Newsletter - June 2024

🌟 La Plage Factory June Community update 🌟

2024 is half way over. It was an excellent occasion for our team to reflect on our achievements from the past six months and the lessons learnt along the way.

In June, we kicked off our Growth and Innovation Programme and welcomed an enthusiastic group of entrepreneurs, seasoned and aspiring at our monthly meet-up. We also sadly bid farewell to our fantastic intern Enza ROUGEAU whose contribution to our business and programme management was invaluable. Want to find out more about what we have been up to? Check out our latest monthly newsletter.

🌟Let’s Meet up highlights

Over the years, we have seen an increase in the number of women entrepreneurs in Mauritius and are proud that 25% of our own founders are women.

To celebrate female entrepreneurship, our special guest at our June edition of Let’s Meet up was Kirti Sheonarain , founder and director of Women Entrepreneur Awards . Founded in 2023, this award contest seeks to recognise the outstanding achievements of women entrepreneurs who have made a significant impact in their respective industry and community. We’re proud to say that STEPHANIE BOULOC took home the ‘Most Sustainable Award’ last year. The application window will remain open until 20 July. If you are a startup founder or an ambitious women entrepreneur, you can find out more about the eligibility criteria and how to apply at this link.

Special thanks too to Chesma Bhundoo , SME Manager at Cim Finance , for joining our event. It was great to hear how passionate Chesma is about supporting the growth of SMEs and ambitious entrepreneurs in Mauritius, and we were delighted to introduce her to some of our startup founders.

🚀LPF Monthly Highlights

June marked the official start of our Growth and Innovation Programme, with workshops focused on business design, supported by the Vianeo method. We asked a couple of members of our cohort to share their thoughts on what they have learned so far and what challenges they have faced.

With the support of his colleague Utkarsh, Kartik Sharma co-founded Discoversearch.ai, a company that develops software for management firms to help them save valuable time and resources. Discover Search turns data into intelligence by enabling a one-click search across proprietary company documents and emails. Here’s what Kartik had to say:

“Through our participation in the Growth & Innovation programme at La Plage Factory, we have honed our product features and business strategies, benefiting from expert mentorship and a community of innovators. The programme offers a wide range of benefits, including invaluable resources, expert mentorship, and a supportive community. It is particularly interesting for us as we are in a post-MVP phase, where we are actively looking for commercial opportunities. Through the programme, Utkarsh and I can fine tune our features, market approach and business processes.”

We also heard from Albane Thiollet-Guimbeau , the Business Development Lead at Smarttraveller.mu, a solution that provides end-to-end expatriation services to those who wish to settle down in Mauritius:

‘I joined the Growth and Innovation Programme to create a strong Product-Market Fit. The discovery of the Vianeo method has been a huge highlight for me. It has helped me grasp that a project's success depends not only on luck or a fantastic idea, but also on an almost scientific approach to market research and resource allocation. I've also come to understand the value of mentorship and other viewpoints, which push us in a positive way and help us view things from various perspectives.”  

🔹 Startup highlights

dodobird.ai is making waves! This solution aims to revolutionise retail with AI-powered recommendations that engage customers and boost sales. Check out our latest Star-tup of the Month issue to learn more about their recent achievements.

🔹 Partnerships

As they mark their 3rd anniversary this year, we are happy to see that the Mo Angels community is on the rise, leveraging $ 800,000 worth of investment in 12 startups (including a few of our own!). Mo Angels also recently partnered up with MITCO Group to encourage family offices to diversify their investment in this new asset class. As an incubator committed to making a positive impact, we look forward to this continued partnership with Mo Angels.

Happening soon! The 4th edition of the India-Africa Entrepreneurship & Investment Summit will take place on 18-19 July. This premier event will focus on fostering strategic investments and collaborations between Indian and African innovative ecosystems. On this occasion, we will co-host a private workshop with Mo Angels, which will serve as a platform for in-depth discussions on enhancing early-stage investment capabilities. The main topics will include leveraging Non-Dilutive Funding, Cross-border Investment Mechanisms and Exit Strategies. Our hopes are that this workshop will act as a catalyst for concrete solutions that Mauritius currently lacks, contributing to the country’s positioning as an innovation and finance hub for Africa.

You want to be part of the African startup ecosystem? 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.