is to give you all the actionable information about Algeria\u2019s tech ecosystem, the stage it is in, where it plans to go, who its key figures are, and the crucial conversations happening this week.<\/p>\n

\"A stage at the African Startup Conference in AlgeriaThe state of play in Algeria:\u00a0<\/strong>The country\u2019s high literacy rate (80%), population (44.9 million), per capita income of around $4,000, and proximity to Europe means there\u2019s a lot of promise here.<\/p>\n

Also, the Algeria Startup Fund, which is managing $411 million in state funding and $17 million of its own, invests in pre-seed stage to Series A startups. It\u2019s finding joy in the logistics sector and expects that new regulations will open up fintech and allow neobanks to give legacy banks a run for their money.<\/p>\n

Logistics is big business here, Mohammed Moussaiou, the business development manager of the Algeria startup fund tells me. Think last mile, exports, and moving goods across six African countries.<\/p>\n

Yassir<\/a>, one of Algeria\u2019s most recognisable startups that we covered last year is a ride-hailing and food delivery service that claims to have\u00a0eight million users<\/a>\u00a0across seven countries. There is also Heetch, which one student described as the Algerian version of Uber.<\/p>\n

Cash is king:<\/strong>\u00a0A new law that finally permits fintechs to handle payments\u00a0was only passed in July<\/a>, so cash is the main way to pay. Supermarkets and malls sometimes reject cards to avoid bank charges.<\/p>\n

Being so cash-reliant has its downsides, especially for a country with a youthful population (30% of total). That youthful population does a lot of freelancing, but receiving payments for their work can be difficult. Newer regulation is expected to also solve this problem.<\/p>\n

Freelancing is huge in Algeria among young people\u2014who make up around 30% of the total population\u2014mostly graphic designers, UI\/UX designers, and technical support staff. And the government sure supports this: there are no taxes on freelancing. I would take up freelancing if I had my way.<\/p>\n

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\"Tomiwa Aladekomo, the CEO of Big Cabal Media and Yacine El-Mahdi Oualid, the country\u2019s minister of knowledge economy, startups and micro-enterprisesWho to watch out for:\u00a0<\/strong>Yacine El-Mahdi Oualid, the country\u2019s minister of knowledge economy, startups and micro-enterprises, believes bringing African tech stakeholders together will play a critical role in opening up the country. A panel that featured ministers of technology and their representatives from South Africa, Tunisia, Botswana and Nigeria discussed how they\u2019re thinking about driving innovation on the continent.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a memorandum of understanding that\u2019s going to be signed today by these ministers. We\u2019ll bring you all the details at the signing!<\/p>\n

Oswald Guobadia, managing partner at DigitA, who spoke to us on the sidelines, believes the African Startup conference is critical to bridging the gap between regulation and innovation.<\/p>\n

Bonus:<\/strong>\u00a0Why does it feel like African countries are making a push for tech investors every week I open the TechCabal website? I hear someone in the back ask. Fresh from our coverage of\u00a0Uganda<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Rwanda<\/a>, my working theory is that more African countries are looking at the investments pouring into Africa\u2019s \u201cBig Four\u201d and thinking to themselves, \u201cWe can achieve that too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source : https:\/\/techcabal.com\/2023\/12\/07\/dispatch-from-algeria\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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