Ogooué Labs a non-governmental organisation and the African Financial Company (Cofina) recently signed an agreement to finance the StartX241 Incubator program with up to 250 million CFA francs.
Commencing in December, the program will create establish 10 Tech startups, recruit and train 20 Gabonese entrepreneurs in the best practices of startup management.
This will eventually foster the integration of up to 40 young Gabonese into the startups.
This development signifies one of the crucial steps taken by the African Financial Company (Cofina) to support entrepreneurship development in the Central African region.
The recently launched program aims to push distribution of products of Tech startups from French-speaking countries to other parts of the continent.
Speaking on this financial support, Sylvère Boussamba, Founder of Ogooué Labs, said: “this agreement marks the beginning of a strategic partnership for Gabon which is launched in the digital transition.
Cofina’s commitment shows its perfect understanding of the issues and challenges surrounding the digital economy in Gabon and Africa.”
According to Boussamba, the StartX241 program will enable 20 Gabonese entrepreneurs to get trained in digital entrepreneurship and eventually recruited from the ten Tech startups that will be created in Gabon, thanks to strategic partnerships with Hemera, a Bordeaux accelerator specialising in supporting startups with high potential.
“By creating these startups, Gabon is making a leap forward, from a technological and economic point of view which will promote the rapid development of our startups”, noted Boussamba.
While highlighting further, Boussamba explained, “by deploying these Gabonese startups to 11 ECCAS countries, Gabon increases its chances of economic success for its startups. Especially since they are going to attack a market of over 200 million consumers ”.
“This dynamic will allow 20 Gabonese entrepreneurs to lead start-ups in Central Africa and around forty young Gabonese to find jobs, “ said the founder of Ogooué Labs.
Also speaking on the financial support, the CEO of Cofina, Yvan N’na Mboma believes that “Cofina Gabon’s action is in line with the vision of “ Chairman and CEO, Jean-Luc Konan, which is to support entrepreneurship in the countries where Cofina is developing its activities”
He noted that the financing of entrepreneurship in Tech is explained by business opportunities and flows generated by the digital economy.
Featured Image: Yvan N’na Mboma, CEO, Cofina and Sylvère Boussamba, Founder, Ogooué Labs during the signing of the agreement
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