🌟 La Plage Factory - September Community update 🌟
Welcome to our latest newsletter! This edition includes exciting updates from our vibrant entrepreneurial community. From our special “Let’s Meet Up” event dedicated to our mentors and founders, to the latest achievements of our startups, there’s plenty to celebrate from last month’s happenings. Here’s a deep dive into how our community continues to foster innovation, sustainability, and meaningful connections.
🌟Let’s Meet up highlights
Celebrating Mentors and Founders
During this special meet-up, we hosted the Mentor’s Café, an exclusive meeting for mentors to discuss projects, their roles, and the support needed by both founders and mentors. This session was a fantastic opportunity for mentors to share their experiences and strategies, ensuring they are well-equipped to guide our founders effectively.
The event also featured a networking lunch, where participants could engage in informal yet impactful conversations. Our founders showcased their innovative ideas during a dynamic pitching session, receiving valuable feedback and encouragement.
Additionally, the Business Advisory meetings provided a platform for founders to present the current state of their businesses, seek advice for better decision-making, and tackle strategic challenges with the help of our seasoned mentors.
Welcoming Our New Mentors: Ronald Laxton and Grant Stevenson
We are thrilled to extend a warm welcome to our two new mentors, Ronald Laxton and Grant Stevenson (MBA, BSc Eng), who hail from South Africa. Their wealth of expertise and experience will be invaluable to our community, and we are excited to work closely with them to support the next generation of innovators.
Grant has a background in engineering, manufacturing, and marketing. Ronald is deep in software engineering and business processes. Both are tech entrepreneurs and fond of BtoB solutions.
We are excited to have such high-value individuals join our community and look forward to the positive impact they will have.
The Paradox of Focus
Entrepreneurs often grapple with the challenge of abundant opportunities but limited resources.
At our Meet-up, Ronald Laxton delivered a compelling presentation on this intriguing paradox. He emphasized the importance of focusing on a clearly defined target market to gain traction, secure funding, and drive expansion. By narrowing their focus, businesses can differentiate themselves, compete more effectively, and achieve sustainable growth.
For those interested in exploring this topic further, Ronald’s insightful article is must-read. Here is the link.
🚀LPF Monthly Highlights
Insights from the Green Tech Summit
Earlier this year, La French Tech Mauritius organised a Green Tech Summit at Institut Français de Maurice, featuring innovative green tech startups from the Indian Ocean and African region. La Plage Factory led a workshop on boosting and financing green tech initiatives, where participants shared ideas on advancing the green tech industry in Mauritius. As an incubator embracing the #Tech4Good philosophy, we are excited to share the insights and top curated ideas from this workshop in our report. Special thanks to La French Tech Mauritius’ co-presidents Sandra Leblé and NICOLAS GOLDSTEIN for organising this impactful event. 🌍📊
Read the full report on LinkedIn to explore these insights and ideas further.
Business Speed Networking at Coworking Port Louis
Another highlight was the Business Speed Networking event at our Coworking Port Louis, organised by Expat.com in partnership with CCI France Maurice. It was inspiring to see so many entrepreneurs pitch their ideas and share their passion for what they do. Our coworking space is an ideal place for such interactions: Created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, it is always great to see innovative minds come together to connect, collaborate, and thrive.
🔹 Startup highlights
Mauritian delegation of startups at Ignite Africa
Breaking news! Mauritius will have a booth at Africa Ignite, sponsored by the Economic Development Board Mauritius under the slogan “Where Innovation Meets Opportunity". We are proud to announce that a Mauritian delegation of six startups will embody the slogan and pitch on the main stage in front of international investors.
Four startups are currently incubated at La Plage Factory (dodobird.ai, digitalgo, Alaprann.mu, and E-Fort). The other two are Party App’s cofounders from Turbine, and Morivert from Trampoline ltée will A critical part of our work consists of helping entrepreneurs prepare, develop their businesses, and raise funds. We are working closely with our partner Mo Angels to help them prepare and reharse, with a series of pitching sessions. It is great to see the EDB supporting such initiatives.
For an in-depth look at one of our standout startups, read our “Star-tup of the Month” article featuring Julien Gonnin from digitalgo. Discover how #Digitalgo is revolutionising the digital landscape here in Mauritius.
Alaprann.mu secures new partnerships for the future
We are thrilled to share exciting updates from Thibaut Walle, the founder of Alaprann.mu. Alaprann.mu has been selected for the prestigious IIX UNDP accelerator programme and will be present at #IgniteAfrica. The platform continues to gain significant traction from the private sector for impactful partnerships. They have also started a collaboration with their first school, Lorette de Bambous Virieux, and are seeing excellent commercial traction for their revision programmes. The students are delighted with the platform and its content, which is a testament to the value Alaprann.mu is bringing to education.
La Déchetèque
As part of the European Sustainable Development Week 2024, we are excited to highlight the partnership between Sofap and La Déchetèque to recycle empty paint cans. You can now drop off your empty paint cans at Kase Ranze, where they will be collected and recycled by PIMT Ltd, contributing to a circular economy and a sustainable island. Learn more here.
🗓️ Ecosystem updates
Mark your calendars for two exciting events happening in October and November:
- La Plage Factory will hold the second edition of its Growth and Innovation event concept, featuring a conference by Najen Naidoo from Smart Communities. Najen will discuss “AI for Good” and its potential to help communities prosper economically and socially. Mark your calendar and stay tuned for more information!
- The 3rd Mauritian Edition of the Africa Early Stage Investor Meetup: Hosted by Mo Angels on 25 October 2024, this event will bring together early-stage investors and key stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. It’s a unique opportunity to explore innovative pathways to enhance investment in the Mauritian startup ecosystem and position the country as a hub for African startup growth. Key topics will include early-stage investing opportunities for Mauritius in Africa and India, and bridging the early-stage funding gap with supportive policies.
- The AESIS meetup event will take place in the context of the 11th African Early Stage Investor Summit (AESIS), which will happen in n Cape Town in late November 2024. This year’s theme is “Pioneering Pathways: Innovating Investment Mobilisation in Africa.” Mo Angels will serve as the local partner for the Mauritius chapter, hosting regional investor meetups in the run-up to the summit.
- Highlights from our partners - The CJD Maurice serves as a complement to the incubator, focusing on developing innovative projects led by entrepreneurs. We are happy to highlight that Julien Gonnin and Thibaut Walle joined this month. Startups can grow with the support of CJD after completing their MVP (Minimum Viable Product). Conversely, innovative JD entrepreneurs can come to La Plage to further mature their projects, benefitting from its resources and expertise. This synergy between the CJD and La Plage helps foster entrepreneurial growth and innovation at various stages of business development.
🔊 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 “Let’s Meet Up” community event, 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? We are always on the lookout for smart entrepreneurs.
- Contact us at at hello@laplage.io
“Let's build a brighter future together for Mauritius, Africa, and the world! 🌍”
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The Mauritian and African Startup Ecosystems: The critical role of Early-stage investment
