Newsletter - March 2024

🌟Let’s Meet Up Highlights 

On 29 March, we welcomed a vibrant group of founders, mentors and innovation enthusiasts at our usual monthly meet-up at Coworking Port-Louis.  We believe that some of the best ideas and connections often emerge from such events, and we’re thrilled to report that this time was no exception! 

We were pleased to welcome new friends: 

• Matthew Emmanuel from Startupbootcamp AfriTech, the first multi corporate-backed pan-African startup accelerator. 
• Daniel Smith from Mohara, a global venture studio and innovative product builder.  

And some old friends too: 

• Catherine Le Roy Dubreuil, founder and Director at Impact Way, who announced her new venture aiming at fostering impact financing. 
• Chris Suzdak, the Co-founder of The FutureList and Director at ALX Ventures, a platform that supports African tech talent.  
• Shubhda Gujadhur, Founder of Don't Panic, a podcast channel that tackles financial illiteracy.   

🚀LPF Monthly Highlights  

• Let us start by congratulating the Mauritius Africa Fintech Hub (MAFH) and Graines de Boss on a successful TechTogether 2024 event. This initiative brought together dozens of experts, investors, startups and institutions, allowing for excellent networking opportunities and community-building. We are proud that four of our own startups namely Alaprann.mu, dodobird.ai, Simply Good Food and Entrepreneurquests, had the chance to pitch their solution and connect with potential investors and partners. Many thanks to Benazeer Saidoo and Jean-Baptiste Salmon and their team for this opportunity! 
• We kicked off the month of April by participating in the Green Tech Summit, a major event organised by French Tech Mauritius. Well done to French Tech co-presidents Sandra Leblé and Nicolas Goldstein on pulling off another great event following last year's 10-year anniversary gala. The Summit offered a solid platform to discuss pressing climate issues and to identify clear and concrete ways of addressing those. The event included insightful panel discussions and a top-notch line-up of French Tech startups that showcased their innovative and sustainable solutions. Our Managing Director, Michel CORDANI, also facilitated a workshop during the Green Tech Summit on the theme of 'Boosting and Financing Green Tech Innovation'. As an incubator, we believe in the power of Tech for good and were proud to be part of this important initiative. Our plan is to compile and analyse the findings from our workshop and share them very soon with fellow participants, policymakers, and key institutions in Mauritius. Stay tuned! 
• We told you about our new Growth and Innovation Program last month and are thrilled to say that things are moving forward positively with our brand new cohort!
• Finally – this month, we welcomed Johanne Rannoojee as our new Communications Lead. With her wealth of experience in communications and knack for storytelling we have no doubt that she will bring fresh perspectives to the table. Having previously worked for a startup, Johanne is no stranger to this dynamic ecosystem, and we look forward to working with her to support our impact-driven startups. Join us in giving her a warm welcome! 

🗓️ Ecosystem Updates

• La Plage Factory's Event for Entrepreneurs with a ‘Growth & Innovation’ mindset - Something's cooking so stay tuned! 
• 22-25 May – Vivatech is coming up soon! This major annual technology and innovation event in Europe will bring together startups, corporations, investors, and thought leaders to showcase new technologies in response to the challenges of our time. French Tech Mauritius is facilitating participation, let us know if you want to join.
• 6-7 June – Afritech Tech Summit. Want to drive business growth and innovation across the continent? Come and meet African tech startups, investors, and industry leaders with similar ambitions. 

🔊Call to action 

You want to be part of the African startup ecosystem? You want to connect with startup founders and industry experts? We are looking for financial partners to support our monthly community event “Let’s Meet Up”, and our expansion, so do not hesitate to contact us at hello@laplage.io 

🌐Get in Touch 

Interested in engaging with La Plage Factory as a startup, partner, sponsor, or mentor?  

• Visit our website at www.laplage.io
• Contact us at at hello@laplage.io  
• Join us at our next monthly Meet Up at Coworking Port Louis on 26th April at lunch time! 
• Do all three 😉

Let's build a brighter future together for Mauritius, Africa, and the world! 🌍