Developing innovative technological solutions in Côte d'Ivoire

On 29 March 2019, the headquarters of l'Agence Côte d'Ivoire PME, Abidjan, hosted the signing ceremony of the partnership agreement between l'Agence CI PME and Societe Generale Inno Lab in Dakar.

The main goal of the partnership is to implement jointly the RUFIN project (Rural Finance) which aims to work with start-ups specializing in fintech to help them develop innovative technological solutions addressing the challenges of financial flows and financial inclusion in rural areas, considering issues such as accessibility, security and financial education.

In the framework of the RUFIN programme, which is divided in three phases over a nine-months period, six preselected start-ups will conduct a first phase of opportunity and viability study and a market test.

The second phase will consist in a bootcamp and a hackathon, which will be an opportunity for the teams to discover the two solutions YUP and Be-Bound, to which the prototypes designed during these few days will be incorporated, once their feasibility proven.

Finally, during the third and final phase, the start-ups will be supported on the go to market and route to market so that both solutions can be deployed on the market.

Through this programme, the Inno Lab and l'Agence CI PME intend to provide actors in agricultural and non-agricultural value chains with viable solutions that contribute to the financial inclusion of rural areas in Côte d'Ivoire.