Vivatech: African talent on display at Paris event
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00:00 these big blocks might look like cement,
00:02 but they're made from plastic waste.
00:04 Developed by an Ethiopian startup,
00:06 it's a cheap and low-carbon option,
00:09 which appeared to win over French President Emmanuel Macron,
00:12 who attended this year's edition
00:13 of the VivaTech trade fair in Paris.
00:15 "We have a product that is almost 40% cheaper
00:19 than the conventional building materials
00:21 that are found on the market today.
00:23 It's consuming hard-to-recycle plastic
00:26 that would have ended up in the natural environment,
00:29 but it's also five times less polluting
00:31 than using cement-based products."
00:34 Health startups were also massively present
00:36 at VivaTech this year.
00:38 Waspito is the brainchild of a Cameroonian entrepreneur.
00:42 It offers instant video consultations to users.
00:45 "It absolutely aligns with the culture,
00:47 because most people in Africa
00:49 who go to the hospital only when it's really serious.
00:51 So we don't have the mindset of booking appointments
00:53 to talk to a doctor later on.
00:54 In addition to that, we have the health social network,
00:57 where users can freely ask questions to doctors
01:00 and have answers instantly."
01:02 And in the finance world,
01:04 this Nigerian startup has raised around 4 million euros.
01:07 Its aim? To bring modern insurance infrastructure
01:10 to emerging markets.
01:12 "It was a real problem that we wanted to solve,
01:14 and we started, and luckily,
01:16 the wave has gotten to our stage,
01:17 and we're excited about it."
01:20 A wave which is still gaining momentum,
01:23 as investors the world over keep watch
01:25 for what's coming out of the continent.
01:27 "There's a growing interest in French investors
01:29 to think about investing in the South,
01:32 not just in the West.
01:33 And I think that's a big change,
01:35 and it's refreshing to see."
01:38 As funding for startups declines across the globe,
01:40 the continent has stood out as an exception to the rule.
01:44 Last year, African startups drew 6.5 billion U.S. dollars
01:48 in venture capital.