Hi, welcome to Tech This Evening, an After-Work Tech Newsletter from Techparley Africa. Sure, there is a lot to unpack right now. Sit back, while I walk you through.
Top Story: Ivorian Startup, Yelen, is Building an All-in-One Social Commerce Platform for Sellers in Francophone Africa
Ivorian startup, Yelen, is betting on messaging-driven trade, offering payments, storefronts and logistics in a single ecosystem platform for sellers across Africa.
Across much of Africa, the centre of commerce has shifted away from traditional websites to more informal, conversation-driven channels. From WhatsApp to Instagram direct messages, thousands of small businesses now sell products through chat, manually managing orders, payments, and customer relationships.
For Ibrahima Sylla and Christian Okoth, this fragmented process presented a clear opportunity. Their startup, Yelen, launched in June 2025 and headquartered in Côte d’Ivoire, is building an integrated platform designed to streamline social selling.
By combining storefront creation, payments, and customer management into a single system, the company aims to simplify how merchants operate in Africa’s fast-evolving digital economy.
“The long-term vision is to build a full ecosystem where sellers can manage their entire business lifecycle, from conversations to transactions, within one platform,” Sylla says. “Even for products such as tools for sourcing goods from China and upcoming logistics features.”
Other Tech News Stories You Should Read:
Nigeria’s Fixr Technologies is Building Contractor-Led System to Fix Africa’s Broken Service Marketplace Model. Read now.
Scale and Mastercard Partner to Simplify Card Issuance and Accelerate Digital Payments Across Africa. Read now.
Cloaked Raises $375 Million to Help Users Take Control of Personal Data Across Platforms. Read now.
On Startup Spotlight:
How Ecobarter Is Making Nigeria’s Cities Cleaner and Greener By Using Digital Tools to Solve Waste Challenges
Nigeria’s urban population has grown steadily over the past decade, but its waste management systems have struggled to keep pace.
Amid this environmental and operational chaos, Ecobarter, a tech-enabled social enterprise, is positioning itself as a solution. Founded in 2018 by Rita Idehai, the company was born from her frustration with the lack of recycling infrastructure for items she collected at home.
The Lagos-based startup incentivises households and businesses to recycle, using digital tools and strategic partnerships to scale in a challenging waste management landscape.
“When we think about scale, we’re no longer thinking about complete ownership,” Idehai explains. “We’re thinking about becoming an infrastructure backbone that others can plug into.”
Quadri Adejumo brings you all the details. Read here.
Also Read:
UK-based Klipboard Acquires South Africa’s Skynamo to Power Global Expansion in Sales Operations Software. Yakub Abdulrasheed brings us the details, here.
Quote of the Day:
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is equivalent to magic.” – Arthur C. Clarke.
Thank you for joining me yet again this evening. Stay safe, and see you tomorrow for the next tech newsletter.
Best, Quadri
