The African francophone startup ecosystem has a lot of catching up to do when compared to English-speaking countries. Can a copycat approach help close this distance?

The year is 2016, and the Nigerian fintech ecosystem is much smaller than the over 300 fintechs we have now. Few startups exist, and even fewer are prominent. But Paystack’s acceptance into Y Combinator changed everything. Pitching themselves as the “Stripe of Africa”, the startup promised that it would do what Stripe did for payments, but in Africa. While their acceptance into YC helped create validation for the ecosystem, their eventual acquisition by Stripe (for $200 million in 2020) solidified it. It is this approach that francophone startups are trying to bring to their shores by copying the business models of successful startups in English-speaking African countries. 

There are many opportunities for businesses to thrive in francophone African countries.  For starters, the region’s currency, the CFA, is used in 14 countries and accounts for 12% of Africa’s GDP. It is also pegged to the Euro and does not fluctuate, providing the kind of FX stability that’s not available elsewhere on the continent. A corollary effect of this is that barring internal conflict, most economies are stable. Last year, Miishe Addy, the CEO of Jetstream, a Ghanaian logistics startup, told TechCabal that her startup was expanding into francophone Africa to mitigate the effects of Ghana’s turbulent inflation. 

The region is home to some of the fastest-growing cities and economies in Africa. According to the IMF, six out of the seven fastest-growing economies in sub-Saharan Africa are francophone countries. The stretch of West African coastline, which begins in Abidjan and runs through Lome, Accra, and Cotonou before ending in Lagos, would be home to 51 million people in a decade. By the end of the century, it would be home to 500 million people. Another opportunity that francophone startups have is that, due to their similar currencies, language, and cultures, regional expansion is an easy path.

Copying is a shortcut for francophone startups

The opportunity is clear, so governments, startups, and venture firms are trying to advance the ecosystem by copying what has already proven successful in the Big 4 (Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya). By copying what has already worked, there is an assurance that there is market validation for the product and that Africans are willing to pay. Leslie Ossete, the co-founder of Mstudio, an Ivorian venture studio, told me in Abdijan that her studio chose this copycat approach because it “gives us a higher chance of success”. 

“We look at countries that have similar markets, economies, industries, ways of doing things, and an informal market as well because that is our focus. We try to see which startups and trends do not exist in francophone Africa and can be replicated here,” she added. When asked if this copycat approach could work, Mathias Léopoldie, the co-founder of Juluya, an Ivorian fintech, told me that it is “a proven strategy because the markets are very similar in terms of demographics (low-income, young population) and economies (20-25% primary sector, 25% secondary sector, and 45%-50% tertiary sector).” 

However, a copycat approach does bring some problems. Jumia has always been paraded as the “Amazon of Africa”, but it has struggled to attain profitability. What works in one market might not translate into another. Anglophone countries have common law, while francophone countries have mostly civil law. Then there’s the language barrier (I could only communicate in Abidjan with the help of AI). 

Copying blindly will not work for francophone startups

English-speaking startups that have expanded into francophone Africa have found it difficult to find success. When Wasoko raised $125 million last year, its CEO told TechCrunch that it was expanding into Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire because of their “solid year-on-year GDP growth.” The startup is now closing its offices. Sendy, a Kenyan logistics startup, has placed its Ivorian subsidiary in liquidation. But Wave, a Senegalese fintech, is currently making a killing in Cote d’Ivoire. 

There are “some deep cultural differences in terms of doing business,” according to Léopoldie. “Francophone Africa is not the same as Nigeria or Kenya; you’re going to have specificities; the persona might be different; they do not purchase the product in the same way, or they did not experience the problem in the same way,” Ossete added.

“From my experience in mentoring, investing, and building startups in sub-Saharan Africa, it’s easier for francophone startups to expand east (to English-speaking countries) than the other way around. ” Axel Peyriere, the CEO of Auto24 and an angel investor, told TechCabal. 

If what works in Anglophone countries struggles to be replicated successfully by the same people that built it, how can a copycat approach work? By innovating and applying home-ground advantage to create tailor-made solutions. Some English-speaking startups have taken the route of acquisition instead of expansion. Autochek (Nigeria) and Chari (Morocco) are recent examples. 

Léopoldie told TechCabal that he believes a “francophonized” approach to bringing innovation from anglophone markets to francophone markets could work. “It is interesting that many anglophone late-stage startups are actually struggling to enter francophone markets,” he added.

Innovation is not always about creating something new; it can also mean bringing something that did not exist before to the market. By copying what has proven successful in neighbouring countries and applying home-ground advantage, the francophone tech ecosystem has a cheat code and blueprint for success. As Ossete told me, “We do not lose a lot of time in execution because we already know at least how to structure the business model and the structure of the business itself.”