Will the Teranga Lions roar and dominate like Senegalese startup CoinAfrique?

Senegal take on Poland today at 5pm (Central African Time) in their second appearance at a World Cup. In order to make it past the other teams in Group H, Senegal will have to dominate its competitors, much like Senegalese classifieds platform CoinAfrique has.

The startup — which was founded in 2014 by Matthias Papet and Eric Genêtre — is one of the first mobile marketplaces for French-speaking Africans.

With operations in 17 countries across Francophone Africa, and a claimed 657 000 downloads of its app (since the app was launched in 2015) Papet and Genêtre are scaling the platform as fast as Senegal’s lightning-quick winger Sadio Mane can dribble and score (check out a highlight reel of his 2017-2018 season here).

CoinAfrique operates in 17 countries across Francophone Africa

In April the Dakar-based startup raised €2.5-million from several investors including impact investment fund Investisseurs & Partenaires, Mercure International, and French Partners. Papet and Genêtre said the funding would be used to expand to more countries, enhance offerings in existing markets and improve user experience.

Last year CoinAfrique was one of 20 startups selected by the World Bank for its XL Africa accelerator programme. After Tunisia’s 2-1 loss to England last night, the continent will look to Senegal to deliver Africa’s first win at the tournament. Will the Teranga Lions do Africa proud?

This piece is part of a series of 12 articles is meant to be a light-hearted way that Ventureburn aims to draw attention to and celebrate African innovation and African startups.

African results so far:

Egypt 0-1 Uruguay (Group A, 15 June)
Morocco 0-1 Iran (Group B, 15 June)
Nigeria 0-2 Croatia (Group C 16 June)
Tunisia 1-2 England (Group G 18 June)

Read more: Can Tunisia haul a win? Meet the logistics marketplace that could inspire them
Read more: As the Atlas Lions march into battle, learn how MedTrucks is disrupting healthcare
Read more: Ahead of the Pharoahs’ Group A match, meet Egyptian healthtech Vezeeta
Read more: This is how Ventureburn will celebrate African tech startups this World Cup

Featured image: CoinAfrique Annonces via Facebook