Tech

DRC’s ed-tech startup, Itot Africa launches new platform

Published

8 months ago

September 10, 2023

DRC-based ed-tech startup, Itot Africa, has developed a platform that will provide customised digital content, coding, programming, training and e-learning for businesses, SMEs and entrepreneurs in Africa and the United States.

The startup’s co-founder, Samy Mwamba, who disclosed this at the launch of the new product in Lumumbashi where the outfit’s office is located, said the new platform would “cater to three primary categories of individuals of those seeking knowledge to fill a personal gap or follow technological trends, those aiming to meet recruitment requirements or find employment, and professionals looking to reinforce their skills.”

He said the initiative came on the back of a recent fund acquisition of $59,000 from the Catalytic Africa initiative, a supporting investment made into the startup by DRC Impact Angels.

“Our comprehensive services extend beyond training to include recruitment and software development, supporting businesses in their digital transformation journey,” Mwamba said.

“We engage our alumni to provide apt solutions based on specific corporate demands. Additionally, companies seeking human resources turn to us for recruitment and placement services, benefiting from our robust database of skilled professionals.

“At the inception of Itot Africa, our team had identified a critical gap in the Democratic Republic of Congo – a profound lack of digital culture, skills, and opportunities, in a nation where 70 per cent of the population are unemployed, including 65 per cent of the young population.

“This divide extended to disparities in knowledge, employment, and open dialogue between various stakeholders in the IT field.

“Our unique response to this challenge led to the creation of Itot Africa, with the core mission of bridging this gap. As pioneers in this space, we faced minimal competition within the country. While our innovative approach inspired several similar initiatives, the overall competition in the nation remains unremarkable,” he stated.

He added that in five years, Itot Africa had already trained more than 7,000 individuals, of whom over 60 per cent were women, and executed over 300 projects. It has also created more than 100 jobs within the DRC, and has established its presence in the four principal cities of Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Goma and Kolwezi, according to him.

Founded in 2017, Itot Africa, with its flagship product, Okademy, is an online learning, on-demand training and career tracking platform with its network of affiliated and trained students.

It also supports the digitisation process of its clients by creating technology solutions.

Related Topics:Democratic Republic of Congo Digital Platform Featured Itot Africa

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Tech

How Nigerian online connection hub Workjeje helps with access to quality service providers

Published

5 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

A Nigerian online connection hub, Workjeje, has revealed how it is connecting individuals and corporate bodies to quality service providers in their vicinity, while catering to urban dwellers that prioritise quality and convenience in the services they seek.

The startup which was founded in 2021 by the trio of Fortune Nwankwo, Collins Onyebuchi and Ejike Anthony, who were students at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, has evolved into one of the most sought after hub in major cities in the country.

According to Nwankwo, Workjeje, unlike other competitors in the Nigerian market, focuses on quantity of artisans with a strong focus on quality.

“It was really hard to get service providers, let alone reliable ones. They were so unserious, they’d tell you they would come in the afternoon and show up four days later, and worst of all might deliver mediocre services,” Nwankwo said in an interview.

“Collins called me one day into his house to share his proposed solution to me, so I called my friend Wisdom – who is a programmer – to build it, and that was how Workjeje started.

“We had customers asking if the artisans were pre-vetted, which of course is a pain point for them, especially for women who would love to feel safe when a stranger is in their home.

“We pre-vet our artisans by onboarding them ourselves, and still monitor their contracts and ratings to maintain optimum quality.

“Customer feedback has been really important to us. At the test phase, some customers believed our vetting process was not very thorough, and some artisans did not look the part.

“We listened, we churned a lot of unserious artisans, we made sure we vetted the artisans ourselves, and we prioritised service companies because they have more to lose,” he added.

Workjeje is currently operating in Abuja and Enugu as test markets, and is taking its growth plan seriously and slowly, he stated.

“We were funded twice by friends – first at the building stage and the second at the marketing phase.

“Getting 10 successful transactions was a major booster for us even though we were still in the testing phase. It showed us people actually were ready to pay for the convenience we provide. Right now we have processed over 70 transactions.”

Recently, Workjeje completed a new feature that its artisans had been asking for – an escrow service, primarily designed for delivery services to protect themselves against unpaid bills.

On how the platform makes money for survival, Nwankwo said:

“The startup collects between five and 10 per cent from its artisans as fees, depending on its agreement with them, Workjeje also plans to incorporate advertisements on its platform in the near future.

“We plan on expanding to major states and cities across Nigeria, and in time Africa to limit the macro influence on our business.”

Tech

Dubai’s cybersecurity firm CyberKnight sets up business in Africa

Published

1 day ago

May 17, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Dubai-based cybersecurity company, CyberKnight, has expanded its business into Africa by opening an office in Egypt.

CyberKnight, a cybersecurity advisory and value-added-distributor (VAD), which has its international headquarters in Dubai with a strong presence across the Middle East, announced its expansion into Africa on Friday with the appointment of Naoufal Mzali as the Regional Sales Director for the continent to spearhead its business development efforts on the continent.

As the newly appointed Regional Sales Director for Levant, Egypt & Africa, Mzali will lead the charge in strengthening CyberKnight’s presence in the territory and fostering growth in the African cybersecurity market, the company said in a statement.

“With over 17 years of experience in technology and cybersecurity, his strong engineering background, coupled with a successful track record in sales, makes Naoufal an asset to the CyberKnight team.”

A statement signed by Mzali to welcome CyberKnight into Africa said:

“We are excited to enter this new chapter of growth with CyberKnight’s on-the-ground expansion into Africa.

“Since the company’s inception, we have been doing business opportunistically in multiple African countries from our HQ in Dubai.

“This underscores our commitment to delivering best-of-breed cybersecurity expertise to enterprise and government customers, as well as strategic partners across Africa.

“Moving forward, we will be building teams across the continent, starting with North Africa.”