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A fresh take from Alexandre Bonneau, a visionary of photography featured in Forbes Africa
The Afroto platform, created by Alexandre Bonneau (SKEMA 2019), is revolutionising the photography landscape in Africa. The invaluable support of SKEMA Business School's incubator-accelerator, SKEMA Ventures, has been crucial to the success of this inspiring young entrepreneur featured in Forbes Africa's prestigious 30 Under 30 ranking!
All the best local photographers and videographers in one place, to meet the needs of businesses in Africa: that's the bold promise made by Afroto. Launched by Alexandre Bonneau, this innovative platform is building a unique ecosystem dedicated to photo and video on the African continent. Already operating in eighteen countries, and in collaboration with 300 audiovisual professionals, Afroto has carved out an enviable place for itself in the African audiovisual landscape.
A graduate of the PGE programme
Alexandre Bonneau, a graduate of the MIM Class (PGE) of 2019, is a true pioneer in the field of photography in Africa. He first stood out for his determination and boundless ambition, before attracting the attention of the business world with his ability to offer creative solutions to the problems faced by professional photographers on the African continent.
Alexandre was incubated at SKEMA Ventures from the outset. There, he received solid mentoring which enabled the young entrepreneur to hone his business management skills, test his concept and, above all, constantly challenge himself. This invaluable experience opened the door to success, as demonstrated by his recent appearance in Forbes Africa's prestigious 30 Under 30 ranking.
Promoting a profession
Before creating Afroto, Alexandre spent time reflecting on the photography industry in Africa. Noting how little photography professionals were earning and the lack of respect they were shown, he decided to change the situation by highlighting the value of these professions and making a significant socio-economic impact. "We generated a turnover of around 100,000 euros in the first two years," said Alexandre in Forbes magazine, before pointing out that "80% of our revenue comes from institutional clients, large corporations and NGOs". His vision quickly bore fruit and Afroto took off impressively.
Fulfilling specific needs
When asked about the reasons for his success, the young boss wisely replied: "Afroto is able to generate a high volume of content with the support of professionals who master local languages and contexts". This ability to fulfil the specific needs of the African market is one of the key contributors to Afroto's rapid growth. From his base in Cotonou, Benin, Alexandre Bonneau continues to run Afroto with an unwavering determination to continue to expand the platform.
