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Tremplin Start-Up UEMOA initiative

UEMOA

Tremplin Start-Up UEMOA initiative

UEMOA

This initiative aims to promote modern and innovative entrepreneurship within the Community area, fostering the emergence of “national and regional champions” in the private sector. Its ambition is to contribute to the diversification and strengthening of the economic fabric, while enhancing its competitiveness.

Specifically, it seeks on a sustainable basis, to accelerate the development of start-ups within WAEMU, to encourage business innovation, and to support the efforts of entrepreneurship support organizations.

Project Details

From 2020 to 2024, the WAEMU Commission, in collaboration with the WAEMU Regional Consular Chamber (CCR-UEMOA) and the national Consular Chambers (CCn) of the eight Member States, implemented the Tremplin Start-Up UEMOA initiative.

Operationally, the initiative takes the form of a regional competition designed to identify, reward and support the most outstanding start-ups, distinguished by the quality of their activity and their socio-economic impact.

Through three editions focused on Green Economy (2020), Digital Economy and Agro-industry (2021), and Creative and Digital Marketing for Cultural and Creative Industries (2024), the program identified, rewarded and supported 87 outstanding start-ups (29 per edition) and their support organizations, with a total reward of 643 million CFA francs.

In addition, under this initiative, support is provided to the best start-ups of all editions. This support consists of capacity-building sessions at both national and regional levels. As an example, with the support of WIPO, WAEMU Commission has held the “Intellectual Property Management Clinic”, a training program in intellectual property and business for twenty-six (26) start-ups of the initiative. The training program consisted of one-on-one mentoring sessions, with intellectual property and business experts, as well as coaching and networking.

Anticipated Impact

The main expected results of the activity’s implementation are to:

  • Instill a dynamic of sub-regional competition for business promotion;
  • Stimulate organizations promoting entrepreneurship and supporting startups in innovative, strategic, and high-growth-potential sectors;
  • Promote innovative and competitive startups in the WAEMU Member States.

Through the three editions:

  • 87 start-ups and their support organizations were rewarded;
  • 188 start-ups have benefited from capacity building;
  • Over 1 billion CFA francs were mobilized from the Commission’s own resources, including:
    • 643 million CFA for the rewards,
    • More than 100 million CFA for communication,
    • Over 110 million CFA for capacity building.
Support/Partnership Required

WAEMU Commission is looking for support from the alliance within the following areas:

1. Strategic and financial support

  • Co-funding competitions, follow-up and capacity building programs, helping scale the prize pool and increase the number of start-ups supported.
  • Mobilizing finance and investment capital to ensure start-ups transition from seed to growth stage.
  • Designing a guarantee fund to facilitate access to finance for SMEs and start-ups of the initiative.

2. Technical assistance and capacity building

  • Providing training, mentorship and coaching from a pool of continental and global experts on crucial topics.
  • Supporting incubators and accelerators within the WAEMU region to strengthen local ecosystems.
  • Developing digital learning platforms to extend access to entrepreneurial skills.

3. Networking / Partnerships

  • Connecting WAEMU start-ups to regional and pan-African markets, investors and corporate partners through AEA’s network.
  • Facilitating long-term partnerships between WAEMU Commission, private investors and development partners for ecosystem building.
  • Showcasing success stories at continental and global forums to attract visibility and further investment.

4. Advocacy

  • Working with WAEMU Commission and Member States to create a more enabling environment for entrepreneurs (e.g., regulatory reforms, simplified business processes).
  • Promoting cross-border collaboration so that start-ups can easily scale beyond national markets.