00:01I'm excited to now bring in Sergio Pimenta, VP for Africa IFC, of the International Finance Corporation, of course.
00:09The IFC is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector, as well as emerging markets,
00:15delivering billions of dollars in financing across the developing world. Sergio, welcome to VivaTech News.
00:22I'm very excited to be here.
00:23What are the opportunities for startups, and what is the impact on Africa's growth?
00:28Well, the opportunities in Africa are very, very large.
00:31I mean, we have to look at several factors.
00:33The demographics, there's a very large number of population, young people, a middle class that is growing,
00:38and then a lot of opportunities in terms of the demand for services that are not still yet available.
00:45So I think this is really the next frontier, and it's really booming.
00:48And here at VivaTech, if you go to the Africa booths and you see all these entrepreneurs who are there,
00:53all these youth full of energy, there's so many things that can be done.
00:55Absolutely. You really feel the palpable energy, and I did see the exhibit, which is fascinating.
01:03What are the key challenges that startups face in Africa?
01:07Well, startups face challenges everywhere, in Africa also.
01:11I think access to finance, access to capital is always a challenge.
01:15And on the IFC side, we're very excited to be one of the largest providers of capital for startups in
01:20Africa,
01:20and we'll continue doing so.
01:21But there are some other challenges, particularly in terms of regulations,
01:25to make sure that they are conducive to having more startups doing excellent business in the continent.
01:31So there are a certain number of challenges.
01:33But, you know, you also have to look at the opportunities that these challenges bring,
01:36and they are very, very significant.
01:39Helping Africa tap into the potential of the digital economy is one of IFC's top priorities.
01:44So how is the IFC working to achieve this goal?
01:46You know, we've assessed that the opportunities in Africa of the digital economy by 2050
01:52would be above $700 trillion in Africa alone, right?
01:56So what we are doing is that we're trying to support the sector in a holistic way,
02:00from, you know, working on the regulatory side with governments to start with,
02:05then looking at the infrastructure.
02:06We've deployed several billions of dollars of funding for infrastructure on the IT side.
02:11Then we work with startups individually.
02:13We support a few of these really champions that we think are going to be the unicorns of tomorrow.
02:19We also have put in place a number of funds that can be deployed,
02:23several initiatives that are available for startups in Africa.
02:27And then we're also looking a lot around the education side,
02:30so that people can develop the skills to leverage these startups that are coming.
02:35What would your advice be for startups and companies here in Paris and throughout Europe
02:40for engaging in the African market, either through partnerships or accessing the consumers there?
02:46Well, my advice is hurry, because, you know, the opportunity is there today.
02:52And you have a lot of African startups building on the youth
02:56that are creating a lot of new businesses, a lot of new markets.
03:00So there's a lot of opportunity to do partnerships for European and other startups,
03:05for companies to go and invest in Africa.
03:07This is where the markets are.
03:09This is where the growth is.
03:10This is where the future is.
03:12Fascinating.
03:12Well, thank you so much for joining.
03:14We'll definitely check out some of the exhibitors here this week.
03:17And thank you for joining us.
03:19Great.
03:19Thanks, Abdul.
03:20Thank you.
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