Agreement with Paris development agency aims to boost Accra tech scene

Paris’s development and innovation agency PARIS&Co and the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) have signed a memorandum of understanding in which France has pledged to recognise Ghana’s potential in new technologies and support its startup ecosystem.

The memorandum, which was signed last week, aims to boost the circulation of information between the startup ecosystem of  Paris and Accra.

The agreement was signed in the presence of the Ambassador of France to Ghana, François Pujolas, read a press release to Ventureburn on behalf of the French embassy.

The MEST, incubator and entrepreneurial school tech, is part of the MeltWater group. It is the flagship of the Ghanaian tech ecosystem.

‘The agreement shows the increasing role of France in the digitisation of Africa’

“This agreement, which is the first in our bilateral relations, shows the increasing role of France in the digitisation of Africa. In the case of Ghana, young entrepreneurs have been and will be invited to France in order to support innovation,” said Pujolas.

The signing of the agreement comes as France hosts Station F, the largest incubator in the world, with French digital operators already present in Africa within the French Tech hubs of Abidjan, in the Ivory Coast and Cape Town, South Africa.

PARIS&Co prospects and provides support for foreign direct investments and promotes the international attractiveness of Paris abroad. In addition the agency fosters the Parisian innovation ecosystem by incubating startups and organising events between startups and global players.

As part of the “France and Ghana 1957-2017: moving forward together” initiative, which runs from 1 to 9 June, the French embassy and its network of partner institutions are planning to organise several digital events in Ghana dubbed The French Digital June.

The events include a French language hackathon and a two-day forum on “Ghanaian Tech” and the “French digital”, which will close with an exhibition at Alliance Française Accra.