Promoting collaboration and innovation for sustainability in Africa, with Murielle Diaco
“I wanted contribute to making the world in general, and Africa in particular, more sustainable.”
Murielle Diaco
CEO and Founder of Djouman
After working in the investment banking industry for more than six years, Murielle Diaco decided to make a career change. “The 2008 financial crisis was an eye-opener for me. All the practices that are leading us towards environment destruction and climate change acceleration; towards unbalanced relationships between Western countries and less developed ones; towards more inequalities within society... I just realised we all needed to make a change in the way we consume, produce and live regardless of the country we are living in.” Diaco naturally progressed her focus on sustainability and launched Djouman, a tool to promote collaboration and innovation for sustainability in Africa.
How did the Djouman adventure begin?
I wanted contribute to making the world in general, and Africa in particular, more sustainable. Given the low level of development of most African countries, I strongly believe that they have the opportunity of choosing a way of development which is clean, respectful of the environment and profitable to the population.
In sub-saharan Africa, the projects which have the biggest impact, those that are really changing the everyday lives of people, are those undertaken by entrepreneurs and startups who really understand the most pressing needs and challenges of their communities. They are making innovations to improve access to electricity, to drinkable water, to health and education services.
This is how Djouman started, from the desire to bring together different forces to create a real sustainable development movement in Africa. “Djouman” means working together in Ebrie, my native language (I come from the Ivory Coast). Concretely, our goal at Djouman is to support the entrepreneurs and young innovative companies who are working on sustainable technologies, products and services that can dramatically improve the development of African countries.
What is the vocation of this initiative?
Djouman’s vocation is to promote sustainable development in Africa through collaboration. Hence, Djouman connects innovative startups in Africa with investors and business partners. We see ourselves as business facilitators to initiate and accelerate projects around sustainable development in Africa. We are also enabling African entrepreneurs, researchers and students to connect among themselves in a collaborative community whereby members can interact and exchange on our platform. We have developed an assessment methodology which takes into account both the financial viability of the projects but also their environmental and societal impacts.
Who are the users of your platform?
Djouman can be used by investors and organizations who want to scout innovations and startups in Africa. We have a portal referencing innovative startups active in Africa in sectors such as renewable energy, waste management, water and sustainable agriculture. On top of that, we provide additional services to help our clients identify startups which fit their exact needs.
On the other hand, entrepreneurs can also benefit from the platform. We are providing them with tools to connect with a dynamic community of like-minded peers based in different African countries. We also target students and researchers.
Can you tell us a bit more about the “Competitions and Business Challenges” service?
Competitions and Business Challenges are a service that we provide to big companies or organisations. We are enabling them to launch calls for projects to find startups, entrepreneurs or students they could work with on business-related topics. For example, it could be a big electricity provider trying to develop their activities in Africa who would like to access rural communities. They can then launch a competition on the Djouman platform to find startups who have products or services for off-grid electricity. It is very difficult for big companies to address certain underserved yet profitable markets in Africa, and a way that has proven to be successful is to rely on local entrepreneurs and startups. They can find the perfect match for their needs through our platform and services because we are working closely with local partners on the field such as hubs, incubators and associations of entrepreneurs. We can mobilize very quickly and efficiently the right communities of students and startups to apply to their challenges. We offer a range of services to help companies engage with the innovation ecosystem in African countries.
How did people react when you first launched?
People reacted rather positively to the launch of the platform. A lot of startups with viable projects are struggling to raise substantial early-stage funds. Some of them would like to collaborate with big companies but don’t know how to connect with them. They are all yearning for transparent and efficient ways to get to investors or to meet business partners.
We had a lot of enthusiasm from the student community as well, especially given universities and engineering/technological schools don’t get a lot of interest from the private sector in Francophone Africa. We organise events, such as workshops, to support and promote their entrepreneurial projects in the field of renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and ‘tech for good’, among other things.
What are the most difficult challenges entrepreneurs face when developing a green business in Africa?
The biggest challenges remain the lack of funding for this specific type of business. It is especially true for medium sized projects, where appropriate financial instruments are really difficult to find.
What are the most interesting projects you have contributed to kickstart so far with Djouman?
We are currently working together with the Pure Water, a cleantech startup who developed a very innovative technology to transform air humidity into drinkable water. The product has so far been distributed in five African countries.
We also supported Kemit Ecology, a startup based in Cameroon, which has developed an innovative process to convert household waste into ecological charcoal. The project manages to respond to the main challenges of sustainable development: fighting against deforestation, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, providing a low-cost power source, converting waste and cleaning up the urban living environment.
What makes Africa an interesting place to invest today in terms of sustainable development, renewable energy and cleantech?
Most African countries have a very low level of development today as they are still building their industrial capabilities. Africa is at the crossroads for making decisive choices. By that I mean, they are either following the post industrial revolution model, looking for performance regardless of environment and social well-being, or writing their own story through real, sustainable development. Hence, there are a lot of opportunities to seize when it comes to green and social business. Interestingly enough, renewable energy and cleantech are particularly well suited to answer Africa’s biggest challenges. On the one hand, African countries have a huge natural potential for renewable energy; sun, strong winds, geothermal power. On the other hand, the demand for energy, especially clean energy, is considerable. Two out of every three people in sub-Saharan Africa live without electricity. Not to mention the fact that now renewable energies are cost-competitive in most regions of Africa. Even governments in Africa are making ambitious renewable energy targets.
How do you see the future of the development of cleantech and renewable energy in Africa in the next 10 years?
I think in the next 10 years there will be an acceleration in the adoption of renewable energy in Africa. These sources of energy will be widespread and accessible not only by individuals and households, but also industries and businesses. I think there will be a lot of innovations to sustain this boom, in particular in the field of energy efficiency, circular economy and energy storage.
The COP22 is happening in Marrakech this year (7-18 November). It has already been called “a COP for Africa” by Yacine Fal, the representative of the African Bank of Development (AfBD) in Morocco. How do you think this might offer Africa a voice in terms of sustainable development and ecology?
The fact that there is a political willingness to put Africa at the center of the debate is already a very positive sign. I think it is an opportunity for African states to present their plans and strategies to fight climate change and to find support from the international community. However, in practice, very few countries are effectively engaging in the way of sustainable development. Oil, gas and mining remain very lucrative businesses in Africa that causes lots of pressure from foreign countries and companies. Further to this, they still have a lot of efforts to make in terms of good governance and transparency. So I am still skeptical about African governments voicing strong concerns about sustainable development and climate change. In my opinion, the only way to see concrete results in Africa would be to give more negotiation power to the private sector or civil society.