Minister unveils French tech community in Lagos

FRENCH Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships, Dr. Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, yesterday inaugurated the French Tech Community – Lagos chapter.

Other participants include Mr. Steve Dakayi- Kamaga, founder of Betâstore and Chairman of French Tech Lagos; Ms. Jane Ekeh, cofounder and COO of Gas360; Mr. Romain PoirotLellig, founder and CEO of Kwik Delivery; and Ms. Ifeoluwa Dare- Johnson, founder and CEO of Healthtraka.

Launched in January 2023, the French Tech Community in Lagos gathers startups and entrepreneurs, which, while based in Nigeria, have a connection to France.

It pursues the goal of promoting France and Nigeria as destinations for business and entrepreneurship, aiming to create bridges between the French and Nigerian tech ecosystems. The Lagos community is part of a network of over 100 French Tech hubs across the world.

“I would like to commend the establishment of a French Tech Community in Lagos. Given the potential of the digital industry here, it was essential to create a structure that would make the Nigerian tech ecosystem more visible to French players and highlight the opportunities that this country offers”, Zacharopoulou said in her opening speech.

She added: “Lagos is undoubtedly the heart of African tech and home to the continent's most promising startups. This is why French public operators are already involved through initiatives such as Digital Africa – an initiative of President Emmanuel Macron to support young entrepreneurs in Africa – and the idice programme, which was recently launched by the Nigerian government with a financial contribution of 100 million Euros from AFD. We expect French private investors to become even more involved in the near future.”

As the European Union number one tech hub ( as per the total amount of capital raised in the past few years), France is already home to a number of Nigerian startups, such as Gas360, which recently opened an office in Toulouse, or Koolboks, which operates both in Paris and Lagos.