Sendemo is

GROUND-BASED RESEARCH
& ADVISORY FOR AFRICAN
STARTUP ECOSYSTEMS

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ABOUT

Our vision

By 2050, Africa will be home to an additional 1.3 billion people. Our vision is to ensure that every one of them can thrive in an environment that fosters entrepreneurship and drives the continent’s transformation toward sustainable prosperity. We believe entrepreneurship is the key to unlocking Africa’s potential and shaping a future of enduring growth and opportunity.

Our Mission

We are on a mission to revolutionize African startup ecosystems. Our goal is to ensure that entrepreneurship and technology are not just buzzwords but catalysts for transformative change in our economies. By fostering understanding, access, and innovation, we aim to create ecosystems where ideas flourish, startups succeed, and the continent prospers.

Our Comitment

We are dedicated to building the African entrepreneurial knowledge stack — a foundation of insights, tools, and strategies that will shape ecosystems capable of creating lasting value for our communities, our nations, and the world.

To achieve this, we focus our work on three pillars:

Research
01
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We conduct groundbreaking research to develop theoretical and practical frameworks for ecosystem and startup building in Africa. By generating actionable insights, we bridge the gap between vision and implementation.
Sendemo was born from a pioneering research project supported by Sciences Po, where our founder, Abderrahmane Chaoui, conducted an in-depth study of startup ecosystems across 13 African countries.

This immersive, on-the-ground exploration revealed a critical truth: in data-scarce environments, meaningful insights can only be uncovered by engaging directly with local communities and stakeholders.

This foundational research shapes our conviction that understanding the nuances of each ecosystem requires a ground-up approach. By combining rigorous fieldwork with the lived experiences of entrepreneurs, policymakers, and ecosystem actors, we’ve built a unique perspective that underpins our work.
Advisory
02
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We provide strategic guidance to organizations (VCs, SSOs, universities, corporates, startups and Government agencies), helping them deeply understand their ecosystems, tailor their services, and create meaningful, lasting impact.
At Sendemo, we collaborate with a diverse range of organizations across the startup value chain—governments, investors, accelerators, corporates, universities, and more. Our mission is to design and adapt strategies and services that create measurable and lasting impact.
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Our advisory approach is rooted in two core principles:
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01. Field-Driven Insights:
All our recommendations are grounded in firsthand, field-based research.
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02. Strategic Design Hybridization:
We integrate strategic analysis with design principles, creating a seamless blend of macroeconomic foresight and user-centric thinking.

We believe strategy and design are too often separated, leading to disjointed solutions. By uniting these approaches, we offer holistic guidance tailored to the realities of Africa’s dynamic startup ecosystems.

This methodology has allowed us to partner with globally respected institutions such as Sciences Po, MIT, 54 Collective (formerly Founders Factory Africa), Digital Africa, and La Francophonie.
Advocacy
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We champion change by leading critical conversations with leaders, policymakers, and decision-makers. Our advocacy efforts aim to shape policies and drive systemic transformation that empowers entrepreneurship across the continent.
Sendemo is committed to driving the conversations that will shape the future of African ecosystems. We engage with media, universities, think tanks, and collective organizations to spark meaningful change and champion entrepreneurship as a force for transformation.
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Our advocacy efforts include:
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Publishing and co-publishing research papers, articles, and thought pieces in prominent media outlets and platforms.
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Delivering lectures and workshops at leading academic institutions, including Sciences Po and EDHEC.
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Speaking at high-profile ecosystem events to inspire, inform, and connect stakeholders.
Participating in thought-leadership initiatives like Digital Collective Africa to amplify our impact.
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By fostering dialogue and collaboration, we aim to build ecosystems and economies that work for their communities and elevate Africa’s narrative on the global stage.

MEET

OUR founder

Hear him directly here

Born and raised in Algeria, Abderrahmane Chaoui graduated from EDHEC Business School in France in 2013. Early in his career, Abderrahmane co-founded a biotech startup in the food industry, developing innovative solutions to increase transparency in Europe’s food value chain. He then refined his expertise in technology and innovation as a lead strategy consultant at Fabernovel in Paris, where he worked with top companies like Pernod Ricard, Microsoft, Nexity, Dassault Systems, Hermès, and Croix-Rouge.


There, he advised on digital transformation, innovation strategies, and open innovation structures, including corporate incubation and acceleration programs, innovation labs, venture studios, and corporate venture capital (CVC) structures, helping organizations navigate disruption and design long-term growth strategies. Abderrahmane led Sendemo’s pioneering research across 13 African countries, engaging with key stakeholders such as investors, government officials, founders, corporations, SSOs and universities.

This extensive fieldwork laid the foundation for Sendemo, now a research-based consultancy serving prestigious clients like MIT, Sciences Po, and Digital Africa. Today, Abderrahmane leads all field research and analysis, blending hands-on experience with strategic insights to drive impactful solutions.

Clients

Use cases

Use case 01 -
2024
54 Collective
Design of the 54 Collective’s expansion strategy, a leading panafrican VC with a strong emphasis on finding the right operational model.
Find out more soon
Use case 02 -
2024
Digital Africa
Production of a study deciphering the needs of early stage founders and the challenges faced by Startup Support Organisations in Africa.
Find out more soon
Use case 03 -
2023
MIT Legatum Center
One-week immersion in the UAE and production of an ecosystem analysis built on a MIT proprietary framework for ecosystem assessments.
Find out more soon

Penelope Terranova
Head of Programs at Digital Africa

Testimony

“At Digital Africa, we recognize the power of rigorous research in shaping impactful strategies for entrepreneurship support in Africa. Our collaboration with Sendemo has been a seamless and enriching experience — his expertise and deep understanding of the subject matter have been invaluable, and we deeply appreciate his professionalism and analytical depth. Through this study, we have gained critical insights that will help refine our approach to supporting startups and the organisations that empower them. This work is a significant contribution to strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem, ensuring that the data needed to drive meaningful change is available.”

Blog

Country Deep dive
Côte d'Ivoire
Study
Digital Africa
Thematic
How do you scale a business in Francophone Africa?
Practical
Introduction to investing and scaling in Senegal
Study
Sendemo's
Discovery Report

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