Eight start-ups from Mauritius, alongside representatives from the Economic Development Board of Mauritius, attended VivaTechnology, a technology and innovation expo hosted in Paris recently, to attract investment.

The start-ups included:

• Inspectforless: The first global B2B inspection marketplace.
• Auxo World: Web3 and Metaverse solutions for high end brands
• Dodobird.ai: A digital recommendation engine for e-commerce sites
• FinClub: An innovative crowdfunding platform for individuals and SMEs.
• Holberston School: Engineering college for inclusive and innovative learners.
• Lean Search: Search Engine Marketing for the UX driven ads.
• Ocean DBA: Expertise and consultations in MySQL databases.
• La Plage Factory: An incubator and accelerator specialising in Tech For Good

During the event from 14-15 June, the delegation participated in an intense week-long programme which included the French Tech’s Community Summit and the Viva Africarena event.

Mihel Cordani, co-president of the French Tech Maurice, said, “After a first successful participation at the summit in 2019, that resulted in the international propulsion of Rwazi, we are happy to have made our way to Viva Technology, in collaboration with the Economic Development Board. Our delegation embodies the vibrancy of the innovation ecosystem in Mauritius with a successful fundraising round for InspectforLess, the winner of the Tech4Good Challenge.”

Africa tech focus

Africa’s technology development and economic opportunities was a main theme at the event.

Heerun Ghuburrun, permanent representative of the Economic Development Board in France, participated in a roundtable discussion focused on how Fintech companies can maintain their competitive advantage.

VivaTech also organised the first edition of the AfricaTech Awards in collaboration with Makhtar Diop, Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Mauritian start-ups were among those who pitched at the VivaTech’s Viva Africarena initiative, hoping to attract investor interest and secure an opportunity to compete at an international scale. The Viva Africarena included investors, founder and ecosystem players with a focus on Africa.

Stefan Sakoschek pitched his start-up, InspectForLess, the first marketplace connecting companies to inspectors.

Sakoschek said, "We are delighted with our participation in Viva Technology. Most importantly, meetings with VCs, fruitful exchanges with the major inspection companies, and the inspection companies, contacts made with marketplaces that want to use our platform for inspection as a service. In addition to this, we’ve been able to meet with representatives of Circularity, one of our partners who have been with us since the beginning. Choosing a bigger stand to share with other start-ups makes all the difference when it comes to visibility and atmosphere on a show as important as Viva Technology ".

The international French Tech communities, of which Mauritius is a member, alongside Madagascar and seven other African countries, have been encouraged to put projects forward for the 2022-23 season of the Community Fund, the public-private financing scheme of the French Tech.

Expansion & Talent, Disruptive Innovation, Ecological Transition, and Diversity have been listed as priority sectors.

According to organisers Viva Technology 2022 featured 2000 exhibitors, including 1800 start-ups, 45% of which were international, and 700 investment funds.

More than 161,000 business connections were made, 71% of which were international connections on the event’s digital platform.

According to the start-ups that were in attendance, more than 25% of their annual prospecting is made during these days.

Speakers who presented included Evan Spiegel (Snap),Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum), CZ (Changpeng Zhao) (Binance), Bret Taylor (Salesforce), Sumbul Desai (Apple) or Ryan Roslansky (LinkedIn). But also Christel Heydemann (Orange), Bernard Arnault (LVMH), Renaud Dumora (BNP Paribas), Elliot Grant (Google X), Jonas Prising (ManpowerGroup), Cristiano Amon (Qualcomm Yann Le Cun (Meta), Eric Schmidt (Schmidt Future), Thierry Breton (European Commission), Audrey Azoulay (UNESCO), and Frédéric Mazzella (Blablacar).

VivaTech showcased over 300 innovations, including 50 exclusive ones, covering GreenTech, digital for mobility, the Future of Work, Web3, Future of work, Web3 and the Metaverse, among others.