Kevin Nyango
We are happy to introduce you today to Esaïe LUPEPELE, the manager of the Eteyelo, a startup from Kinshasa, Congo.
1. First of all, can you introduce yourself to our readers, who you are, where you come from and what’s your background.
My name is Esaïe LUPEPELE, I am Congolese (DR Congo), I have a degree in mathematics and data processing at the faculty of sciences of the University of Kinshasa, and I am the manager of the Eteyelo.
2. What is your startup and where is it located?
Eteyelo Services SARL specializes in the creation and industrialization of digital tools for education. Our mission is to facilitate school monitoring in order to ensure quality education for all.
To date Eteyelo is deployed in a dozen schools in pilot phase in Kinshasa, Brazzaville and Meknes in Morocco.
3. What is the problem you are addressing and what is your solution?
The manual or traditional management of schools is subject to operational difficulties, school and financial monitoring, including:
- Lack of traceability and transparency in financial management;
- Lack of efficiency in monitoring student progress due to the difficulty of accessing the volume of the school records;
- Lack of involvement of some parents in monitoring the schooling of their children due to lack of access to information.
We offer a work and digital learning environment integrating a messaging system accessible to all staff of schools, students and parents through the web, USSD / SMS and mobile application. Parents have access to their children’s school records and can use Mobile Money as a means of paying school fees.
4. What is your target market? And market size?
Eteyelo is for:
- Schools / Universities
- Students
- Parents of students
- And the Ministry in charge of education.
Education is a sponsor sector and in Africa there is great potential in terms of size market and growth.
5. How has the traction been so far on the customer side?
We close the pilot phase with 60% paying users, which is very encouraging for us
6. What is your view about the startup scene in your countries and more regionally in Africa?
There is not yet an awareness of the importance and opportunities around new technologies. The resources are not mobilized and no strategy is put in place to support their development. And this is not only the case of the DRC but also in most African countries.
7. Can you share with us 3 other startups in your country, that you find interesting, either from a product perspective, vision or their founders?
Yes, I can talk about the following startups:
– E-mart.cd, Bonny maya: it proposes an e-commerce platform dedicated to the agro-food industry, in particular local products.
– Jambo, Frederick: A startup that offers natural juices based on local fruits.
– Benda Photo, BEN BALALA: A startup that offers a plant form to print photos online.
Thanks again for your time and let’s catchup in a few months to follow up on your milestones and development!
